The government is set to extend the recruitment period for trainee doctors for the second half of the year starting Friday, following an initial application rate of just one-point-four percent amid the doctors' protest over medical reforms.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Jung Yoon-soon, a senior health ministry official, said that the government has decided to extend the recruitment period to provide ample opportunity for trainee doctors to return to their duties.

The new recruitment period will run from Friday through next Wednesday for first-year residents, and through August 16 for second- to fourth-year residents, as well as interns.

The official urged trainee doctors who have yet to return to work due to pressure from fellow doctors to submit their applications.
  
625 out of five-thousand-701 trainee doctors who had resigned over the reform dispute have now reportedly found new jobs at general hospitals, which more than double compared to 258 last week.