The government has issued a public apology over the nearly yearlong collective action by trainee doctors who object to its health care reforms, while also expressing regret over the December 3 martial law decree.

At a joint press briefing on Friday, education minister Lee Ju-ho apologized to the public for causing concern and inconvenience due to the protracted walkout since the government announced a medical school admissions quota hike in February last year.

Lee also apologized to the medical community for a provision in the decree that all medical professionals who engage in strikes or walkouts would have to return to work within 48 hours or face punishment under the Martial Law Act.

The minister said trainee doctors who return to their hospitals and fields of specialization will be exempt from restrictions within a year of resigning.

While trainee doctors’ resignations were approved in July, rendering it impossible for them to return to the same fields this coming March for the year’s first-semester training, the special exemption would permit them to do so.

The minister also promised to ensure that trainee doctors who were automatically subjected to mandatory military conscription upon resignation will be allowed to complete their medical training first.

Lee proposed returning to the drawing board on the admissions quota for the 2026 academic year, pledging to consider staff supply and demand and educational conditions at each medical school.