As medical strike drags on in South Korea, patients are on edge

As medical strike drags on in South Korea, patients are on edge toggle caption Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images SEOUL, South Korea — Shortly after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced a plan to increase the number of doctors in February, his approval rate got a bump. The fast-aging country was already seeing a shortage of doctors in rural and remote regions, and demand for health care is growing. So the public was largely on board with the government on the issue, even as more than 10,000 trainee doctors walked off their jobs in protest, saying the government's proposal wouldn't solve the problem.

Sponsor Message Seven months have passed since, and the doctors haven't returned. That same plan to add 2,000 medical students each year is now the biggest reason people disapprove of Yoon's performance in the weekly Gallup poll. Nearly eight out of 10 people say they are afraid they won't be able to receive medical care when they get sick.



Yoon's approval rate is the lowest since he took office. As the standoff between the government and striking doctors continues, there are now signs that South Korea's health care system is buckling under the strain. Major hospitals are conducting 16% fewer cancer surgeries this year.

Emergency responders are struggling to find hospitals that can take patients in, and a handful of emergency clinics nationwide have partially suspended operations. The government has downplayed the severity of the situation, with Yoon saying at a recent policy briefing that the medical system is "operating smoothly." But patients and their families say they feel helpless and anxious not knowing when the crisis will end.

Suh Yiseul scheduled her son's biopsy just before the strike began. Her 11-year-old Kai wanted to start a new medication to treat his Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, a rare blood vessel disorder that causes pain and makes his legs swell and..

. Se Eun Gong.