Male resident doctors, who have walked off their jobs to protest a government medical school plan, will have to start their mandatory military service next year if their resignations are accepted, the head of the military manpower agency said Wednesday.
Last month, thousands of trainee doctors at general hospitals began tendering their resignations in protest of the plan to boost the number of medical school seats next year, although their resignations have yet to be accepted, with the government issuing a return-to-work order.
Lee Ki-sik, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, said protesting male resident doctors, who have yet to complete their mandatory military service, will have to begin their duty next year if the resignations are formalized.
South Korea requires all able-bodied men to undergo at least 18 months of military service. Male resident doctors, who do not complete their medical training, have to carry out their service as military or community doctors.
Lee, however, noted
that it will not be possible for the trainee doctors to enter service right away if the resignations are formalized en masse as the number of doctors would exceed the military’s annual personnel quota.
“As such a situation has never happened before … (we) are considering making revisions to relevant rules or guidelines,” he said in a press conference.
Meanwhile, when asked whether his agency was considering conscripting women or introducing a volunteer military system to address concerns of troop shortages brought on by the country’s low birth rate, Lee said such plans are not being reviewed.
Lee also said his agency is pushing to make changes to the current military exemption system for qualified athletes and musicians, pledging to come up with a new plan this year to address concerns over its fairness.
Young men who clinch gold medals from international sports events, including the Olympics and Asian Games, as well as classical musicians who win top prizes from prestigious competitions are given exemp
tions from conscription.
Source: Yonhap News Agency