(2nd LD) Doctors’ organization to stage walkout, rally this month

South Korea's top doctors' organization said Sunday it plans to stage a walkout and a rally later this month in protest of the medical school quota hike, amid the lingering protest by junior doctors that has lasted nearly four months. The Korea Medical Association (KMA) said it will stage a walkout and a rally on June 18, based on the result of a vote carried out last week on whether to launch collective action. More than 90 percent of the participants supported the "strong protest" of the KMA in the vote carried out from Tuesday to Friday last week, the lobby group added. "We intend to form a dedicated committee for the medical community's protest and employ every possible method to launch a comprehensive resistance," Lim Hyun-taek, who heads the KMA, said. The latest collective action came after the government finalized the admission quota hike of some 1,500 for medical schools late last month, marking the first such increase in 27 years. About 12,000 trainee doctors at general hospitals have left the ir worksites in protest of the government's decision to raise the number of medical school seats, causing disruptions in services at major hospitals. In an apparent effort to persuade trainee doctors to return to hospitals, the government has recently allowed them to seek jobs at other medical clinics or go back to their training hospitals by withdrawing a return-to-work order and suspending administrative steps to punish them. But junior doctors were mostly seen reluctant to return to their worksites despite the gesture. Medical professors were also seen joining the move in solidarity with junior doctors, with those from four hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University voting to launch a walkout later this month, calling for the government to fully withdraw administrative steps to punish trainee doctors. Also on Sunday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed "deep regret" over the looming additional walkout by doctors. "It is deeply regrettable that some officials and organizations from the medic al community are mentioning additional illegal collective action at the expense of people's lives," Han told reporters. "Such actions not only place heavy burdens on the emergency medical system but also scar society," he added. "I believe that the silent majority of doctors will not support the illegal collective action." Han also said junior doctors returning to hospitals will not face any disadvantages, including administrative measures. Amid slim chances of talks between the medical community and the government, pundits anticipate the country's medical services may face further disruptions should the KMA go ahead with the planned walkout. Others, however, suggest that even if the KMA initiates the walkout, local clinics are unlikely to show full support, as less than 10 percent joined the previous strike in 2020. Source: Yonhap News Agency