Health

South Korean president gains support amid doctor strike: poll

Seoul, Mar 6 (EFE).- The approval rate of South Korea’s president has risen amid the government’s controversial decision to increase places in medical colleges to alleviate the shortage of doctors, according to a survey published Wednesday.

A poll by news agency Yonhap shows Yoon Suk-Yeol’s approval rating gained five points compared to last month, reaching 39 percent, the highest since May – a boost for him and his People’s Power Party ahead of the Apr. 10 legislative elections.

The survey, carried out among 1,000 South Korean adults last weekend, shows the PPP would achieve about 33 percent of the votes compared to 26 percent for the opposition liberal Democratic Party.

The government’s plan to increase the number of places in medical schools by 2,000 a year has led 70 percent of the country’s resident doctors to strike, accusing the state of announcing the measure for electoral purposes.

The survey also shows 48 percent of those surveyed support the Yoon administration’s plan, while 36 percent said they favor an increase, but of fewer than 2,000 additional places per year.

The government said this is necessary to alleviate the shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas and in areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics or cardiothoracic surgery.

But doctors said the decision has been unilateral, without a desire for dialogue, and that the increase should be of 350 places so it does not affect the quality of training and service.

The strike is seriously affecting the operation of hospitals, since these professionals make up an important part of the staff of large medical centers.

The country has not increased places in Medicine in 27 years and is one of the OECD countries with the lowest number of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants (2.46), only ahead of Mexico, Poland, Colombia and Turkey. EFE

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