SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government will begin revoking the medical licenses of doctors who violate the order to return to work starting next week, the health ministry said Tuesday.
"We will take disciplinary action, including revoking medical licenses, against those who refuse to return to work," Park Min-soo, vice health minister and deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said during a meeting.
Park urged striking medical interns to immediately return to their hospitals for the sake of patients, colleagues and their own professional aspirations.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, all medical interns must be registered in a system by the end of this month by their hospitals. Those who fail to register will not be able to start their internships and will not be eligible to become residents next year.
Under the Medical Resident Training and Specialist Qualification Act, absences from internships can also affect the length of the internship and the acquisition of specialist qualifications, the ministry said.
In a bid to address the shortage of doctors, the government announced earlier this month that it would increase the number of students admitted to medical schools from 3,058 to 5,058 from the 2025 academic year. The plan has met with strong opposition from medical associations and medical students, leading to a mass resignation of medical interns.
The government has already sent out administrative notices of disciplinary action, including license revocation, to thousands of striking interns and residents.
