Tens of thousands of South Korean nurses went on strike on Friday after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed a bill to improve their pay and working conditions.
The opposition-led parliament approved a bill last month that would allow nurses to practice medicine without a license. Some medical professionals protested as a result of this.
Nurses disagree with doctors, claiming that more hospitals are required to care for the aging population.
Yoon vetoed the bill, citing concerns that the public would become concerned about the healthcare system and that the new law would lead to excessive conflict among medical professionals.
The Korean Nurses Association, which organized the walkout, has slammed Yoon for breaking a campaign promise he made while running for president to improve nurses’ working conditions.
During a demonstration in Seoul’s busy Gwanghwamun district, Association President Kim Yeong-kyeong said, “We will make the politicians and bureaucrats pay the price for leading the president to veto the bill” in next year’s general elections.
Despite the strike, major hospitals continued to operate normally, and most protesters took vacation or reduced work hours.
South Korea’s health minister, Cho Kyoo-hong, presided over an emergency response meeting on Friday and urged hospitals to keep a close eye on the situation to ensure that patients were not negatively impacted by the strike.
