Medical Gap of 136 Days... Patient Groups Take to the Streets "Withdraw the Collective Strike"

"Essential Medical Services Must Be Provided Without Interruption"

Patient organizations took to the streets in a large-scale rally, urging the withdrawal of the doctors' collective strike and the enactment of laws to prevent its recurrence. They reported the rally with 1,000 participants, marking the largest scale ever.

Web Poster for the Rally Urging Withdrawal of Doctors' Group Strike and Enactment of Laws to Prevent Recurrence. [Photo provided by Korea Patient Organization Federation]

On the morning of the 4th at 10:30 AM, 92 patient organizations including the Korea Breast Cancer Patient Federation, the Korea Patient Organization Federation, and the Korea Rare and Intractable Disease Federation held the "Patient Rally Urging Withdrawal of Doctors' Collective Strike and Enactment of Recurrence Prevention Law" in front of Bosingak in Jongno-gu, Seoul. They stated, "The conflict between the government and residents and medical school professors, which began when the government announced an increase of 2,000 medical school quotas, has now reached its 136th day," adding, "Patients and their families could no longer endure the ongoing damage and anxiety, so they came out to the streets themselves."

They emphasized, "We want to ask the government and residents and medical school professors, who forced us to stand here in this weather, where they are and what they are doing at this very moment," and "We stand here on behalf of countless sick people struggling to take care of themselves, as well as many others who are currently in hospital rooms, operating rooms, hospital corridors, and clinics."

Kim Jeong-ae (68), mother of Park Ha-eun (23), who suffers from Cornelia de Lange syndrome, said, "Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a congenital rare disease characterized by limb deformities, growth disorders, and intellectual disabilities, and the patient cannot do anything alone," adding, "As the medical vacuum crisis continues, my daughter's condition has worsened, and she has been transported several times by ambulance to the emergency room and intensive care unit. Every day is filled with anxiety, and I worry about the potential damage that may occur in the future."

They demanded ▲ the withdrawal of the baseless indefinite strikes at Severance Hospital, Korea University Hospital, and Seoul Asan Medical Center ▲ the transformation of tertiary general hospitals into specialist-centered hospitals and a revolutionary improvement in the training environment for residents ▲ legislation to ensure that essential medical services directly related to life, such as emergency rooms, intensive care units, and delivery rooms, continue to be provided without interruption even during medical professionals' collective actions.