Doctors end general strike; services back on line Wednesday

Doctors decided to end their general strike Tuesday and medical services at clinics and hospitals will be normalized on Wednesday.

The four-month-long conflict between the government and doctors over a medical reform program also showed signs of settlement as their negotiations made substantial progress.

The Korea Medical Association(KMA)¡¯s "committee for regaining medical rights" has decided to halt the general strike that lasted five days since Oct. 6. The decision came early Tuesday morning, after a night-long discussion that started Monday evening. The committee members held a heated discussion through the night, until they reached an agreement to put an end to the strike. It was learned that they made their decision because considerable progress had been made in narrowing the difference with the government over the reform program, although doctors have yet to strike a deal with the administration. They also cited the fact that their strong will was fully conveyed to the government through the five-day walkout.

A committee spokesman said, ¡°We end the strike for the moment. But we will have no choice but to resume our struggle unless the tide stays with us in the future, including in negotiations with the government.¡±

However, the strike of interns and residents is expected to continue for the time being as they still hold that they will decide whether or not to end their walkout after watching the process of revising the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the KMA moved closer in their opinions about major pending issues such as the ban on pharmacists¡¯ dispensing substitute drugs and additional revision of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in their negotiations Monday night. But they could not produce an agreement.

The two sides were negotiating over other core issues such as the plans to prohibit pharmacists from preparing their own medicines, the minimum packing unit of ordinary medicines, and how to improve the financial stability of the medical insurance at the National Health Industrial Promotion Center in Seoul.