South Korean Professor Of Medicine Strikes Work Without Time Limit

JAKARTA - Medical professors working in hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University (SNU) on Monday began an indefinite strike, according to a group of patients.

About 55 percent of professors are expected to join the movement against government medical reforms.

A total of 529 professors in four hospitals have expressed their determination to strike.

The four hospitals in question are the SNU Hospital, the SNU Bungal Hospital, the SNU Boramae Medical Center of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the SNU Hospital Health Care System Center Gangnam Center.

However, emergency rooms and treatments for critically ill patients will not be affected, hospital officials said.

"We only stop treatment for patients who can receive treatment at other hospitals or whose condition will not be affected by a temporary delay in treatment," said SNU's medical professor's emergency committee.

"While hospitals will continue to provide care for patients with critical or rare diseases, the actual number of treatments will decrease by 40 percent due to the strike," the committee said.

Despite strong protests from doctors who are still in internships, the government has finally completed an increase in the quota for admission of around 1,500 medical students at the end of last month.

The increase was the first increase in 27 years.

The patient advocacy group urged the professors of SNU's medicine not to strike, highlighting that the condition of patients with non-critical symptoms is also worrying - just like patients with serious conditions.

"Taking advantage of the concerns and losses suffered by patients to pressure the government is a step that cannot be justified under any circumstances," the Korean Patient Alliance Organization said in a statement.

The organization said patient safety may be at stake if medical professors strike, as medical services have been disrupted due to a junior doctor strike that has lasted nearly four months.

Meanwhile, the government urged SNU hospital leaders not to allow strikes and to consider requiring professors to compensate for the losses caused by the hospital due to the collective action.

The strike by SNU's professors took place the day before the national-scale general practitioner strike was scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The mass strike was organized by the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which is a leading medical lobby group in South Korea.

The government has ordered general practitioners to continue to provide medical treatment and report to authorities if they close their practices on the day of the strike.

The government will issue another order for general practitioners to return to work if more than 30 percent of them join the planned strike.

The day before, KMA announced it would consider delaying the strike if the government agreed to restart discussions about increasing the quota of medical schools from scratch.

The strike, according to them, could also be suspended if all administrative orders issued against training participant doctors who had left the hospital since February were canceled.

However, the Ministry of Health rejected the request.

The South Korean Ministry of Health stated that it was "inappropriate for KMA to file a policy lawsuit against the government under the condition of an illegal strike."