The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it issued a public notice of return-to-work to 1,308 trainee physicians who walked off their jobs in a protest against the government’s plan to sharply increase medical school admissions next year. The public notice took effect as of Tuesday. 

The ministry said it had to place the public notice on its website because it could not verify the addresses of the 1,308 trainee doctors. The ministry did not give them prior notice because “the emergency order was necessary for the public safety and welfare,” it said.

"The suspension of collective medical treatment by medical practitioners is likely to cause great disruption to the health and lives of the public, so please return to your teaching hospitals and start treating patients as soon as you receive the order," the notice said. 

The notice emphasized that those who refuse the order without a valid reason will be subject to punishment and criminal prosecution under the Medical Service Act. 

Trainee doctors who are dissatisfied with the order may file an administrative appeal with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission within 90 days of the date of discovery of the order or 180 days of the date of the order, in accordance with the Administrative Appeals Act.

They can also file an administrative lawsuit with a court within 90 days from the date of discovery of the order or within one year from the date of the order.

Earlier on Monday, the health ministry suspended the medical licenses of two leaders of the Korean Medical Association’s emergency committee, Kim Taek-woo and Park Myung-ha, accusing them of defying government orders and encouraging trainee doctors to walk off their jobs. The three-month suspension will take effect from April 15. 

In a tit-for-tat move, Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Pediatric Association, said he would file a complaint against Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong and Vice Minister Park Min-soo with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, accusing them of abusing their power and interfering with doctors’ exercise of their rights. 

“The defendants interfered with the exercise of the specific rights of 13,000 individual trainee physicians, including the right to rest and maternity protection, the freedom to choose a profession to work as a general practitioner, the right not to be subjected to forced labor, and the right to resign as per the rules," Lim said in the complaint.