Anchor: As more major hospitals warn they will indefinitely suspend services in protest of the government’s medical reform plans, the administration lashed back on Thursday, saying such action would be construed as illegal, and those taking part would have to face consequences. 
Our Koo Heejin has more.

Report: Doctors at the so-called “Big Five” hospitals in the capital region plan to join the one-day walkout on Tuesday planned by the Korean Medical Association(KMA), with medical professors at two of these hospitals warning they will indefinitely suspend services.

The emergency committee of medical professors at Yonsei University affiliated with Severance Hospital decided Wednesday that they would indefinitely suspend services starting June 27, urging the government to come up with tangible measures to resolve its protracted standoff with doctors regarding reform plans. 

The decision comes after the emergency committee of medical professors at Seoul National University decided last week to begin an indefinite suspension of services from Monday.

The professors are asking the government to address their chronic exhaustion as they struggle to fill the void left by trainee doctors who resigned en masse in February in protest of the government’s plans to increase the number of doctors in the nation by raising the medical student quota.

The emergency committee of medical professors at the Catholic University of Korea announced on Wednesday that it will join the one-day strike set for Tuesday, hinting at the possibility of an indefinite walkout. The Catholic University of Korea is affiliated with St. Mary’s Hospital, one of the “Big Five” hospitals. 

In response, the government has vowed to take stern action as it construes any mass suspension of services as “treatment refusal” which is considered illegal. 

Vice Minister for Disaster and Safety Management Yi Han-kyung made the statement on Thursday during a government meeting on doctors’ collective action, pledging to maintain emergency medical care services in light of the doctors' collective walkout next week.

The vice minister urged doctors to stay beside their patients, adding that if people report any damages suffered as a result of the walkout via a related call center, the central government and local municipalities will do their best to provide support. 
Koo Heejin, KBS World Radio News.