Thousands of Korean doctors face license suspensions as Seoul moves to prosecute strike leaders

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thousands of striking junior doctors in South Korea are facing proceedings to suspend their medical licenses Tuesday. Meanwhile, authorities are pushing for police investigations into leaders of the walkouts that have disrupted hospital operations. Nearly 9,000 of South Korea’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been refusing to work for the last two weeks to protest a government plan to enroll thousands more students in the country’s medical schools in coming years. The government ordered them to return to work by Feb. 29, citing a threat to public health, but most have defied threats of license suspensions and prosecutions.