About 7,000 trainee doctors in South Korea who walked out in protest have defied government orders and did not return to work, said Lee Han Kyung, South Korea interior ministry's chief disaster management official.

Lee spoke at a government meeting on Mar. 5 and said that the government has gathered evidence that the trainee doctors did not return to their jobs, despite back-to-work orders, reported Yonhap.

Protesting doctors were ordered by the government to return to work by Feb. 29.

The statement came after protests by intern and resident doctors in South Korea reached its 15th day.

Impact of protest

The trainee doctors protested after the South Korea government announced plans to increase the admission number of medical students to 2,000 on Feb. 6.

Doctors opposed the policy, claiming that expanding medical school enrolment will diminish the quality of medical education and services.

They suggested opening more public hospitals and increasing wages instead, Yonhap reported.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min Soo said that as of Mar. 5, 8,983 trainee doctors at 100 teaching hospitals have left their jobs.

Legal and disciplinary actions to be taken

Lee said checks were conducted at training hospitals to confirm back-to-work order violations since Mar. 4.

He said the authorities will enforce legal and administrative action against doctors found defying the order, including suspending medical licenses.

According to The Korea Times, authorities have filed a criminal complaint for charges of instigating and conniving in the trainee doctors' protest against five Korea Medical Association (KMA) executives.

Joo Soo Ho, KMA chief spokesperson, was questioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Mar. 6.

He is the first to assist in police investigations among the five KMA executives, and denied the charges against him.

According to Yonhap, he said he had nothing to hide and urged the government to have a dialogue with protesting doctors, claiming that their collective action is "voluntary".

The other executives will be interviewed over the course of the following week, and all five have been banned from overseas travel.

Top photos via Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea & Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea/Facebook