South Korean police raided offices of the Korean Medical Affiliation (KMA) on Friday. The raids come as walkouts by junior docs in Seoul have continued regardless of backlash from the South Korean authorities.
In accordance with South Korean information website Yonhap Information, police reportedly carried out raids on places of work of the KMA in each Seoul and the Gangwon Province in response to the junior physician walkouts. Officers of the KMA, a commerce union for docs in South Korea, are reportedly suspected of breaking medical legal guidelines on account of the strike motion.
Head of the World Medical Affiliation (WMA), Dr. Lujain Al-Qodman, condemned the “police aggression” as “unacceptable” and described the scenario in South Korea as “regarding.” In an official assertion, the WMA expressed their help for the KMA’s strike appearing, stating:
The World Medical Affiliation (WMA) reaffirms its dedication to defending the integrity of the Korean Medical Affiliation (KMA) and the rights of its physicians within the face of an unprecedented government-led disaster. The federal government’s unilateral resolution to drastically enhance medical pupil admissions, applied with out clear proof, has led to turmoil within the medical group.
Dr. Lujain Al-Qodman “strongly urge[d] the Korean authorities to rethink its actions and stop the forceful measures imposed on the medical group.” She additional said that “A decision ought to respect the rights of physicians and guarantee[] the well-being of each medical professionals and the sufferers they serve.”
The walkouts had been sparked by plans by the South Korean authorities to extend the variety of medical college students admitted to school per yr. Virtually 10,000 junior docs took half within the strike motion final week. In response to the walkout, the federal government set a deadline of Thursday, February 29 for hanging docs to return to work, a deadline which has not been extensively adhered to. Yonhap Information reported that solely 4.3% of those that participated within the walkouts have returned to work.
In response to the continued walkout, the South Korea authorities plans to hold out administrative measures, corresponding to revoking medical licenses of people who don’t return to work.
