Tens of thousands of South Korean nurses went on strike on Friday after President Yoon Suk Yeol rejected a plan to better their compensation and working conditions, sparking outrage among physicians and nursing assistants who said the bill would jeopardize their careers.
The bill was approved by the opposition-led parliament last month, triggering complaints from some medical professionals who said the new rule would allow nurses to administer treatment without a medical licence.
Nurses argue that the physicians’ allegation is unfounded and that the country requires additional care facilities to accommodate its increasing ageing population.
In vetoing the bill, Yoon said that the new law caused excessive conflict among medical workers and that nursing practises outside medical institutions would cause public anxiety over the healthcare system.
The Korean Nurses Association, which led the walkout, strongly denounced Yoon, saying he abandoned his promise as a presidential candidate to improve nurses’ working conditions.
“We will make the politicians and the bureaucrats pay the price for leading the president to veto the bill,” association president Kim Yeong-kyeong said, referring to next year’s general elections, during a demonstration in Seoul’s bustling Gwanghwamun district.
The impact of the strike has been seen as limited so far, as most protesters used holiday time or shortened business hours, with major hospitals operating normally.
South Korea’s Health Minister, Cho Kyoo-hong, presided over an emergency response meeting on Friday and urged medical facilities to closely monitor the situation to prevent the strike from affecting patients.
