Doctors in South Korea have threatened a protest strike against legislation to strip them of licenses following criminal convictions, sparking fears about possible disruption of a coronavirus vaccination effort set to begin this week.
"The bill might result in ordinary, innocent doctors being stripped of their licences and falling into hell because of an accident that has nothing to do with their job, or lack of legal knowledge," spokesman Kim Dae-ha said in a statement on Monday. Parliament has been seeking to revise the Medical Service Act to ban physicians guilty of violent crimes, such as sexual abuse and murder, from practicing their skills.
The medical association, with nearly 140,000 members, has a long history of policy disputes with the government.