Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Friday that the government has opened the door for dialogue with trainee doctors, vowing that the administration would show flexibility while at the same time abiding by its principles. 

The prime minister made the remarks mentioning Thursday's meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the head of a group representing trainee doctors in the nation who resigned en masse in protest of the government’s medical school admissions quota. 

Presiding over a government meeting on responses to the doctors’ collective action, Han said that the government is ready to listen with an open mind to not just trainee doctors but also other members of the medical community. 

The prime minister said that the nation’s medical system has demanded too much sacrifice from trainee doctors, the country’s precious human resources and the leaders of the future medical services. Han then explained the government’s medical reform, which includes the improvement of essential and regional medical services and working conditions of trainee doctors. 

The prime minister expressed hope that junior doctors will participate in the process of improving their working conditions, reaffirming the government’s commitment to medical reform as well as dialogue.