Nice. This should have no repercussions.
It's complicated by the fact that SK has some of the highest patient to doctor ratios in the developed world. They sorely need more doctors, especially as their population continues to age.
An ideal solution, in my mind, would have been to offer the doctors pay increases alongside the increased admissions. As it is now, to the doctors, the increased admissions can't seem to be anything other than downward pressure on wages.
However, right wing governments rarely give any concessions to organized labor, regardless of the consequences, which I fear in this case may be quite dire, as the strikes were highly concentrated, especially in Seoul.
SEOUL, March 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's government will take steps to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainee doctors who have walked off the job and ignored a back-to-work order, a vice health minister said on Monday.
Doctors chant slogans during a rally to protest against government plans to increase medical school admissions in Seoul, South Korea
This is the entire news article. The doctors were protesting because the government is increasing ~~the cost of tuition~~ medical school admissions.
The bigger context for this story is that South Korea give striking doctors an ultimatum - return to work or face having medical licenses revoked. With thousands now facing license revocation in order to continue protesting overwork and low wages in the country's largely private healthcare system. Despite being well paid, junior doctors often work up to 100 hours a week, resulting in them making less than minimum wage. Increasing the amount of doctors won't fix the structural issues of for-profit healthcare.
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