Thousands of doctors held a massive rally in Seoul on Sunday in protest of the government's plan to increase the medical school admissions quota.

During the rally organized by the Korean Medical Association(KMA), Kim Taek-woo, the head of the KMA’s emergency committee, criticized the government for unilaterally pushing for unacceptable policies in the name of medical reform.

Kim accused the government of pressuring trainee doctors with extralegal orders and mobilizing every means to drive a wedge between the KMA and trainee doctors. He also criticized the government for calling for dialogue while insisting that an adjustment to the quota is impossible. 

Kim called on the government to engage in dialogue with the committee and trainee doctors without any preconditions in order to quickly resolve the situation and end the inconvenience to the public. 

The KMA urged the government to restart the quota increase discussions from the beginning, adding concerns that the proposed hike could lead to a surge in medical expenses. It also expressed worries that the proposed increase of two-thousand could lead to the deterioration in the quality of medical education.

The rally organizer said that it had expected about 20-thousand people to take part in the event, but actually 40-thousand doctors showed up, while the police estimated the number to be about 12-thousand.