South Korea said Monday that procedures had been commenced to suspend the medical licenses of some 4,900 junior doctors who had resigned and stopped working to protest government medical training reforms, causing health care chaos.

The walkout, which started on Feb. 20, is about government plans to sharply increase the number of doctors, which it says is essential to combat shortages and serve South Korea's rapidly aging population. Medics argue the increase will erode service quality.

Nearly 12,000 junior doctors – 93% of the trainee workforce – were not in their hospitals at the last count, despite government back-to-work orders and threats of legal action, forcing Seoul to mobilize military medics and millions of dollars in state reserves to ease the situation.

The Health Ministry on Monday said it had sent administrative notifications – the first step toward suspending medical licenses – to thousands of trainee doctors after they defied specific orders telling them to return to their hospitals.

"As of March 8 (notifications) have been sent to more than 4,900 trainee doctors," Chun Byung-wang, director of the health and medical policy division at the health ministry, told reporters.

The government has previously warned striking doctors that their licenses will be suspended for three months, a punishment it says will delay their ability to qualify as specialists by at least a year.

Chun urged the striking medics to return to their patients.

"The government will take into account the circumstance and protect trainee doctors if they return to work before the administrative measure is complete," he said, indicating that doctors who return to work now could avoid the punishment.

"The government will not give up dialogue. The door for dialogue is always open ... The government will respect and listen to the opinions of the medical community as a companion for the medical reforms," he added.

Military mobilized

Last week, the government announced new measures to improve pay and conditions for trainee medics, plus a review of the continuous 36-hour work period, which is a major gripe for junior doctors.

The strikes have led to surgery cancellations, long wait times, and delayed treatments at major hospitals.

Seoul has denied that there is a full-blown health care crisis, but Chun said that military doctors will start working in civilian hospitals from Wednesday this week.

The government is pushing to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools annually from next year to address one of the lowest doctor-to-population ratios among developed nations.

Doctors say they fear the reform will erode the quality of service and medical education, but proponents accuse medics of trying to safeguard their salaries and social status.

Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from striking, and the Health Ministry has asked police to investigate people connected to the work stoppage.

The plan enjoys broad public support, but a new poll by local media found some 34% of people believe the warring sides should start negotiating properly.

"Doctors and the government are not in a boxing ring," said an editorial published Monday in the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper, urging Seoul and the doctors to resume talks.

"People's patience is wearing thin ... The exit from this quagmire must be found through dialogue between the two sides," it added.