The government has again called on training hospitals to complete processing resignations tendered by trainee doctors who fail to return to work by Monday, dismissing a request by such hospitals to extend the deadline. 

Head of the health ministry’s Bureau of Healthcare Policy Kim Kook-il told reporters on Thursday that the ministry reiterated such calls in order to prevent disruptions in the recruitment of trainee doctors for the second half of the year. 

Kim noted that the government has decided not to take any administrative steps against the trainee doctors, regardless of whether or not they return to work.

He also cited that trainee doctors who have returned and those who have resigned seeking retraining in the fall will be eligible for special consideration in order to minimize delays in acquiring licenses.