South Korea: Doctors on strike face arrest if they do not return to work
The South Korean government has issued a stern ultimatum to thousands of striking junior doctors, threatening to pursue legal action and revoke their medical licenses if they fail to resume work by Thursday.
Approximately three-quarters of the nation’s junior doctors have participated in the strike over the past week, leading to disruptions and delays in surgeries at major teaching hospitals.
The protesting trainee doctors are objecting to government proposals aimed at significantly increasing the annual intake of medical students at universities, a move intended to bolster the number of doctors within the healthcare system.
South Korea currently grapples with one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios among developed countries, and with its population aging rapidly, authorities caution that a severe shortage of medical professionals may arise within the next decade.
The desolate corridors of St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul offer a glimpse into a potential future scenario. The triage area outside the emergency room is nearly deserted, with patients advised to refrain from seeking medical attention.
Ryu Ok Hada, a 25-year-old doctor, and his colleagues have abstained from work at the hospital for over a week.
“It feels weird not getting up at 4 a.m.,” Ryu joked. The junior doctor told the BBC he was used to working more than 100 hours a week, often for 40 hours without sleep. “It’s insane how much we work for such little pay”.
Although doctors’ salaries in South Korea are relatively high, Ryu argues that given their hours, he and other junior doctors can end up earning less than the minimum wage. More doctors will not fix the structural issues within the healthcare system, that leave them overworked and underpaid, he says.
Healthcare in South Korea is largely privatized but affordable. The doctors say the prices of emergency, life-saving surgeries, and specialist care have been set too low, while less essential treatments, like cosmetic surgeries, pay too much. This means doctors are increasingly opting to work in more lucrative fields in the big cities, leaving rural areas understaffed and emergency rooms overstretched.
Ryu, who has been working for a year, says trainees and junior doctors are being exploited by the university hospitals for their cheap labour. In some of the larger hospitals, they make up more than 40% of the staff, providing a critical role in keeping them running.
As a result, surgery capacity at some hospitals has halved over the past week. The disruption has been mostly limited to planned procedures, which have been postponed, with only a few isolated instances of critical care being affected. Last Friday, an elderly woman suffering a cardiac arrest died in an ambulance after seven hospitals reportedly refused to treat her.
The government has said the patient in question had terminal cancer and her death was unrelated to the walkout.
