On Friday, South Korea’s largest physician association plans to strike, protesting against a government proposal to increase the number of doctors after South Korea experienced severe staffing shortages at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak within the country. According to the Korean Medical Association, a group that represents 130,000 doctors, about a quarter of South Korea’s hospitals and clinics will shut their doors on Friday.
The walkout will only last a day but will affect roughly a quarter of South Korea’s 33,000 hospitals and clinics. The association is calling for the government to cancel a number of overhauls that were announced in July. The most controversial plan includes raising the nation’s annual 3,000 person quota on medical students to 3,400.
Read More: South Korea’s Coronavirus Response Under Pressure as Doctors Plan Strike
