Healthcare Sector Opposing 'Nursing Act', 3-Day Leave Strike... "General Strike on 17th if No Reconsideration"

Announcement of the Health, Welfare, and Medical Solidarity Struggle Roadmap

Healthcare professional organizations opposing the enactment of the Nursing Act will begin full-scale collective action starting with a three-day leave strike on the 3rd. If there are no follow-up measures such as President Yoon Seok-yeol exercising his veto power or reconsideration, they plan to launch a general strike on the 17th.

On the morning of the 2nd, participants are shouting slogans at the announcement of the struggle roadmap by 13 organizations of the Health and Welfare Medical Solidarity to block the Nursing Act, held in front of the Korean Medical Association building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The 'Health and Welfare Medical Solidarity' (Medical Solidarity), which includes 13 healthcare professional organizations such as the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association, held a press conference on the morning of the 2nd in front of the Korean Medical Association building in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to reveal this roadmap for their struggle.

Medical Solidarity will first hold simultaneous rallies across various cities and provinces nationwide on the afternoon of the 3rd, titled the 'Rally Condemning the Democratic Party’s Forced Passage of the Nursing Act and License Revocation Act.' In Seoul, the rally will take place at 5:30 p.m. in front of the National Assembly Station in Yeouido. Each professional group will participate by taking leave from their affiliated medical institutions. Park Myung-ha, the emergency response committee chairman of the Korean Medical Association, explained, "Since licensed practical nurses have already declared a leave strike, doctors plan to actively cooperate in response. To minimize inconvenience to patients and the public, we have scheduled the event for the late afternoon as much as possible."

Then, on the 11th, a second simultaneous leave strike and shortened medical service will be conducted nationwide. However, participation from higher-level hospital personnel such as the Resident Association and Professors’ Association at tertiary and university hospitals is expected to be minimal in these first and second leave strikes. Chairman Park stated, "We are seriously considering essential medical areas (such as intensive care units and emergency rooms) involving university hospital professors and residents, so the scope and methods of the strike are being intensely discussed internally."

If there is no significant progress despite these protests, Medical Solidarity plans to proceed with a '4 million solidarity general strike' on the 17th. Medical Solidarity explained that this phased struggle was decided to minimize inconvenience to patients and the public. Chairman Park said, "We are well aware that despite the 'legislative outrage' by the Korean Nurses Association and the Democratic Party, the government and ruling party are trying to mediate through party-government negotiation proposals, so we have had many concerns. We do not want to cause inconvenience and anxiety to the public due to medical service gaps, so we will carefully adjust the methods and intensity of the struggle."

Alongside this, Medical Solidarity will continue the relay one-person protests previously held in front of the National Assembly by moving the location to in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office. This is interpreted as a call for reconsideration of the Nursing Act and urging President Yoon to exercise his veto power. The hunger strikes of Lee Pil-su, president of the Korean Medical Association, and Kwak Ji-yeon, president of the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association, are also ongoing. On the sixth day of his hunger strike, Lee said at a press conference, "I hope consideration will be given to the smaller professional groups," and added, "I ask for a fair and rational judgment."

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