South Korea will withdraw plan to revoke striking doctors’ licenses to resolve medical impasse

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Monday it would withdraw its earlier plan to strip striking doctors of their licenses in an effort to end a months-long medical impasse in the country.

Health Minister Cho KyooHong said on Monday the government had decided not to revoke the strikers’ licenses, regardless of whether they returned to their hospitals or not.

He said the government’s decision was intended to address the shortage of doctors to treat emergency and critical patients and to restore a training system to recruit more specialists.

More than 13,000 junior doctors went on strike in February in protest against the government’s plans to significantly increase the number of new students. Their strikes have placed a significant strain on the operations of the university hospitals where they had worked during their training.

A court in Seoul ruled in favor of the government’s plans in May.

The government later withdrew its plan to revoke the licenses of doctors who returned to their hospitals, but did not revoke the licenses of other doctors who stayed away from work.

Officials have announced plans to increase their doctor workforce by up to 10,000 by 2035 to address the country’s rapidly aging population and shortages of doctors in rural areas and in low-paying but essential specialties such as pediatrics and emergency departments.

Doctors say schools are not prepared to handle a sudden increase in student numbers and that this would ultimately jeopardize the country’s medical care system. But critics argue that doctors, who are among the highest-paid professions in South Korea, are primarily concerned that more doctors would lower their income.