Professors at 40 medical schools were set to hold a meeting Wednesday to decide whether or not to join a planned strike by community doctors, an official at a group of the professors has said.

Community doctors voted to take a day off next Tuesday in support of a protracted walkout by trainee doctors, who have left their worksites since late February to protest against the government’s medical reform.

The official at the Medical Professors Association of Korea told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday that the professors were scheduled to hold the meeting and decide whether to participate in the planned strike.

Despite a fierce protest by trainee doctors, the government finalized an admissions quota hike of some 1,500 students for medical schools late last month, marking the first such increase in 27 years.

The government has ordered community doctors to continue providing medical treatment and report to authorities if they close their businesses on the day of the strike. It will issue another order for communi
ty doctors to return if more than 30 percent of them join the planned strike.

In a separate move, medical professors at four major hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University have warned of an indefinite walkout starting next Monday.

Meanwhile, medical professors at three major hospitals of Severance Hospital also voted Wednesday to stage an indefinite walkout starting June 27.

The professors, who are senior doctors at Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yongin Severance Hospital, decided to begin the walkout, but said emergency rooms and treatment for critically ill patients will not be affected.

Another emergency committee of professors at three hospitals affiliated with the University of Ulsan also plans to hold a meeting Wednesday to decide on staging additional walkouts, including one next Tuesday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency