President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed his senior secretaries to push ahead with medical reform, including increasing the medical school admissions quota, in a swift manner based on principle. 

Yoon issued the order during a meeting with his top aides at the top office on Tuesday as he stressed the need to thoroughly implement response measures for emergency and critically-ill patients. 

Later in the day, Yoon reiterated the need for medical reform during a luncheon with religious leaders held at the former presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. 

The president thanked religious orders for expressing their support toward the government’s medical reform.

Meanwhile, an official at the top office said collective action taken by medical school professors will be no exception to steps the government will take on those who violate the nation’s medical law, stating that the president had ordered such measures to be taken promptly without exception. 

The official's comment came as professors at medical schools are planning to submit their resignations en masse in protest of the government's administrative and legal steps against trainee doctors.