Chungbuk National University Hospital to Suspend Services Indefinitely from the 26th... "A Decision to Stand with Residents and Medical Students"

Hospitalization, Intensive Care Treatment, and Emergency Room Operating Normally

Professors from the Emergency Response Committee (ERC) of Chungbuk National University Hospital and Medical School will begin an indefinite strike starting on the 26th. Inpatient and critical care services, as well as the emergency room, will continue to operate normally. The end date of the strike will be reconsidered after observing the government's negotiation stance.

Central lobby of Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Chungbuk, on April 5th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the ERC on the 1st, a survey on the indefinite strike was conducted over the past two days targeting all 225 professors, and among the 134 respondents, 84 (62.7%) supported the strike.

The ERC announced that the indefinite strike will begin on the 26th. This day coincides with the 'Special Committee for Proper Medical Care' (Olteukwi), a medical sector consultative body, holding a 'Great Debate for Establishing Proper Medical Care.'

The ERC stated, "It was revealed at the National Assembly hearing on the 26th of last month that the government unilaterally pushed for an increase of 2,000 medical school admissions without any basis," adding, "This decision is a resolution to stand with the residents and medical students who are fighting for their futures."

Addressing patients, they said, "It is not the doctors but the 'incommunicative' government that is holding patients hostage," and added, "The strike is a decision to save the deteriorating medical system in the Republic of Korea."

Professors at major hospitals opposing the government's medical policies have been declaring collective strikes one after another. Following the indefinite strike by professors at Severance Hospital starting on the 27th of last month, professors at Seoul Asan Medical Center are scheduled for a one-week strike on the 4th, and professors at Korea University Medical Center are scheduled for an indefinite strike on the 12th.