The Health Ministry told AFP that as of Wednesday morning, only 8.4 per cent of trainee doctors at 211 general hospitals nationwide had shown up for work.
Many striking doctors had handed in their resignations at the outset of the protest and the government recently told hospitals to finalise the terminations of those who had not returned by Monday, ultimately allowing them to find work elsewhere.
Park Dan, the head of the Korean Intern Resident Association, had on Wednesday accused hospital directors of “interfering” with young doctors’ efforts to find employment elsewhere and threatened legal action.
The reform plan is broadly popular with the public and its proponents say doctors are simply trying to safeguard their salaries and social status.
Patients suffering from severe illnesses, meanwhile, say they are the biggest victims of the strike.
Kim Sung-ju, the head of the Korean Cancer Patients Rights Council, said both the government and the trainee doctors were responsible for the latest development.
“The government has not presented any concrete plans or viable solutions to address the shortage of trainee doctors,” he told AFP.
“Trainee doctors have claimed they are being cast as ‘villains’, but it’s unclear whether that characterisation is entirely inaccurate at this stage.”
