Doctors, gov't headed for another confrontation

The government and the medical community appear headed for another confrontation as doctors are opposing the government's move to take punitive measures against doctors and medical university professors who took part in the strike.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to proceed with hearings to suspend the licenses of 43 doctors who participated in the Oct. 6-10 general strike against government orders.

The Ministry of Education recently sent an official document to the chairmen of the board of directors of major universities such as Seoul National, Korea, Yonsei and Catholic, asking them to "secure related materials about the medical university professors¡¯ collective action.¡± The ministry will take disciplinary measures against medical professors who led the strike at their universities after conducting an investigation on the basis of the materials.

However, the medical professors immediately resisted the government's moves. The Catholic Medical University Faculty kicked off a signature-collection campaign Sunday, vowing to "get tough if any disciplinary action is taken against the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Medical University Professors' Consultative Council.¡±

Meanwhile, the committee for the struggle to regain medical rights under the wing of the Korea Medical Association decided Saturday to resume its suspended dialogue with the government Monday, reconfirming that the ¡°10-member emergency co-representatives subcommittee¡± has the authority to negotiate with the government.

Making public the contents of the dialogue with the government to its members, the committee revealed that the two sides agreed or narrowed their differences on such issues as the ban on preparing medicines with doctors¡¯ prescriptions, permission to prepare only medicines whose chemical equality is recognized, the deletion of regulations on a doctors-pharmacists cooperative committee and rewarding citizens who report illegal acts by doctors or pharmacists to the authorities.

But the two sides are still in a bitter a tug-of-war over the sales unit of ordinary medicines, the classification of medicines, and making out medicine sales record books.

They failed to narrow their differences over raising medical insurance fees, means to stabilize the insurance fund, means to improve the medical system and the supply of doctors as the government claimed these matters should be discussed in the special committee on medical system reform.

Song Sang-Keun songmoon@donga.com