KMA Begins Strike Vote Today... Ministry of Health Issues 'Healthcare Crisis' Alert

Government "Strict Response to Illegal Collective Actions According to Principles"
Medical Association "Strong Response if Medical School Expansion is Pushed Abruptly"
Nationwide Doctors' Rally on 17th
Dialogue Through Consultative Body Continues

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) will conduct a general strike vote from the 11th to the 17th targeting 140,000 members nationwide.

Chairman Il-su Lee of the 'Special Committee for Countermeasures by the Entire Medical Community to Prevent the Collapse of Medical Services in the Republic of Korea' (Special Committee) is protesting on the 6th in front of the Korean Medical Association building in Yongsan, Seoul, opposing the government's plan to increase medical school quotas.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The KMA expressed the possibility of a general strike in response to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's announcement of the results of a demand survey for increasing admissions at medical schools nationwide. On the 3rd, the KMA formed the "Special Committee for Countermeasures of the Medical Community to Prevent the Collapse of Healthcare in the Republic of Korea (Special Committee)" and decided to conduct the general strike vote starting on the 11th and hold a "National Doctors' General Rally" on the 17th.

The KMA appears to be taking a hardline stance, holding an overnight protest in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 7th. Choi Dae-jip, former KMA president who led hardline actions including a general strike during the government's push to establish a public medical school in 2020, has also taken a frontline role as the "Chairman of the Struggle Subcommittee" within the Special Committee. Lee Pil-su, the current KMA president and chairman of the Special Committee, stated, "The Special Committee will adopt a hardline struggle as its policy stance," and added, "If the government unilaterally pushes forward the policy to increase medical school quotas, breaking the September 4 medical agreement, the 140,000 doctors nationwide, centered on the Special Committee, will respond strongly."

On the 11th, at the Korea Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, a doctor is casting a vote ahead of the strike referendum scheduled from the 11th to the 17th, as the Korea Medical Association opposes the government's plan to increase the quota for medical schools. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

However, the KMA is not expected to immediately proceed with a strike even if the vote results in a high approval rate after the voting ends. The KMA explains that this general strike vote is intended to gain members' consent that a general strike could be possible if the government continues to unilaterally implement the policy.

In response to the KMA's general strike vote, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has issued a 'concern' stage alert for the healthcare crisis. The concern stage is a phase under the "Standard Manual for Disaster Crisis Management in Healthcare," where preparations are made for strikes or work stoppages by healthcare-related organizations by reviewing medical service plans and establishing cooperation systems with related agencies to manage the situation.

The Ministry has set up an emergency response team with a dedicated unit to take measures such as ▲establishing emergency medical service plans and ▲checking emergency medical systems to prevent confusion in medical sites and inconvenience in medical use. A Ministry official explained, "We will continue sincere dialogue with the medical community, but will strictly respond to illegal collective actions according to laws and principles."

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong is announcing the mental health innovation plan on the afternoon of the 5th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Both sides plan to continue dialogue through the Medical Issues Consultative Body. The government and the KMA began serious discussions on increasing medical school admissions at the 20th meeting of the Medical Issues Consultative Body held on the 6th. Jeong Gyeong-sil, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at the meeting, "From today, we will discuss based on scientific evidence and statistics how many doctors will be needed in the mid-to-long term, and which fields and regions lack personnel." Both sides plan to continue reviewing the issue of increasing medical school admissions in future meetings. Another meeting is scheduled for the 13th to discuss residents' working conditions and principles for expanding the medical workforce.