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South Korean authorities are set to suspend the licenses of two senior doctors for supposedly encouraging the weeks-long walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents, which have caused disruptions in hospital operations, as reported by one of the doctors on Monday. These impending suspensions mark disciplinary action against physicians following a protest where over 90% of the country's 13,000 doctors-in-training went on strike last month to oppose the government's proposal to significantly raise medical school admissions. Authorities argue that the recruitment plan targets bolstering the number of doctors to address South Korea's swiftly aging population, given its status as one of the developed world's lowest doctor-to-population ratio countries. However, doctors contend that schools lack the capacity to manage a sudden and substantial surge in student numbers, warning that such a move would ultimately erode the quality of the nation's medical services. 

At the start of March, the government initiated measures to revoke the licenses of striking junior doctors who defied its directives to return to work by February's end. Concurrently, police are probing five senior figures from the Korean Medical Association, the representative body for doctors in South Korea, for allegedly instigating and facilitating the strikes. Park Myung-Ha, one of the implicated members, disclosed receiving a government-issued notice indicating a three-month suspension of his license effective April 15. Park, affiliated with the KMA's emergency committee, further revealed that committee leader Kim Taek-woo also faced a three-month suspension. The Health Ministry declined to verify any reported administrative actions taken against individual doctors. Expressing frustration, Park, speaking to The Associated Press, voiced strong condemnation of the government's actions. He accused authorities of aiming to dismantle the KMA emergency committee and sending a stern message to striking junior doctors. Park indicated that he and others are exploring legal avenues to challenge the license suspensions. Despite approximately 12,000 junior doctors participating in the strike for a month, none have faced license suspensions yet. Observers suggest that suspending all their licenses could take a few months, with the government likely targeting only the leaders of the strike for suspension. The striking junior doctors constitute less than 10 percent of South Korea's 140,000 doctors, yet in certain major hospitals, they make up approximately 30 to 40 percent of the medical staff, assisting senior doctors during surgeries and attending to inpatients while undergoing training. Their strikes have led to the cancellation or postponement of hundreds of surgeries and other medical procedures, although officials maintain that the country's management of emergency and critical patients remains largely stable. Recently, senior doctors at major university hospitals announced plans to submit resignations in solidarity with the junior doctors, slated for the upcoming week. However, the majority are expected to continue reporting for duty. Should they join the strike, it would significantly strain South Korea's medical services. During a briefing earlier on Monday, Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo urged senior doctors to reconsider their plans and encourage the striking junior doctors to resume work. Park emphasized, "Under no circumstances should the lives of the people be used as bargaining chips." In early February, the government announced intentions to raise the country's medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 starting next year, a significant increase from the current cap of 3,058 which has remained unchanged since 2006. Officials argue that more doctors are needed to address the long-standing shortage of physicians in rural areas and in essential yet low-paying specialties. However, doctors argue that newly recruited students may also gravitate towards working in the capital region and in high-paying fields such as plastic surgery and dermatology. They contend that the government's plan could lead to doctors performing unnecessary treatments due to heightened competition. While surveys indicate that a majority of the South Korean public supports the government's recruitment plan, critics argue that doctors, who are among the best-paid professionals in South Korea, are primarily concerned about the potential for decreased income in the future.