South Korea Declares Special Medical Emergency Amid Doctors' Strike

South Korea declared a special emergency medical response period due to a strike by young doctors, raising doctors' examination fees and deploying military doctors to handle critical shortages. The government aims to ensure services during the September holiday, with 8,000 clinics and hospitals open daily.

South Korea on Thursday declared a special emergency medical response period for two weeks in September and announced it would deploy all available resources to ensure medical services amid escalating strains caused by a strike by young doctors. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, in a televised briefing, stated that the government would temporarily raise the fees doctors receive from health insurance during the national holiday next week to 'repay the dedication of the medical professionals even a little.'

Han detailed that the examination fees for specialist doctors at regional emergency medical centers, particularly those handling severe emergency patients, will be increased by 3.5 times. Last week, the health ministry noted it was using military doctors to assist in some hospital emergency rooms due to a staffing shortage but refuted claims that the system was on the brink of collapse.

The crisis originates from the walkout of thousands of trainee doctors in February, protesting a government plan to increase medical student numbers by 2,000 annually. Hospitals have since experienced a shortage of staff, leading to heavier workloads for existing doctors. Han emphasized that while fatigue complaints are rising among the remaining medical staff, there is no immediate risk of medical system collapse. For the upcoming Chuseok holiday, about 8,000 clinics and hospitals will operate daily, compared to 3,600 during lunar New Year's earlier in the year.

(With inputs from agencies.)