Seoul hospitals experienced an influx of patients earlier than usual on the morning of Feb. 20. South Korean resident doctors, pivotal to essential healthcare, initiated a strike in protest against the government’s plans to increase the medical school enrollment quota.

At Korea’s premier hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan region, collectively referred to as the ‘Big 5,’ services were halted at 6 a.m. on Feb. 20, as reported by government and medical insiders. The ‘Big 5′ includes Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul Asan Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.

Over 1,000 resident doctors from these institutions had declared their intention to resign the previous day, and it is believed that the number of resignations across the country has reached the thousands, with notable figures being 110 from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and 130 from Ajou University Hospital.

In response, hospitals prioritize medical and surgical appointments based on urgency and severity and explore alternative staffing solutions. However, the strike has led to significant disruptions, including postponed surgeries and patients not receiving necessary care.

Patients line up in front of the blood collection room on the first floor of the west wing of Seoul Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the morning of Feb. 20, 2024./Kang Ji-eun

At Seoul Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, the queue for blood collection was unusually long. A sign indicated “50 people waiting,” with a queue extending over 30 meters from the reception desk.

Baek, 56, visiting the Seoul Asan Medical Center with her mother, who uses a wheelchair, expressed surprise at the long lines, saying, “I bring my mother, who underwent cancer surgery two years ago, to the hospital for tests every six months, but I’ve never seen such a long line before. At 7 a.m., there were only three or four people normally, and we could get blood drawn in one to two minutes, but today’s situation is definitely different.”

The lobby of Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is crowded with visitors on the morning of Feb. 20, 2024./News1

Similarly, Lim, 77, from Sinan County in South Jeolla Province, visited his wife in the isolation ward and shared concerns about the potential postponement of his preoperative test, emphasizing the uncertainty and anxiety caused by the strike.

The impact was also felt at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where patients like Choi, 32, voiced their worries about delayed appointments and surgeries. Choi, whose 5-year-old child suffered an eye injury, said, “My child had surgery last week and was scheduled for an outpatient appointment, but I’m waiting in line early because I’m afraid it will be canceled.”

The reception desk at Chonnam National University Hospital in Dong-gu, Gwangju, is crowded on the morning of Feb. 20, 2024./Newsis

At the cancer center at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, more than 40 patients, including Park, 75 were waiting in front of the reception desk. Park said, “I’m worried that early-stage cancer patients will not be able to have surgery for a while because of the strike.”

Lee, 60, came to Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, with her husband earlier in the day. She said he had undergone surgery for a heart transplant on Feb. 19. “His doctor leaves for work at around 8 a.m., but I came to the hospital two hours ago to wait for him in case I couldn’t meet him.”

“If he needs additional surgeries as he progresses, I’m very anxious due to the lack of specialists. We were in a general ward until my husband had surgery, and the patients were very nervous about not being able to have surgery,” Lee said.

A sign outside the emergency room of Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 20, 2024, reads, "Overcrowding of medical centers is causing delays in treatment."/Kim Young-woo

Park, 39, who came to Severance Hospital to reschedule her 71-year-old father’s initial outpatient appointment, said, “On Feb. 5, my father was diagnosed with a clot in a blood vessel in his brain and needs surgery. I think the surgery will be delayed due to the doctors’ strike, and I am worried about a significant deterioration in my father’s condition in the meantime.”