South Korean President Yoon slams doctor ‘cartel’ as strike drags on

SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on April 1 slammed the “cartel” of medics who oppose sector reforms, saying the government would not back down on plans that have triggered a month-long doctors’ strike.

Hospitals have been forced to cancel crucial treatments and surgical procedures

since thousands of trainee doctors stopped working from Feb 20 to protest against proposed training reforms, but the government has not changed tack, instead threatening the medics on strike with legal action.

Seoul wants to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 starting from 2024, saying it is essential to combat shortages and treat a fast-ageing society. Doctors say it will erode service quality.

“The number 2,000 is not a random figure we came up with. We have thoroughly reviewed relevant statistics and research, and reviewed present and future medical situations,” Mr Yoon said in a televised national address.

Even this increase will not meet growing demand in areas outside the capital Seoul, he said.

Thousands of doctors are facing a

suspension of their medical licences,

but Mr Yoon urged them to return to their hospitals before the process was complete.

Successive South Korean governments have tried – and failed – to increase medical school admissions in the past, and Mr Yoon said “the cartel of doctors had been strengthened” by every previous failure.

“We cannot repeat the same mistake again,” he added.

If the doctors’ community does not like the government’s plan, “they should present the government a unified blueprint with clear scientific reasoning”, he said.

“If they bring an alternative that is more rational and reasonable, we can talk any time.”

South Koreans will vote next week in a crucial election, with Mr Yoon’s party trying to win back its majority in Parliament.

The public initially sympathised with the government in the ongoing doctors’ strike, but recent polls have indicated sentiment has shifted, with nearly 60 per cent of people surveyed in a Dong-A Ilbo poll on April 1 saying the government should adjust the scale and timing of the reform.

The opposition Democratic Party slammed Mr Yoon for being “preoccupied with the number 2,000” and urged him to adjust the reform plan, “taking into account medical situations”.

“Yoon and the government must abandon their obsession with the 2,000-slot increase,” said opposition Democratic Party MP Shin Hyun-young. AFP