As per reports, following are the updates on the doctors’ protest in South Korea as on Friday (08 March):

• As of the latest figures, around 11,219 trainee doctors at 100 teaching hospitals remain on strike, accounting for approximately 92 percent of all junior doctors.
• Meanwhile, the South Korean Government has fast tracked its process of allocating the additional 2,000 medical school seats by forming an allocation committee on Thursday (07 March). The allocation team, comprising of officials from the Health and Education ministries, will decide on how to adequately distribute the quota in universities in and outside the capital area.
• A list of doctors and trainees not participating in the strike action was reportedly uploaded online on Thursday (07 March), which mentioned their names, addresses and hospitals, and was filled with derogatory comments against them for not participating in the strike. Seoul Police took cognizance of the issue and have warned of stern legal consequences.
• Following up on its announcement on Thursday (07 March), the government is scheduled to release guidelines on Friday (08 March) for physician assistant (PA) nurses to perform CPR, injections on critical patients and prescribe medications.
• The KRW 188.2 billion (USD 141 million) pledged by the government from the state health insurance fund from Monday (11 March) onwards will be spent on medical institutions that have been providing active emergency treatment to patients, and on transferring patients with mild symptoms to lower-level hospitals.
• As part of the contingency plan, the government will also spend the funds on medical professors and physicians treating critically ill patients at hospitals, and plans to enhance compensation for rapid response teams in general medical wards responding to emergencies such as cardiac arrests. In addition, the fund will be spent to help general hospitals maintain their 24-hour emergency medical services and prevent further disruptions.
• However, the government clarified that it will still be raising medical fees for emergency, high-risk and difficult surgeries to meet the additional cost burden of emergency funds amidst the strike.