18-6-2024 (SEOUL) In a move aimed at mitigating the impact of the months-long strike by doctors protesting the government’s plan to increase medical school admissions, the South Korean authorities issued a return-to-work order for private practitioners on Tuesday. The escalation comes as more doctors, including medical professors, join the ranks of the disgruntled healthcare professionals seeking to voice their concerns over the proposed reforms.
According to Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, approximately four percent of the country’s 36,000 private clinics have notified the government of plans to close on Tuesday to participate in the protest. “To minimize the medical gap, the return-to-work order will be issued at 9 a.m. today,” Cho stated during a briefing, underscoring the government’s determination to address the growing crisis.
The return-to-work order follows a previous attempt by the authorities to quell the strike by trainee doctors, which was ultimately withdrawn earlier this month as a conciliatory gesture. However, under the law, doctors defying the latest order could face severe consequences, including the suspension of their licenses or other legal repercussions.
President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his disappointment with the doctors’ strike, describing it as “regretful and disappointing.” During a cabinet meeting, he stated, “(The government) has no choice but to sternly deal with the illegal acts neglecting patients,” while simultaneously offering to work together if the doctors return to work.
The Korea Medical Association, a vocal critic of the government’s reforms, spearheaded Tuesday’s strike and organized a protest in Seoul on the same day. The association’s president, Lim Hyun-taek, made an impassioned plea, stating, “The government should respect…all doctors in this land as life-saving experts, not slaves, and listen to their voices.”
The protest drew a significant turnout, with at least 10,000 people attending, according to a Reuters witness. Protesters wore makeshift hats bearing the slogan “Prevent medical collapse,” underscoring the depth of their concerns over the proposed changes.
While the government maintains that increasing medical school admissions is necessary to address the shortage of doctors in the country, some healthcare professionals argue that this measure alone will do little to shore up essential services and rural areas grappling with a deepening shortage of doctors.
The strike has also sparked a divide within the medical community, with a recent survey by local pollster Nownsurvey revealing that nearly eight in ten South Koreans oppose the doctors’ collective action. Some doctors and medical staff have openly criticized the strike, citing the potential harm to patients and the broader healthcare system.
