South Korea's only trauma training center faces closure amid prolonged strike by doctors

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea's only trauma training center faces closure after the government decided to stop funding it due to one of the world’s longest medical strikes in the country.

Korea University Guro Hospital, the country's leading medical institution, said Wednesday that its trauma surgery training center will close on Feb. 28 due to a full cessation of financial support, the daily Korea Herald reported.

Since its inception in 2013, the training center has trained around 20 trauma specialists in 11 years, making around 70% of those currently practicing in the country.

Health Ministry decided to stop its annual funding of 900 million won ($620,000) to the training center due to recent cuts in its overall budget, which was reduced by 0.13% this year.

The closure of the only trauma training center comes as thousands of junior doctors in South Korea have walked jobs since February last year in protest against a new government plan to increase the number of doctors in the country.

Medics began their protest after the government increased medical seats on an annual basis to add more doctors to the health system by 2035, as part of measures to address its low doctor-to-patient ratio of 2.1 physicians per 1,000 people.

The striking doctors demanded from the government that their working conditions should be improved before hiring additional doctors, contributing further to the health crisis the nation faces.