The health ministry officially announced on Monday open recruitment of trainee doctors for the second half of the year, after asking hospitals to accept the resignations of striking junior doctors. 

The exact recruitment number will be decided on once the ministry verifies the applications that were submitted by training hospitals last week.

Earlier, the ministry said training hospitals were expecting to hire seven-thousand-707 new trainee doctors in the second half. 

Those accepted through the due hiring process, which will proceed through August, will begin training at the hospitals from September 1.

However, it's not clear how many doctors will apply for the training programs as some worry about being labeled a traitor, while some professors have said they would reject training doctors altogether in support of the striking trainees. 
 
Meanwhile, the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute announced it will be accepting applications for the national medical license test from Monday through Friday. 

A vast majority of medical students graduating next year have vowed not to take the test to become doctors.