South Korean patient rights advocates gathered to urge physicians to end their prolonged strike, which has disrupted public health services. Trainee doctors began striking in February to protest against government plans to increase medical school quotas, citing concerns about the impact on specialist education quality. The strike has led to hospital disruptions and delays or cancellations of crucial treatments, such as chemotherapy.
Approximately 300 protesters gathered in the capital to demand the strike’s end and advocate for laws preventing future industrial action. Patients, like Kim Jeong-ae, whose daughter is battling a rare syndrome, feel they are being used as “pawns” in the medical community’s fight.
The government has finalized plans to increase medical school admission quotas by 2025 as a response to doctor shortages and an aging population. Senior doctors and medical professors have also joined the strike, resulting in suspended outpatient treatments and non-emergency surgeries at major medical facilities.
© 2024 AFP