The government said it will begin next week to suspend the licenses of trainee doctors who have yet to abide by the state return-to-work order in protest of a planned increase in medical school admissions quota.

At a press briefing on Thursday, second vice health minister Park Min-soo warned that junior doctors who miss a month of training will be required to undergo additional training and those who miss three months could have their eligibility for specialist status delayed by a year.

The vice minister said those who have been admitted to internship programs will not be able to become trainee doctors next year unless they return to hospitals for appointment by the end of this month.

Park also stressed the need to upwardly adjust the number of trainee doctors outside the capital region to achieve a 50:50 ratio between the metro area and elsewhere.