Doctors’ associations across the nation on Wednesday objected to the government’s announcement of details of its planned expansion of the medical school admissions quota.

In a statement released prior to the government’s announcement, the emergency steering committee of the Korean Medical Association(KMA) had urged the government to make a wise decision to stabilize medical services instead of forcibly pushing forward policies which it said threaten the lives of the people and which would result in the collapse of the medical system. 

Following the government announcement, sources within the medical community said KMA’s emergency committee is preparing a statement while the Korea Intern Resident Association and the Medical Professors Association of Korea will convene an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss ways to respond to the government plan.

The Korea Academy of Medical Sciences and 26 other medical academies urged the government in a joint statement to scrap all measures it has taken so far and address the public’s anxiety through dialogue and negotiations as well as block the disruption in the medical institutions. 

The student bodies of medical schools also released a statement in which they blamed the government for lack of communication. The statement said trainee doctors taking part in the collective action in protest of the med school student quota hike will not return to work if the government refuses to back down from its current stance and fails to communicate with students.