Back in the spring days of March 2024, procedures, appointments, and surgeries were all disrupted in South Korea after thousands of junior doctors and medical interns, also known as trainee doctors, participated in a strike after ignoring demands from the government to cease walkouts from their occupations. The strike led to a monumental struggle for citizens across the country as their access to healthcare was stripped away.
What happened? Let’s take a look back.
As the strikes broke out in the last few days of February, authorities immediately warned the trainees to return to work within a week of their protests. However, many disregarded them and continued their walkouts, which led to various protests, temporarily obstructing all hospital operations nationwide. While many citizens believed it would be over in a short period, this notion was soon disproved.
This issue began when the government announced its plan that the number of students admitted and enrolled in medical schools will be increased by 2,000 students starting in the 2025 school year, or almost by two-thirds, which South Korean President Yoon described as “non-negotiable.” Yoon argued that more doctors are necessary for South Korea’s aging population, which has recently grown due to the country’s massive decrease in its fertility rate. Officials also stated that South Korea had approximately 2.1 physicians per 1,000 citizens at this time, which is far below the average of 3.7 among developed countries.
Since the decision, over 9,000 out of 13,000 medical interns and residents, which is more than 70 percent, refused to come to work as a form of protest against the decision. They argue that the new increase in admitted students is unfair, considering the previous years of work they invested into achieving where they are today.
Many doctors formed another worry: if the annual quota rose so quickly, many universities would not be able to cope with the sudden increase of students in schools, and it would be ultimately detrimental to students’ development and learning, according to AP News. Furthermore, many also believed that the rise of people in a single occupation would also lead to more competition in the industry, which is directly related to a decrease in the doctors’ salaries.
Up to 10,000 trainee doctors, or 10 percent of all doctors in the country, submitted resignations by early March, but many of those requests were yet to be approved by hospitals––and more importantly, by the government. These trainee or junior doctors have a crucial role, especially in large hospitals, as they support senior doctors in operations and often deal with patients directly.
With the loss of thousands of such doctors in hospitals, the government deemed the actions to be a threat to the country’s overall medical services and demanded that all doctors return to the workplace. If they fail to comply, they are to face license suspensions. President Yoon commented, “It is impossible to justify collective action that takes people’s health hostage and threatens their lives and safety.”
Many of those who support the walkout are in the profession themselves or have family members who are associated with the industry. In response to the government’s reasoning about how more medical professionals are there to help the elderly population, members of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) stated that the government’s decision may worsen the status quo. On the flipside, many members of the Korean population were against the walkouts, believing that doctors and medical professionals were holding human lives hostage, in return for their monetary gains.
In the status quo, tensions remained high on both sides, with neither side seeming to break away from their respective opinions. Beyond license suspensions, the Korean government even stated that those who have participated in the demonstrations can face up to three years in prison along with paying a fine of around $22,500 USD.
The medical professionals were to choose between two choices: one that prioritizes their career or one that prioritizes ethics. Unfortunately, the doctors’ walkouts continued to carry towards the end of April, and citizens were beginning to lose their patience. Despite the government’s efforts to offer lowering or postponing the increased quota to 2026, the doctors weren’t backing off anytime soon.
Most recently, the South Korean government announced its decision to abandon its plan to suspend the licenses of junior doctors on strike, hoping that they will soon return to work and resolve the country’s ongoing crisis. This announcement was the newest of multiple statements passed by the government in recent months as they sought reassurance.
Even after viewing it from either side of the story, it seems that the strike was prolonged due to endless misconceptions and accusations on both sides. It is left to wonder how the situation could’ve been handled quicker if a clearer statement had been made from officials from the government and members of the KMA.
Regardless of what the future holds for aspiring doctors in Korea, the recent strike serves as a serious warning to prevent similar events from happening again in the country.
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