Few medical residents return

[Anchor]

Among the residents who left the hospitals in protest against the increase in medical school admissions, only 2.2% have chosen to return this March.

The government proposed measures such as postponing military enlistment and special training provisions to persuade the residents to return, but it had little effect.

This is Jeong Yeon-wook reporting.

[Report]

The government's recent measures to encourage the return of over ten thousand residents who resigned.

They plan to waive the regulation that prohibits returning within a year of resignation and to postpone the military enlistment date until the training is completed.

[Lee Joo-ho/Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs/Jan. 10: "I want to say that we have no choice but to continue our efforts to communicate with an open attitude."]

The response has been cold.

From Jan. 15 to Jan. 19, 221 training hospitals nationwide recruited residents to continue their training from March this year, but only 199 applied, which is just 2.2% of the recruitment quota.

In the metropolitan area, including five major hospitals, only 135 applied.

A second-year resident who resigned stated in a call with KBS, "No one will move with empty promises," and added, "The suspension of the Medical Reform Special Committee's activities is the first step towards dialogue."

The medical community is demanding specific measures from the government on how to educate the more than 1,500 new medical students admitted this year.

[Kim Seong-geun/Spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association: "We need to ensure that the first-year students this year can receive proper classes and training over the next six years before we can discuss anything further."]

Currently, the attendance rate of residents is 8.7%, and there are growing concerns that the medical gap during the Lunar New Year holiday may worsen.

[Kim Soo-jin/Director of the Emergency Medical Center at Korea University Anam Hospital: "By March, many of the doctors in advanced general hospitals or those dealing with severe emergencies will be exhausted and likely leave."]

The government has stated that for the residents to be recruited next month, it will be difficult to apply the special postponement of enlistment due to military service schedules.

If the government and the medical community cannot find common ground for dialogue, it is expected that the additional return of residents will be virtually impossible.

This is Jeong Yeon-wook from KBS News.