As per reports, following are the updates on the doctors’ protest in South Korea as on Tuesday (12 November):

• On Monday (11 November), a consultative body, comprising the government, medical sector, and ruling party, was launched to seek a resolution to the medical standoff by year end.
• However, the medical sector’s main stakeholders – the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Intern Resident Association and the Korean Medical Student Association – have rejected the invitation to participate, demanding that the government scrap the hike plan before engaging in any form of dialogue. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea remains uncommitted about joining the body due to lack of participation from junior doctors.
• The newly launched group will discuss ways to bring intern and resident doctors back to training hospitals and aims to guarantee the autonomy of the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation, an institution, mostly comprised of doctors – that evaluates the quality of medical education at medical school, as well as other issues without preconditions.
• The committee is set to operate until the end of December and will hold two weekly meetings, with the aim of bringing out “meaningful outcomes” by 22-23 December.