Thousands of South Korean doctors are participating in a nationwide strike to protest against the government’s health care reform program. The government plans to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 places per year to address a severe doctor shortage. However, doctors and their representatives argue that the focus should instead be on improving pay and working conditions. The strike action, which includes a significant number of private clinics and is expected to include university-affiliated hospitals, highlights a deepening conflict over the future of health care in South Korea.
Thousands of South Korean doctors are striking in protest against the government’s health care reform plans.
The government aims to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 annually to tackle a doctor shortage.
Doctors demand prioritization of better pay and working conditions over increasing the number of medical students.
About 20,000 doctors gathered near Parliament in Seoul for the protest.
Approximately 4% of the 36,000 private clinics closed to join the protest.
More than half of the medical professors at Seoul National University Hospitals began an indefinite strike, with other university-affiliated hospitals expected to join.
The strike, now in its fourth month, began with trainee doctors opposing the increase in medical student admissions planned for 2025.
Doctors argue that increasing the number of physicians does not adequately support essential medical sectors.
Nearly eight in 10 South Koreans oppose the doctor’s strike, concerned it will interrupt medical services.
South Korea has one of the lowest ratios of doctors per capita among developed countries and has not increased medical student numbers in over two decades.
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