ANKARA

Medical professors working for three major hospitals in Seoul suspended outpatient clinics and surgeries on Tuesday amid a prolonged walkout by junior doctors, Yonhap news reported.

The senior doctors at Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital and Korea University Hospital took a day off in support of walkout by trainee doctors who oppose the government's plan to increase the number of medical students by 2,000 from 2025.

The plan on the medical school admission quota is supposed to be finalized by end-April.

About 12,000 trainee doctors have suspended duties since Feb. 20, and the government and doctors have failed to find a breakthrough.

The government says the increase in admission quota is necessary to address a shortage of doctors.

Under the plan, the government will invest 1.4 trillion won (US$1.01 trillion) in fields such as pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine, with a goal to earmark more than 10 trillion won by 2028.

But the junior doctors say their protests are rooted in the present working conditions and existing pay, and demand that the government should first address these issues before attempting to increase the number of working physicians.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid​​​​​​​