Gov’t to Begin Trial Reducing Trainee Doctors’ Shift Hours amid Prolonged Collective Action

Amid trainee doctors’ prolonged collective action in protest of the medical school admissions quota hike, the government on Friday is set to begin a trial, temporarily reducing trainee doctors’ shift hours in an attempt to improve their working environment.

At a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, deputy health minister Jun Byung-wang said the trial run comes ahead of a related law set to take effect in February 2026.

Out of 42 hospitals selected for participation in the trial project, six will adopt the system from Friday, including Kangwon National University Hospital, Korea University Guro Hospital and Korea University Anam Hospital.

The trial period will run through next April, during which each hospital will reduce trainee doctors’ shift hours from the current 36 to between 24 and 30 hours through schedule adjustments and the recruitment of additional employees.

According to a recent survey, trainee doctors worked an average of 92 hours per week in 2016, which dropped to 77-point-seven hours in 2022. The hours, however, remain relatively higher compared to the hours doctors work overseas.