"Participation in Strikes Is Free, but So Is Boycott"
Government Prepares to Issue Medical Treatment Orders on the 18th
As the Korean Medical Association has announced a collective strike, voices of dissatisfaction from local residents are growing as some neighborhood clinics and hospitals express their intention to join. Earlier, the Emergency Committee of Professors of Medical Schools Nationwide (Jeon-ui-bi), composed of professors from 20 medical schools across the country, held a general meeting on the 14th and decided to participate in the collective action (strike) promoted by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) on the 18th of this month.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) has announced a full strike on the 18th, and the government is expected to publicly disclose the medical institutions participating in the collective strike as early as the 14th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
In response to the doctors' collective action, the government plans to issue treatment orders to private practitioners if the medical community goes on strike on the 18th. Therefore, even if medical institutions report a strike, they must provide treatment on the day unless there is a legitimate reason. Violating treatment orders and work commencement orders may result in administrative sanctions (15-day suspension of work) under the Medical Service Act, as well as imprisonment for up to three years or fines of up to 30 million won.
Meanwhile, a public opinion movement to boycott clinics and hospitals that participate in the strike is forming, mainly in some online communities. On the 15th, a post appeared on a mom caf? mainly used by citizens of Dongtan, Gyeonggi Province, stating, "I am trying to see which private practitioners will participate," and "We should share this information so that these hospitals cannot do business in Dongtan." Netizens commented on the post with remarks such as "I will participate," "Please upload the list of striking clinics," "Striking is the doctors' freedom and right, and not using those clinics is also the consumers' freedom and right," and "I will watch these striking hospitals with wide-open eyes."
Not only in Dongtan but also recently, many opinions have been posted on local online communities and mom cafes suggesting putting neighborhood clinics that participate in the closure on a blacklist. [Photo by Naver Cafe]
Not only in Dongtan but also in recent local online communities and mom caf?s, many opinions have been posted suggesting putting neighborhood clinics participating in the strike on a blacklist. On a caf? used by citizens of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, a post said, "Let's not use clinics in our neighborhood that join the doctors' collective strike from now on." The author expressed, "Thinking only about protecting their own interests makes me feel not just anxious but furious." On a caf? in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, a post stated, "Clinics that close and rest on the 18th should be allowed to keep resting," and "Let's show them that it would be a big problem if they grab the residents by the neck." A caf? in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, also posted, "Hospitals that look down on patients should go bankrupt to come to their senses."
Meanwhile, the Korean Medical Association will hold a 'National Doctors' General Rally' at 2 p.m. on the 18th at Yeouido Park in Seoul. Previously, the KMA presented three demands to the government: ▲ no reconsideration of increasing medical school quotas ▲ revision and supplementation of key issues in the essential medical policy package ▲ immediate retroactive cancellation of all administrative orders and sanctions related to residents and medical students and cessation of judicial threats. However, the government rejected these demands, clearly indicating no change in its stance. Accordingly, the medical community is expected to escalate its level of struggle against the government, starting with the collective strike scheduled for the 18th.
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