South Korean doctors continue walkout as global body weighs in
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Almost 9,000 trainee doctors remain off the job, defying a government ultimatum.
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SEOUL – South Korean trainee doctors continued their walkout on March 2, with little sign of them returning to work, as a global body of physicians supported their protest against a government plan to increase medical school intakes.
Almost 9,000 trainee doctors remain off the job, defying a government ultimatum,
Calls to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for confirmation went unanswered.
The government gave trainee doctors until the end of February to end the almost two-week walkout that it says has led to people being turned away from understaffed emergency rooms and the cancellations of about half of operations.
The Korean Medical Association is planning a rally in Seoul on March 3 to oppose the government plan to increase the number of medical school seats by 2,000, from the current 3,058.
The World Medical Association issued a statement supporting the local association, contending that the government decision to increase enrolment has been “implemented without clear evidence”.
The South Korean ministry issued a rebuttal on March 2, saying it had consulted the medical community more than 130 times and calculated the size of the increase on the needs of medical schools and long-term demand projections.
Earlier, the ministry released a public notice saying that some of the doctors have been ordered to return to work, potentially paving the way for disciplinary measures. Bloomberg
