As per reports, following are the updates on the doctors’ protest in South Korea as on Wednesday (11 September):

• President Yoon Suk Yeol announced a plan to raise physicians’ fees temporarily during the next two weeks, as the crisis in short-staffed emergency rooms in South Korean hospitals is expected to increase during the Chuseok holiday in mid-September.
• The fees for emergency room doctors supported by the nation’s universal single-payer health care system will be temporarily raised 3.5 times what they currently are during the period.
• The hikes will be effective from 11-25 September as Yoon announced that South Korea will introduce a nationwide alert on emergency room operations during the two weeks including the Chuseok holiday period to ensure patients’ access to emergency medical services.
• Additionally, the health ministry announced on Tuesday (10 September) that they will extend financial support for hospitals struggling with staff shortages to have them hire 400 medical staff members to ease deepening concerns about a health care crisis. This has been announced as concerns continue to rise ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
• 160 doctors and 240 nurses would be employed for short-staffed hospitals nationwide, which is expected to require 3.7 billion won (USD 2.75 million) per month. It will be provided first to medical institutions experiencing serious staffing problems and emergency care centers.
• The government also plans to designate 15 “major” emergency centers nationwide out of 136 regional entities to have them actively accept patients with serious cases and those in need of emergency treatments. Health insurance payments to hospitals will be raised temporarily for the holiday.