South Korean Doctors Plan June 18 Strike To Protest Reforms

South Korea's main doctors' lobby group said it would go on strike on June 18 to protest the government's healthcare reform plan, defying a warning by the prime minister that such action would damage the credibility of the medical community, Jack Kim reported for Reuters.

Thousands of trainee doctors, including medical interns and resident doctors, walked off the job on Feb. 20. I Photo: Yonhap News Agency

The Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents the country's 140,000 doctors, said 74% of the members who participated in a vote approved "collective action."

KMA President Lim Hyun-taek said the government's plan would destroy the country's medical system and do nothing to change the chronic problems of fewer doctors working in essential disciplines and inadequate compensation.

Thousands of trainee doctors, including medical interns and resident doctors, walked off the job on Feb. 20, forcing major hospitals to cut back non-emergency services and turn back patients in emergency rooms.

"With the support of representatives throughout the country, the KMA will stand at the forefront of the fight to rescue the medical system," Lim told a meeting attended by representatives of various medical groups.

Lim said members would stop work on June 18 and there were plans for a mass rally.

South Korean doctors oppose a plan to increase the number of new students entering medical schools by 2,000 from the current 3,000, a centerpiece of the government's healthcare reform.