의사협회 오늘 집단휴진…필수인력 남기지만 진료차질 불가피

Roughly a quarter of the country's 33-thousand hospitals and clinics have closed their doors as doctors are on a 24-hour strike.
They are protesting against the government's recent health reform proposals, including upping the number of medical students in the country, after South Korea suffered a shortages of doctors because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our Eum Ji-young is on the line.
Ji-young, what can you tell us?
Mark, the Health Ministry said on Thursday that more than eight-thousand-three-hundred clinics nationwide would close their doors on Friday.
South Korea's largest doctor's union,... the Korean Medical Association, which represents around 130-thousand doctors, organized the one-day walk-out and 26 other medical groups are also participating.
They are to hold a mass rally at Yeouido Park at 3:00 PM on Friday and other rallies will be held in 5 regions across the country including Busan and Daegu between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
Friday's strike is larger compared to the walk-out staged last Friday by trainee doctors. That's because this time, some doctors at hospitals and local clinics are taking part as well.
But doctors who work in vital departments including intensive care units and emergency rooms will work as normal.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare urged the doctors to cancel their strike and the government is going all out to minimize any inconvenience for patients.
The ministry said it is running 24-hour emergency rooms and will extend operating hours on Friday and on the weekend at some institutions.
The government is to post the list of institutions that are running on Friday on the health ministry and national health insurance websites.
That's all I have for now but there will be more updates in our later newscast. Back to you Mark.