South Korea's trainee doctors continue walkout over pay, hours

Many quit as Yoon pushes plan to train more physicians to ease shortage

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Doctors protest outside the office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Feb. 22, complaining of low pay and poor working conditions. (Photo by Ahn Seong-bok)

STEVEN BOROWIEC, Nikkei staff writer

SEOUL -- Na submitted her resignation a week ago to the Seoul hospital where she worked as a trainee pathologist, walking away from her dream of practicing medicine to protest what she sees as an unwise government plan for South Korean health care.

She is one of thousands of doctors who are risking their careers as part of an intensifying standoff with the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The government spurred the walkout by trainee doctors when it announced plans to raise the number of students admitted to medical schools by 2,000, roughly a 67% increase.

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