The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union (KHMU), comprising approximately 45,000 nurses and caregivers from 140 medical institutions across the country, launched a nationwide strike on Thursday. The strike, the first by the group in 19 years and the largest to date, is in response to the government’s alleged failure to fulfill a 2021 agreement to hire more medical personnel and improve their working conditions. The union’s demandsinclude an expansion in the number of medical personnel, the establishment of standards for adequate workforce levels for each occupation and fair compensation for medical workers who served during the COVID-19 pandemic.