As per reports, following are the updates on the doctors’ protest in South Korea as on Monday (26 February):

• The government has stated that doctors will not be held accountable if they return to work by Thursday (29 February). This announcement was made following the impact across hospitals as upto 50 percent surgeries have been affected across major hospitals in Seoul.
• Thousands of doctors did not report to work for the seventh day on Monday (26 February) as protest continues. About 8,000 trainee doctors have left worksites.
• At Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju, 267 kms southeast of Seoul, 12 out of 14 fellows have decided not to renew their contracts and leave in March. Newly graduated medical students recently declined internships, indicating an extended shortage of doctors on duty at major hospitals.
• Hospitals across the nation continued to report disruptions, with Severance Hospital in Seoul halving its operation schedule. Samsung Medical Center also reportedly reduced the number by 45 to 50 percent. Other major hospitals, including the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital, took similar moves amid the shortage of doctors on duty.
• Korean Medical Association staged protest on Sunday (25 February) afternoon, heading to the presidential office in Yongsang.
• According to medical communities, medical school graduates across the nation are considering taking collective action by giving up on their internships at teaching hospitals which they were scheduled to start at the beginning of March.