Professors at Korea’s five most prestigious medical schools are moving to resign en masse.

Following the plan of their counterparts at Seoul National University College of Medicine, professors at Yonsei University College of Medicine have decided to submit their resignations next Monday.

The Yonsei University College of Medicine Faculty Council's emergency committee held an extraordinary assembly on Monday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., during which they decided to collectively submit resignation letters next Monday.

The face-to-face meeting took place at Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and Yongin Severance Hospital, with attendance from 721 faculty members, including full-time, non-full-time, and treatment-only staff.

Professors at the three teaching hospitals of Yonsei University College of Medicine, who decided to submit their resignations en masse, adopted a statement calling on the government to find a solution, saying, "The government should immediately stop the extrajudicial intimidation of trainee doctors."

"Refrain from criticizing and threatening professors who have been doing their best to treat patients," the Yonsei medical school professors said. "We support the professors who have decided to submit their resignations and will submit them en masse next Monday if the government's attitude does not change."

They continued, "While we will do our best to maintain essential medical services, given the state of the medical staff, we have no choice but to downsize and reorganize (services) to the minimum level that can ensure patient safety."

The increase of medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 and the forceful implementation of healthcare policies without sufficient preparation have thrown the education and healthcare ecosystem into chaos, they pointed out.

"We call on those responsible for these policies to apologize for the suffering of the people and urge the President to dismiss these bad policymakers," they added.