The Collective Action of Korean Physicians: A Perspective on Social Contract and Professionalism

The conflict between the Korean government and physicians over expanding medical school enrollment has created an unprecedented crisis in Korean healthcare. This article argues that the collective action of Korean physicians is motivated in part by a deeper crisis of professional identity and contradictions inherent in their social status. The article examines the collective action of physicians from the perspectives of professionalism and social contract theory. In healthcare, the social contract is a foundation for medical ethics and a core component of medical professionalism. However, the collective action of Korean physicians demonstrates that the social contract governing healthcare in Korea is now in crisis, which is due in part to the historical fragility of professionalism in Korean society. Addressing the current crisis in Korean healthcare requires a reassessment of the social contract between physicians and society.