Government and Doctors Discussed Until Dawn but Negotiations Failed... Doctors' General Strike Starts Today (Update)

Residents opposing the government's expansion of medical school quotas are holding a 24-hour silent picket protest on the 23rd at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Central Medical Center in Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Doctors opposing the government's medical policies, including the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools, will begin a three-day collective strike from the 26th to the 28th. Considering the domestic resurgence of COVID-19, the government held behind-the-scenes negotiations with the Korea Medical Association (KMA) until early dawn on the same day but failed to find a consensus to withdraw the collective action, so the strike will proceed as planned.

The collective strike initiated by the Medical Association from this day is the second nationwide doctors' general strike. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, it will be conducted online through the YouTube channel (KMA-TV) under the theme "Together, There is Hope," without outdoor gatherings or large-scale meetings.

Unlike the collective strike by residents on the 7th or the first nationwide doctors' strike on the 14th, this second collective strike is expected to include interns, residents, fellows, and private practitioners who have already entered an indefinite strike.

Some large hospitals are already experiencing medical staff shortages, causing delays in surgical schedules and resulting in gaps in medical services. Samsung Seoul Hospital has postponed over 100 surgeries scheduled from the 24th to this day.

The KMA demands the withdrawal of four government medical policies: increasing medical school quotas, establishing public medical schools, providing insurance coverage for herbal medicine prescriptions, and promoting telemedicine. The government has continued recent discussions, including unofficial behind-the-scenes negotiations with the KMA on the 25th, but failed to narrow the gap in positions. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters stated, "Although negotiations continued until dawn, we could not produce a result that everyone desired." The Minister of Health and Welfare is expected to announce the government's position and specific measures regarding the strike on the morning of the same day.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of the previous day, among 200 training institutions for residents, 163 were confirmed, and out of 10,277 residents, 5,995 were not working, resulting in a strike rate of 58.3%. Among 2,639 fellows, 162 stopped working, with a strike rate of 6.1%.

The government has established an emergency medical system centered on public health centers in cooperation with local governments to prepare for possible medical service gaps due to increased strike rates at local clinics. Son Young-rae, head of strategic planning at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, explained, "There may be some inconveniences, but we are making efforts to minimize medical service gaps as much as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.