Ruling party reaches agreement with medical doctors to end strike

(Yonhap)

The government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) reached an agreement with an association of medical doctors Friday to end a weekslong strike by trainee doctors.

After the two sides reached the accord overnight, Rep. Han Jeoung-ae, the policy committee chief of the DP, and Choi Dae-zip, the head of the Korean Medical Association, will meet later in the morning to formally sign the five-point agreement, a ruling party official said.

Currently, the ruling party, health ministry officials and the medical side are in the process of fine-tuning the details of the pact, according to officials.

The agreement is expected to bring to an end a large-scale medical walkout that was staged for two weeks in protest against the government's medical reform plan that includes increasing medical school admission quotas and establishing a new public medical school.

The two-week strike has disrupted medical services at general hospitals and other medical centers as the government has struggled to contain the rapid spread of the new coronavirus here. (Yonhap)