"Taking Citizens' Lives Hostage During the COVID Era"... Solo Protest Demanding Withdrawal of Mass Sickouts Begins

On the 1st, employees are working at the Collective Strike Damage Report and Support Center of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul. The government established the "Collective Strike Damage Report and Support Center" to minimize patient damage caused by the indefinite strike of residents and other medical collective strikes. The center has been operating since the 31st and will continue until the doctors' organizations' collective strike ends. It is available through the call center from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy announced that starting from the 2nd, one-person protests urging doctors to withdraw their collective strike will begin in 12 regions nationwide.

The one-person protests will be simultaneously held until the 4th in 12 regions including Seoul, Seongnam, Chuncheon, Cheongju, Sejong, Daejeon, Jeonju, Iksan, Daegu, Ulsan, Busan, and Jeju by organizations belonging to the Participatory Autonomy Regional Movement Solidarity, which consists of 19 civic groups nationwide. Yoon Hong-sik, Chairman of the Social Welfare Committee of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (Professor of Social Welfare at Inha University), is scheduled to urge the withdrawal of the collective strike by residents from 10 a.m. at the main entrance of Seoul National University Hospital.

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy stated, "With the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), it is more important than ever to protect the public nature of healthcare," adding, "Due to the medical vacuum, treatment for critically ill patients is delayed, and emergency patients are unable to receive timely treatment, resulting in deaths. Despite facing the grave and serious risk of an infectious disease, the Korean Medical Association's collective action, which holds citizens' lives and national security hostage, is difficult to understand."

Earlier, residents (medical interns) began an indefinite collective strike opposing the government's medical policies, including the establishment of a public medical school, starting from the 21st of last month, and have been refusing medical treatment for 13 days as of today.

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