Overshadowed by the political turmoil in Korea, the nation's medical standoff between doctors and the government has entered its 13th month. Several recent developments have demonstrated the need to resolve the medical crisis between the government and the doctors through talks. Similar to past Korean administrations that never quite succeeded in their attempts to revamp the medical sector since 1950s, the government has virtually backtracked on its plan to expand the number of doctors by increasing the medical school quota by 2,000 annually, for five years starting this year.

The government and medical schools have asked students boycotting classes to return by end of this month. Some medical schools even reported outright pressure from senior medical students, with some castigating their juniors for attending classes.

The junior doctors who walked out in February 2024 against the expansion and the medical students who also left schools in protest are sadly all too familiar with the government's unilateral steps and attached conditions in the past year of standoff. They have faced many challenges without having to break their stance — yet they continue to remain firm.

After the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's abrupt announcement in 2024 that they would increase the number of new medical school students, aiming to address physician shortages in basic fields such as pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency care, the junior doctors and students have largely received support from other doctors.

But on Monday, four medical professors spoke up, in an unusual move, to call for an end to the junior doctor walkout and the boycott of classes with a statement titled "To those who say that returning peers are no longer colleagues." Four professors from Seoul National University's College of Medicine and affiliated hospitals noted "the courage and wisdom" demonstrated in addressing the issues entailed in last year's reform plan. However, the professors pointed out "the current type of struggle and its objectives are not just and cannot persuade our society."

Their statement was welcomed immediately by patients. The Korean Alliance of Severe Illnesses (literal translation), which brings eight patient groups in the nation together, said that the medical professors' statement "laid bare the doctors' cartel-like actions that had supported the protest, which has resulted in neglecting patients." This was immediately met with sharp criticism from the leader of the group representing junior doctors, who criticized the statement as having been "made by those few who cannot be called professors," saying that the statement in itself was an admission.

It's regrettable to witness the latest confrontation between professors and students. If anything, hopefully, this will prompt some dialogue, mainly between the junior doctors and the larger doctors' organizations and the government. The political chaos and leadership void should not be used as an excuse for further division. The professors also noted in their statement that "the real victims are those who have been overlooked and not been able to receive treatment." On Sunday, a pregnant Vietnamese woman spent two hours aboard an ambulance looking for a hospital to treat her, when her water broke and she had to give birth in the ambulance. This incident is not an isolated one.

The walkout by over 12,000 junior doctors last year has since resulted in a shortage of staff at the nation's hospitals. Conversely, this also illustrates how dependent some of the nation's major hospitals have been on junior doctors, making them handle such a severe workload, one of the improvements they want included in the medical reform. The junior doctors have not only asked for the nullification of the medical school quota raise but also for such deregulations as reducing exposure to legal suits. Still, it's better late than never. It's high time the doctors take action and sit down and discuss with the government, and in turn, the government must also rethink its compulsion to act unilaterally.