South Korea slows plan to hike medical school admissions as doctors' strike drags on

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Desperate to end a weeks-long strike by thousands of doctors, South Korea’s government said Friday it will slow down a plan to admit more students to the country’s medical schools from next year.

More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike since late February, when the government announced a plan to recruit 2,000 more students next year. That would have increased the current cap of 3,058, which has been the same since 2006, by about two-thirds.

The government adopted a compromise proposal put forward by the presidents of six state-run universities on Thursday, under which medical schools will increase admissions over several years.

Doctors’ groups have claimed that the universities would be unable to handle a steep increase in students and that it would undermine the quality of the country’s medical services. Government officials say the country significantly needs more doctors to cope with the country’s fast-aging population.