A medical worker stands next to a sign informing visitors of delayed emergency care at a hospital in Seoul, July 17. A planned walkout by nearly 30,000 nurses and other medical workers this week is expected to deepen Korea's medical turmoil as hospitals across the nation are already struggling with labor shortages from a prolonged strike by doctors. Yonhap

A planned walkout by nearly 30,000 nurses and other medical workers this week is expected to exacerbate Korea's medical crisis as hospitals across the nation are already struggling with labor shortages due to a prolonged strike by doctors.

According to the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union, over 91 percent of its members voted last week in favor of a strike starting Thursday. They are calling for a pay increase and the normalization of hospital operations, which have been disrupted by a seven-month-long collective walkout by trainee physicians.

Most of the 29,705 unionized workers, primarily nurses, are expected to take part in the strike at 61 medical institutions nationwide, including the National Medical Center and the Korea University Medical Center.

The timing could hardly be worse. Since over 10,000 trainee doctors left their hospitals in February to protest the government's decision to increase medical school enrollment quotas, many nurses have been stepping in as physician assistants to maintain essential medical services.

The union said its members working in critical services, such as emergency care, will not participate in the strike. Nevertheless, their walkout is likely to cause additional confusion and disruption at hospitals, which are already struggling with staffing shortages and financial difficulties.

The union said many of its members are exhausted after months of struggling to keep the nation's medical system running in the absence of the trainee doctors.

"Medical workers are exhausted from skipping meals, enduring abuse, and having little time even for restroom breaks while trying to fill the junior doctors' roles as physician assistants," the union said in a statement. "Physicians' tasks should no longer be offloaded onto nurses who have not been systematically trained for such responsibilities."

The union added that many nurses have been forced to work as physician assistants after only a few days of training, leading to a constant fear of making serious mistakes.

The union has been urging hospitals to find solutions to address labor shortages and to agree to a 6.4 percent wage increase for non-doctor medical workers.

However, most hospitals are not in a financial position to hire additional doctors or provide pay raises due to their reduced capacity to treat patients. The junior doctors' walkout dealt a significant blow to their finances, as hospitals had relied on the low-cost labor of those physicians under the guise of training.

After an emergency meeting, Sunday, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong urged the union to retract its strike plan.

"The hard work, dedication, and sacrifice by medical workers have sustained our medical system despite challenges such as a walkout by trainee doctors and a rise in the number of COVID-19 patients. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for doing their jobs," Cho said. "If the workers proceed with the strike plan, it would further disrupt operations at hospitals, which would subsequently cause damage to the public … I urge you to resolve the issue with employers through talks instead of group action such as a strike."