Republic of Korea - March 2024

On 4 March, the South Korean government announced it would move to suspend the licenses of thousands of doctors who had engaged in walkouts and protests over plans to reform the healthcare system. The government had issued warnings previously. The doctors have been on strike since 20 February and are protesting plans to increase medical school admissions by 2000 starting next year, which they say will compromise the quality of education and income and fail to address the root cause of underinvestment in essential health services. The government maintains that the plan will address a shortage of doctors, while critics note that authorities should instead focus on improving working conditions. According to media reports, the walkouts have caused disruptions to scheduled surgeries and medical procedures, with the government deploying military physicians to affected hospitals.

On 8 July, the government announced it would abandon its plan to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors. Only a few doctors have returned to work since the protests began in March.

Note: This report was updated on 28 August to take note of the announcement made in July. 

Sources: Reuters, The Korea Herald (1),  The Korea Herald (2), The New York Times, The Korea Times, Associated Press