President Moon Jae-in called for stern action in accordance with the law against a doctors' strike this week protesting the government's health care reforms, including expanding admissions quotas at medical schools.

According to Moon's spokesperson Kang Min-seok on Wednesday, the president also ordered the top office to prevent a medical service vacuum and continue negotiations with the medical community under enhanced emergency management.

The government has so far ordered intern and resident doctors in the Seoul metropolitan area to return to work as the country is gripped with a new wave of the COVID-19 epidemic.

On Wednesday, the Korean Medical Association(KMA), which mostly represents doctors in private practice, began its second walkout for three days.

The Korean Intern and Resident Association(KIRA), which staged strikes on August 7 and 14, began a walkout last Friday for an indefinite period.