SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police said Friday they searched the office of the hard-line incoming leader of an association of doctors and confiscated his mobile phone as he faces accusations that he incited the protractedThe development could further dim prospects for an early end to the strikes.
Lim is one of five former or incumbent Korean Medical Association officials who have been under police investigation for allegedly inciting and abetting the strikes. In mid-April, two of them had their In the face of growing public calls to find a compromise to end the strikes, the government said last week it couldby allowing universities to determine whether to lower planned admissions by up to 50% next year. This means the number of newly recruited medical students next year could be as low as 1,000
Doctors say schools aren’t ready to handle an abrupt increase in students and that it would ultimately undermine the country’s medical services. They say the government plan would also result in doctors in greater competition performing unnecessary treatments. But critics say those aren’t the real reasons behind their protests and that they simply worry the supply of more doctors would lead to lower income for them in the future.