He announced this Monday that he was preparing to suspend nearly 5,000 young doctors who had ceased their activity.
Interns contest a reform supposed to increase the number of practitioners, to cope with the aging of the population
They estimate that it will harm the quality of education, increasing the number of admissions to medical schools by 2,000 per year.
The government is threatening to suspend them for at least three months.
South Korea’s health minister said he would show leniency to those who abandon the strike before procedures to suspend their licenses are completed.
Already more than 90% of the country’s 13,000 practicing doctors have joined the strike to protest against the executive’s plan.
Doctors believe that the decision was unilateral and that the increase should be 350 places so as not to affect the quality of training. They also call for strengthening the legal protection of health workers.
