The medical dialogue for the return of residents is gaining momentum. If residents return to the medical field after medical students previously left in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas, the conflict between the medical community and the government, which has lasted for 1 year and 5 months, will enter a resolution phase. However, even if the residents return, the controversy surrounding the additional specialist exams still remains.
According to the medical community and political sector on the 14th, the Korean Association of Medical Residents (KAMR) plans to meet with Park Joo-min, chairperson of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, and members of the Democratic Party of Korea in the afternoon to discuss their return. KAMR will hold an extraordinary general meeting on the 19th to finalize its demands.
The return of residents has gained momentum with the resignation of former KAMR chairperson Park Dan, who is known for his hardline stance, and the leadership of Han Sung-joon, who is categorized as a moderate. Earlier, KAMR decided to work with the National Association of Medical College Professors on the 12th to resolve the situation. A medical community official noted, "If the residents, who serve as the hands and feet in hospitals, return, won't the medical field stabilize more than it is now?"
Medical students have already decided to return. On the same day, the student organization of medical schools, the Korean Association of Medical Schools and Graduate Medical Education (KAMSGE), declared a full return. KAMSGE held a joint press conference with the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, Education Committee, and the Korean Medical Association Organization, stating, "We trust the National Assembly and the government and will work hard to return to school and normalize medical education and the healthcare system."
The remaining issue concerning the return of residents is the specialist exam. After graduating from medical school and obtaining a medical license, residents enter the training process to become specialists, which includes 1 year as an intern and 3 to 4 years as a resident in various subjects. Residents are generally recruited twice a year, starting their training in March and September. Senior residents take the specialist exam every year at the beginning of the year. However, if there is a 3-month training gap, they cannot take the resident exam.
If senior residents who left the hospital return now, they will have already surpassed the 3-month gap in training during the first half of the year and will not be able to take the specialist exam next year. They must take the specialist exam in early 2027 based on the criteria for the second half of the year. However, they are requesting that if they return this time, they be allowed to take the additional specialist exam around August next year.
Residents left their training hospitals amid the conflict with the government in February last year. They have since engaged in several back-and-forth discussions with the government regarding their return. In July last year, the government terminated the employment of over 7,600 residents who did not return and recruited for residents in the second half of the year, but turnout was poor. Additional recruitment of training residents in September and December last year also saw minimal returns.
In May this year, the government initiated additional recruitment of residents. This time, 860 residents returned. Those senior residents who returned can work in hospitals from last month until May next year, allowing them to take the specialist exam next year. Training for the first half of the year starts in March, so residents returning in May have a training gap of no more than 3 months.
At that time, some chose not to return while waiting to see the results of the presidential election. Recruitment announcements for the second half of this year will be posted around the end of July. If non-returning residents apply then, they can start working in hospitals from September. They will have to take the specialist exam in early 2027.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare noted that the residents' demand has not yet been finalized and is taking a wait-and-see approach. A government official stated, "(The additional specialist exam) has budgetary issues, and since it involves creating a new exam schedule, it could appear as a privilege."
Meanwhile, many of the residents who left the hospitals have already given up on the training process. According to materials received from Kim Sun-min, a member of the Rebuilding Korea Party, belonging to the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, as of the end of March, 8,791 residents had either resigned or given up their appointments at training hospitals across the nation. Of these, 61.4%, or 5,399, found employment as general practitioners in medical institutions. General practitioners are those who graduated from medical school and obtained a medical license but did not undergo the residency training process.