A group of trainee doctors, medical school students and professors plan to file a suit against the president, prime minister and the health minister for compensatory damages of more than 100 billion won sustained from the government’s plan to expand medical schools’ admissions quota. 

Lee Byung-chul, a lawyer who has represented the medical community in submitting a request to suspend the execution of the government’s quota expansion plan, said Wednesday that such a suit will be pursued as burdens of legal risks have been removed. 

According to Lee, ten-thousand trainee doctors, nearly 11-thousand medical school students, 12-thousand medical school professors and 140-thousand doctors who are members of the Korean Medical Association will take part in the suit.

He said compensatory damages will reach more than 100 billion won as a trainee doctor’s three-to four-months’ pay is estimated to stand at ten million won. 

The announcement comes just a day after the government said it will withdraw its order prohibiting teaching hospitals from accepting resignation letters from trainee doctors and halt administrative procedures such as license suspension for trainee doctors who return to work.