KMA announces large-scale strike over medical reforms to take place on June 18

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) announced Sunday it will stage a general strike on June 18 to protest government reforms.

2024-06-09

Doctors limit service hours to protest admissions hike

Doctors across Korea limit their service hours starting Monday in protest of the government’s plan to expand the medical school admissions quota, hindering access to health care.

2024-04-01

Hospitals close wards, go into debt after junior doctors’ walkout

Seoul's largest hospitals are closing inpatient wards to cut operating costs, mainly due to snowballing debt caused by reducing medical appointments amid junior doctors’ walkout.

2024-03-28

Newly elected doctors' group chief urges Yoon to 'directly' talk with trainees

The country’s largest doctors’ group elected a new leader who urged President Yoon Suk Yeol to “directly participate in talks with junior doctors to convince them to return.”

2024-03-27

Gov't to increase med school enrollment by 2,000 next year

The Korean government on Tuesday announced an increase in the enrollment quota for medical schools by 2,000 starting next year, a plan it has been pushing to resolve the country's doctor shortage.

2024-02-06

President Yoon says more doctors needed in essential fields and rural areas

Yoon Suk Yeol proposed reducing the legal risks and insurance premiums for doctors in essential fields, including obstetrics and gynecology. The government initally planned to add1,000 more medical school students a year.

2023-10-19

Gov’t, doctors must keep talking

A catastrophe in the medical field amid a resurgence of coronavirus has been avoided after the Korean Medical Association (KMA) accepted the government’s promise to revisit its plan to increase admissions for medical students and...

2020-09-09

Time for fundamental solutions

The Moon Jae-in administration and the medical community have barely avoided a head-on collision at the last minute. Over the weekends, the government agreed to stop its push for four controversial proposals — including the...

2020-09-06

Leaving the battlefield

New Covid-19 cases are increasing in all cities and municipalities across the nation. Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), warned that we have not reached the peak of the pandemic...

2020-08-24

Striking trainee doctors agree to keep treating Covid patients

An association of trainee doctors agreed to participate in medical services related to Covid-19 despite being on strike to protest the government’s plans to increase medical school admissions following a meeting with the prime minister on Sunday.