The government has designated the two weeks starting Wednesday as an emergency room(ER) contingency period, to better cope with the shortage of doctors during the Chuseok holiday. 

Ahead of the five-day thanksgiving holiday weekend, which begins Saturday, President Yoon Suk Yeol made the announcement during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting to address concerns about disruptions in ER services. 

Yoon also said the government will significantly increase state health insurance payments for hospitals that stay open during the holiday period.

The president noted that more institutions had volunteered to remain open during this year's thanksgiving holiday. 

The move comes amid the prolonged absence of resident doctors, who resigned en masse in February to protest the Yoon administration's plans to boost medical school admissions and increase the supply of doctors in the nation.

The shortage of trainee doctors has increased workloads for senior doctors, pushing some ER operators to reduce their service hours. 

Yoon said the government is doing all it can to ensure there are no disruptions in emergency health care services around the long weekend.

The government has temporarily granted specialists at regional emergency medical centers a three-point-five-fold increase in compensation for their services.