South Korea deploying military doctors amid strike by physicians

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea is deploying military doctors to hospitals to address a shortage of emergency care services caused by a prolonged strike by junior doctors and the upcoming holiday season.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo announced that the government will send approximately 250 military and public health doctors to alleviate the strain on emergency care services to fill the gap left by the strike and ensure continued medical support.

"We are reinforcing the staff by utilizing military and public doctors, while also recruiting nurses and contract doctors," Park said, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

Currently, emergency rooms are operating at 73.4% of their usual capacity due to the reduced number of doctors, including both specialists and junior doctors.

The government is preparing to implement emergency medical measures to handle the anticipated increase in patients during the Chuseok holiday.

This deployment is not unprecedented. Earlier this year, in March, South Korea also ordered 158 military and public health doctors to step in in response to a strike by 90% of trainee doctors.

The strike was organized to protest reforms aimed at increasing medical school admissions by 2,000 annually, a move intended to address the resignation of medical workers rather than focusing on issues such as pay disparities and care in remote areas.