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South Korea’s healthcare system teeters as doctors’ strike drags on with no end in sight
- Thousands of trainee doctors have been on strike since February – and are refusing to return to work until their demands are met
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South Korea’s marathon doctors’ strike escalated on Tuesday as thousands defied a government warning to stage a nationwide walkout, sparking concerns of the country’s once-enviable healthcare system collapsing.
Observers warn the months-long strike may continue indefinitely unless the government demonstrates greater willingness to negotiate drastically increasing medical school admission quotas and address other key issues facing healthcare professionals.
“The government must show flexibility and a more accommodating attitude to woo striking doctors to the dialogue table,” said Choi Jin, head of the Institute for Presidential Leadership think tank in Seoul.
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“Otherwise, the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere to be seen.”
Many of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors, including interns and residents, have remained on strike since resigning en masse in February, forcing large hospitals to delay operations and turn away outpatients. Thousands of medical students also boycotted classes, defying threats of course failure.
On Monday, a group of medical professors at the prestigious Seoul National University Hospital launched an “indefinite” strike, demanding the government withdraw its plan to increase medical school admission quotas.
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