South Korean doctors hold massive anti-government rally over medical school recruitment plan

SEOUL – Thousands of senior doctors rallied in Seoul on Sunday to precise their toughen for junior doctors who’ve been on strike for just about two weeks over a central authority plan to sharply building up the selection of medical school admissions.

The rally got here as the federal government mentioned it could start to take steps Monday to droop the medical licenses of just about 9,000 medical interns and citizens for defying government orders to finish their walkouts, that have disrupted sanatorium operations.

“The government’s absurd medical policy has triggered immense resistance by trainee doctors and medical students, and we doctors have become one,” Park Sung-min, a senior member of the Korea Medical Association, mentioned in a speech on the rally. “I’m asking the government: Please, stop the threats and suppression now.”

Protesters chanted slogans, sang and held placards criticizing the federal government’s plan. There have been have been no reviews of any violence on the rally.

As of Thursday night time, 8,945 of the rustic’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been showed to have left their worksites, in line with the Health Ministry. The govt has again and again mentioned they might face minimal three-month license suspensions and indictments by means of prosecutors in the event that they didn’t go back by means of Feb. 29.

The placing doctors are a fragment of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors. But they account for approximately 30-40% of the whole doctors at some main hospitals, the place they lend a hand senior doctors all through surgical procedures and different therapies whilst coaching. Their walkouts have therefore led to a large number of cancellations of surgical procedures and medical therapies on the hospitals.

Senior doctors have staged a chain of rallies backing the younger doctors however have not joined the walkouts. If additionally they release moves, that may pose a significant blow to South Korea’s medical carrier.

The govt needs to extend South Korea’s medical school enrollment quota by means of 2,000 beginning subsequent 12 months, from the present 3,058, to raised handle the rustic’s impulsively getting old inhabitants. Officials say South Korea’s doctor-to-population ratio is without doubt one of the lowest amongst evolved international locations.

But many doctors have vehemently protested the plan, pronouncing medical faculties can’t care for this sort of sharp building up within the selection of scholars. They say the recruitment plan additionally does no longer cope with a prolonged scarcity of doctors in very important however low-paying specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

Doctors say including too many new doctors would additionally lead to an building up in public medical bills since higher festival would result in extra therapies. But critics say the doctors merely fear about receiving a decrease source of revenue because of the emerging selection of doctors.