The government expressed regret over a decision by medical professors at Seoul National University(SNU) and its affiliated hospitals to indefinitely suspend all medical services amid a prolonged staff shortage due to trainee doctors' collective action in protest of the medical school admissions quota hike.

The health ministry said on Friday that it deeply regrets and is concerned about the decision of the emergency steering committee of SNU and Seoul National University Hospital(SNUH) professors to suspend services from June 17 despite increasing suffering caused by the staff shortage.

The ministry, emphasizing that it believes the professors will stand by their patients, urged them to join it in working to support trainee doctors who wish to return to work.

It also pledged to proceed with a previously announced plan to facilitate the trainee doctors' return, while taking all measures to protect the lives and health of the public.

On Thursday, the SNU and SNUH professors' committee pressured the government to completely withdraw its return-to-work order for the trainee doctors, warning that they too would suspend treatment from June 17, with the exception of patients in emergency rooms and intensive care units.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is scheduled to hold a news conference on Sunday regarding medical reform measures and the prolonged standoff.