‘1 week left’ to find solution after South Korean doctors reject government proposal to end strike

The ongoing walkout by thousands of trainee doctors has caused chaos in South Korean hospitals, and is in response to a plan to boost annual admissions to medical schools by 2,000 from next year.

The government on Friday offered its first concession, allowing 32 universities to admit as few as 1,000 medical students instead of the initially proposed 2,000 – but the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said the plan must be abandoned entirely within a week.

“Since this is not a fundamental solution, the emergency committee of the Korean Medical Association clearly states that it cannot accept it,” KMA spokesperson Kim Sung-geun said.

“For the sake of our country’s future and to protect the health of patients currently suffering, we ask the president … to discuss this again from square one.”

Kim said “one week is left” to find a solution.

The government claims its plan will alleviate doctor shortages for an ageing society, but medical professionals and trainees say it will diminish the quality of education and healthcare.

The strike, which began on February 20, has forced hospitals to cancel essential treatments and surgeries.

On top of the trainee doctors, who play a key role in emergency procedures and surgeries at general hospitals, more than 50 per cent of the country’s medical students have also filed for a leave of absence, according to the education ministry.

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South Korean patients suffer as healthcare system in turmoil amid doctor protest

The KMA warned that if the government does not relent, medical students is likely to be forced to repeat a year, senior doctors at general hospitals will start to resign on April 25, and the healthcare system could “collapse”.

Initially, there was public sympathy for the government, but