South Korea’s largest physicians group plans to strike, protesting a government proposal to increase the number of doctors after the country suffered staffing shortages when coronavirus cases surged
By Dasl Yoon Close Dasl Yoon Updated Aug. 13, 2020 8:18 am ET SEOUL—South Korea’s largest physicians group plans to strike on Friday, protesting a government proposal to increase the number of doctors after the country suffered staffing shortages when coronavirus cases surged earlier this year.
The strike threatens South Korea’s response to the coronavirus as the country’s locally transmitted cases hit 47 on Thursday, the highest daily count in more than a month. In total, South Korea has reported 14,770 cases of infection. In part to better prepare itself against another outbreak, the national government unveiled a series of proposals last month. In addition to calling for more doctors, the new 10-year-policy—set to start in 2022—includes plans to create public medical schools. The government also pushed to green light telemedicine services and allow traditional Korean medicines to be covered by the national insurance plan.
South Korea has 2.4 doctors per 1,000 people, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That is well below the OECD average of 3.4 doctors per 1,000 people, though it is comparable to the situation in the U.S. The Korean Medical Association argues that doctors will eventually relocate to the Seoul metropolitan area and the current pipeline for doctors is sufficient due to the country’s projected population declines. South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and its population is expected to fall to 39 million by 2067 from about 52 million at present.
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