In response to a nationwide mass walkout by South Korean trainee doctors over the government’s plans to increase medical school admissions, the government has mobilized several countermeasures to prevent healthcare disruption. The Ministry of National Defense announced it will open military hospital emergency rooms to the public, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare has mandated that trainee doctors at all 221 training hospitals nationwide continue to provide medical treatment. The government stated on Feb. 6 that it will raise the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 slots starting in 2025, from the current 3,058, amid concerns of exacerbating hospital operation and patient care issues.

To further mitigate potential impacts, the government announced the full expansion of telemedicine services and the designation of 409 hospitals with emergency rooms on emergency alert. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo criticized the doctors’ collective action plans, underlining the risks to public health and safety.