Why Thousands of South Korean Doctors Are on Strike

Thousands of South Korean doctors have been on strike since February over government plans to increase the number of places in medical schools. Surveys show the public approves of the measures that would boost the number of medical professionals to care for a rapidly aging population. The labor action is disrupting emergency care and forcing patients to wait longer for operations, and neither the striking doctors nor the government show any sign of backing down.

The government has already implemented the plan to allow more students to enrol from the next academic year. Most of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors — who often play key roles in emergency care and surgery — went on strike first, then hundreds of doctors at major hospital groups began an indefinite walkout on June 17. The disruption is forcing patients to delay procedures, try telemedicine and go to local clinics instead of emergency rooms. The government has allowed nurses to take on more tasks, opened up emergency wards in military hospitals to the public and deployed some of its doctors serving in the military to civilian facilities.