No medical chaos on first day of total strike

With the medical sector once again on strike during talks with the government, some patients experienced inconveniences as many hospitals, including town clinics, closed on Friday. However, many small and medium sized hospitals and emergency and intensive care units at large hospitals did not participate in the strike as planned, resulting in no chaos as anticipated. The people reacted indifferently to the renewed total strike, saying that they are fed up with the whole ordeal already.

Moreover, voices denouncing the strike are getting louder within the medical community itself, and many doctors are asserting that extreme measures at the expense of patients' lives and trust will not persuade the government to accept their demands. A doctor from a private hospital said on condition of anonymity that he did not want to participate in the strike but did so out of fear of being spurned by his colleagues. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the shutdown rate of local clinics was 76.9%. Only 44 (5%) out of 883 hospitals have participated in the total strike whereas the rest operated normally or partially. Regionally, the shutdown rate among local clinics was highest in Daejeon, with 91%, followed by Gyeongbuk with 89.3%, Ulsan with 88.6%, Daegu with 87.8% and Seoul with 59%.