Starting on the 21st, the revised Resident Act that reduces residents' maximum consecutive working hours from 36 hours to 24 hours will take effect. A pilot program will also be pushed to cut weekly working hours from the current 80 hours to 72 hours.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 18th, residents' maximum consecutive working hours will be reduced, and training hospitals that violate the rule may face fines of 5 million won. However, in emergencies, consecutive work of up to 28 hours is allowed.
On Dec. 30 last year, the amendment to the Act on the Improvement of the Training Environment and the Enhancement of Status for Residents was promulgated. Key provisions, including shorter consecutive working hours and protections for pregnant residents, will be enforced from the 21st of this month. Overtime and night/holiday work, as well as maternity leave before and after childbirth and leave for miscarriage or stillbirth for female residents, will follow the Labor Standards Act.
Residents who take leave for childcare, illness, or military enlistment will be guaranteed continuity of training so they can resume training in the same department at their original training hospital upon return.
In addition, the government will recruit medical institutions through the 27th to join the "resident working hours reduction pilot program," which lowers residents' weekly working hours from 80 to within 72. Weekly hours will be reduced to an average of 72 or less over four weeks, and vacation or leave periods are not counted.
In unavoidable training and work such as emergencies, educational purposes, and handovers, up to 8 additional hours per week will be allowed.
The ministry says that since the Resident Act took effect in 2017, working hours have gradually improved, but they remain longer than in advanced countries. It also pointed to resident burnout and avoidance of essential medical fields as causes. In fact, residents' average working time reached 77.7 hours per week, according to the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA)'s 2022 survey.
The labor condition survey by the National Residents' Labor Union released in Oct. last year showed similar results. When asked about their actual average weekly working hours, "64 hours or more and less than 72 hours" was the most common at 27.4%, followed by "72 hours or more and less than 80 hours" at 25.2%.
"80 hours or more and less than 88 hours" accounted for 14.9%, and 53.1% of all respondents said they work 72 hours or more per week.