Medical Association Emphasizes Hardline Struggle, Possible Collective Strike on 20th...

55% of Members Voted the Day Before
Official Announcement at Tomorrow's Meeting

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) is reported to have designated the 20th as a day for a collective strike. The results of the strike vote are scheduled to be announced on the 9th, but the KMA has been emphasizing a hardline stance on the struggle even before the approval announcement.

According to the medical community on the 8th, the KMA is considering the 20th as the start date for the collective strike. The 20th falls on a Thursday, the same week as the 17th, which was set as the strike day by the Emergency Committee of Professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital.

In the KMA's strike vote, which started at 5 p.m. on the 4th and ended at midnight the previous day, 78,000 out of 129,200 eligible voters participated, recording a turnout rate of 54.8%. The KMA emphasized that this turnout rate is higher than the votes for collective actions in 2014 and 2020, calling it a "strong determination to stop medical manipulation."

The KMA plans not to disclose the voting results until the National Doctors' Representatives Conference on the 9th. However, since they have made statements suggesting the start of collective action, it is highly likely that the motion was approved. The day before, the KMA stated in a press release, "The Representatives Conference will be the largest-scale collective action in the history of medical struggles, where all professions including professors, employed doctors, and private practitioners will act in unison."

As the KMA strike becomes more visible following the professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine, the confusion in the medical field, which has continued for four months since the departure of residents, is expected to deepen. The professors' group from medical schools is also participating in the KMA's collective action, which is centered on private practitioners. The National Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi), composed of professors from 20 medical schools nationwide, announced the day before that they would follow the KMA's vote results.

However, it is uncertain how many medical school professors and private practitioners will participate in the collective action. During this medical service disruption, although medical school professors collectively submitted resignation letters, very few have actually left their hospitals and universities.

There is also much analysis suggesting that even if the KMA goes on strike, it is unlikely that local clinics will close. During the 2020 collective action, the participation rate of private practitioners was in the single digits.

With the increase in medical school admissions already confirmed, the government halting administrative sanctions against returning residents, and conciliatory measures allowing training hospitals to accept residents' resignation letters, the unfavorable public opinion may also act as a burden.

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