8,400 Doctors Hold Protests, Hospitals In South Korea Standby

Hospital illustration in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/parkyongjoo)

JAKARTA - All emergency units, except one of South Korea's largest hospitals, were on alert on Thursday as doctors who were still in training promised to no longer work, in protest against the government's plan to increase admission of medical schools to improve the health sector.

Protests carried out by nearly two-thirds of young doctors in the country, which began this week, have forced hospitals to refuse patients and cancel services, raising fears of further disruption to the medical system if disputes continue.

Protesters say South Korea has enough doctors, and the government needs to increase its salaries and reduce workloads, especially in key areas such as children and emergency medicine, before recruiting more students.

So far, more than 8,400 doctors have joined the strike, the Health Ministry said, equivalent to about 64 percent of all resident doctors and interns in South Korea.

The doctors protested the government's plan to increase the number of students received in medical schools, in an effort to strengthen the health care system in one of the countries with the fastest aging in the world.

The doctors said the real problem was salary and working conditions. The government threatened to arrest the doctors who led the strike.

Park Dan, chairman of the Association of Korean Internship Doctors and Residents who took part in the protest, said he was willing to be arrested so that the demands of the doctors were heard.

"Everyone was angry and frustrated, so we all left the hospital. Please listen to our voices," he said in a radio interview, adding they were open to dialogue if the government was ready to listen to their demands.

Several doctors said increasing participant acceptance would endanger the quality of medical education, concerns expressed by 200 doctors and medical students at demonstrations in the southwestern province of North Jeolla.

"We took to the streets like this because we were worried that South Korea's medical system, which would make the world jealous the most, would collapse," said Um Chul, head of the Jeonbuk Medical Association, as quoted by Yonhap news agency.

"Doctors are not playing regional warfare," he added.

Meanwhile, about 300 doctors in Seoul held a demonstration near the presidential office asking the government to cancel the plan.

Government officials called on doctors to stop their protests and prioritize patients.

On the other hand, many Koreans supported the government's plan, and a recent Korean Gallup poll showed about 76 percent of respondents supported the plan, regardless of its political affiliation.

During a session in parliament, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo rejected claims by several doctors that plans to increase the number of medical students aimed at getting votes ahead of April's general election.