Medical pros divided on strike call

Internal strife is beginning to surface among Korea¡¯s doctors, as they consider another nationwide walkout.

Standing opposed to the call by the Korean Hospital Association and the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences` call for another walkout by the KMA, the Committee for Regaining Medical Rights made an announcement.

"The question of staging another walkout must be answered by the members of the KMA through a voting process," the statement said. However, as members of the specialist group of doctors have agreed to stage a unilateral walkout, the matter has taken a new twist.

"The KMA`s board of executive directors` decision to put this matter up to a vote by the members is not a concession in the fight but a preparation for a greater victory," the KHA said. "It is our hope that the members of the KMA can unite as one in this struggle."

The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, which is an association of 116 or so medical academies and institutions, held an emergency board meeting to adopt a renewed policy of confrontation, including another walkout.

Meanwhile, the KMA executive board met at its Dong-gu I-chun committee headquarters in the Yongsan area of Seoul to confirm the wish of the KMA members to put off a nationwide strike.

This schism within the ranks of the medical field is expected grow in the days ahead.