The medical professors’ walkout at major tertiary hospitals in Seoul may seem like a “tempest in a teapot,” but the reality appears much more dire.

Hospital bed occupancy rates nearly halved from over 90 percent to around 50 percent, and the number of surgeries plunged by more than 60 percent at these hospitals compared to a year earlier.

According to data obtained by The Korean Doctors’ Weekly, a sister paper of Korea Biomedical Review, the hospital bed occupancy rate at Seoul National University Hospital was 53 percent as of 1 p.m. on Tuesday when the Korean Medical Association initiated a nationwide general strike.

Out of 1,515 general beds, only 803 were occupied, leaving 712 empty. Only 14 out of 52 operating rooms were operational, a 26.9 percent occupancy rate.

The situation at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) was similar. 

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, the hospital's bed occupancy rate was 53 percent, with only 614 of its 1,158 beds occupied. The remaining 544 beds were vacant. Five out of 39 operating rooms were operational, a 12.8 percent occupancy rate.

According to the emergency response committee of medical professors at SNU College of Medicine and SNUH, 529 of 967 medical professors, or 54.7 percent, have reduced or stopped outpatient services, or postponed surgeries, procedures, and tests. However, emergency services, labor and delivery, and treatment for severe and rare diseases have been maintained.

Another major tertiary hospital, Asan Medical Center (AMC), also saw a sharp drop in surgeries. According to the emergency response committee of AMC-affiliated Ulsan National University College of Medicine’s faculty, AMC performed a total of 76 general anesthesia surgeries on Tuesday. This figure represents a 49 percent drop from 149 on June 11 and a 64 percent decline from 209 in the third week of June 2023. 

On Tuesday, 225 senior doctors at AMC, or 61 percent of the total, took a one-day leave. AMC professors have decided to stop practicing medicine for a week starting July 4. They will decide whether to extend the walkout based on changes in government policies.