On March 12, the South Korean government announced the opening of a hotline to support doctors facing harassment or pressure from colleagues for not participating in the strike.
According to Reuters, South Korean Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong accused some young doctors of harassing trainee doctors who decided not to join the strike or wanted to return to work. Mr. Cho Kyoo-hong said that the hotline would create trust so that trainee doctors could return to work with peace of mind.
In addition, Mr. Cho defended reforms in the medical field, including increasing the number of medical students to compensate for the severe shortage of doctors and medical staff.
The move comes amid little sign of an end to the three-week strike, with several medical professors threatening to join the strike by submitting their resignations. As of March 11, 5,556 doctors had left their posts. They have also received notices stating that their licenses will be suspended if they do not provide a convincing explanation for their actions.
South Korean doctors are on strike to protest plans to increase annual medical school admissions to 2,000 starting in 2025, saying it will reduce the quality of medicaleducation and fail to improve pay and working conditions.
KHANH MINH
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