A prolonged walkout could invite increasingly severe public criticism towards both the government and striking doctors, said analysts.
South Korea’s healthcare crisis deepened this week as senior doctors and medical professors joined a protracted strike to protest increasing medical school admissions.
Since February, more than 12,000 junior and trainee doctors have walked out on hospitals over the government’s reform plans aimed at addressing a shortage of physicians in the nation.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Tuesday (Jun 18) led a protest in Seoul with thousands of doctors. They included private practitioners who participated in a one-day solidarity strike.
This came a day after more than 500 medical professors at Seoul National University public hospitals walked off their jobs on an indefinite strike.
Some medical students have also either delayed their enrolment or boycotted classes, saying the government’s plan will affect their careers as doctors once they graduate.
The months-long strike has led to unprecedented disruptions in the nation’s healthcare system as both sides refuse to budge.
Public anger has been simmering as overwhelmed hospitals are forced to turn away patients amid the doctor shortage.
Observers urged all sides to negotiate amicably, saying a prolonged walkout could invite increasingly severe public criticism towards both the government and striking doctors.
THE POLICY REFORM
South Korea has among the fewest doctors per capita in developed countries. Its rapidly ageing population is expected to exacerbate the scarcity.
Authorities have forecast an acute shortage of doctors in the nation in the next decade.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration wants to grow the number of doctors by sharply raising the annual medical school enrollment quota by 2,000.
Doctors have argued this will not solve the fundamental problems facing the healthcare system, and that the quality of the nation’s healthcare services would suffer.
“Their stance is that the shortage of doctors is not an issue at the present time and instead, they need changes to their working hours, which are considerably longer than average,” said Mr Rob York, director of regional affairs at foreign policy research institute Pacific Forum.
South Korean doctors often work more than 100 hours a week, compared with their counterparts in the United States who average about 60 hours, according to the Korean Intern Resident Association.