The health ministry on Tuesday filed a complaint with the police against doctors protesting a government plan to increase the medical student admission quota, its first legal action since the start of a mass walkout by junior doctors about a week ago.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare filed the complaint against five doctors affiliated with the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the largest doctor’s lobby group, officials with knowledge of the matter said.
The doctors are charged with the violation of a local medical law and obstruction of justice, they added.
It marks the first legal step the government has taken since thousands of interns and residents walked off their jobs eight days ago to protest the government’s plan to increase the med school enrollment quota by 2,000.
Their walkout has crippled the local medical system, prompting the government to take stern legal and other administrative actions.
The government has set this Thursday as the back-to-work deadline for the protesting doctors to avoi
d legal punishment, including suspension of their licenses.
Source: Yonhap News Agency