It is feared that doctors and medical school graduates may join trainee doctors in their decision to quit in protest of the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students.

According to the medical community on Monday, major hospitals in Seoul are struggling to ride out the collective action by nearly halving the number of scheduled surgeries and medical treatments. 

However, fellow doctors and professors, who have been filling the vacuum left by trainee doctors who left their jobs after submitting resignations, are showing signs of joining the collective action.

At Chosun University Hospital, 12 out of 14 fourth-year fellow doctors who were about to renew their contracts, decided against the renewal and will leave the hospital in March. 

Trainee doctors who completed their residencies at the so-called Big Five major hospitals in Seoul are also showing signs of giving up on their fellowships.

At Seoul National University Hospital, 80 to 90 percent of graduates who are supposed to start their internships on March 1 have reportedly given up on their internships.