Members of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) hit the streets on Friday, criticizing the government's plans to increase medical school admission quotas.

KIRA is an organization made up of interns and residents at hospitals, who go through the training process to become specialists in a specific treatment area at a training hospital after obtaining a doctor's license.

They are adamantly opposed to the Moon Jae-in administration’s decision to turn out 4,000 more doctors over a decade, by training 400 physicians annually from 2022. The representatives of interns and residents said expanding medical school quotas and establishing a state-run medical school would worsen the quality of healthcare.

Korea Biomedical Review captured some of the scenes during the strike. The KIRA strike will go on for 24 hours from 7:00 a.m. Friday.

KIRA members stand in line to get to register for the strike. In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, the attending members went through screening before registration. The organizers also handed out face masks and other protective gear during the event.
A staff hands a KIRA member a Covid-19 questionnaire before registering.
Two KIRA members receive a poster that reads, "Young doctors’ movement."
KIRA members hold a picket criticizing what they saw as the government’s two-sided stance of thanking medical staff's efforts during the Covid-19 crisis but changing policies without discussions behind their backs.

The organizing staff members attach tapes on the ground to put some distance between the KIRA members.
KIRA members hold up their picket, protesting the government’s decision to increase medical school admission quotas.

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