Starting Friday, hospitals will begin to accept applications for trainee doctor programs starting in September, extending the recruitment period following an initial application rate of just one-point-four percent.

The initial recruitment period for the second half of the year ended at the end of July, but the government decided to extend it after only 104 candidates, or one-point-four percent of trainee doctor positions available, applied for the programs.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration l has been trying to fill the void left by most trainee doctors who left their worksites earlier this year in protest of medical reform plans.

The new recruitment period will run from Friday through next Wednesday for first-year residents, and through August 16 for second- to fourth-year residents, as well as interns.

Authorities have stated that there will be no additional recruitment.

The government plans to ensure that hospitals will complete the recruitment process by the end of this month and begin the training programs in September as scheduled.