Seoul gives young doctors 4 days to end walkouts, threatening suspended licenses and prosecutions
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean government is giving young doctors on strike four days to return to work. It says they won’t be punished if they return by Thursday, but warns they will face indictments and suspensions of their medical licenses if they don’t meet the deadline. About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about two-thirds. The walkouts have disrupted the operations of their hospitals. Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said Monday that those who don’t return to work by Thursday will be punished with a minimum three-month suspension of their medical licenses and face investigations and possible indictments.