S. Koreas Supreme Court dismisses doctors bid to halt reforms [Video]

South Korea’s highest court rejected on Wednesday a request by medical students and doctors to halt a government plan to train more physicians, while senior medics have joined a months-long strike.

Thousands of trainee doctors stopped working on February 20, protesting against government plans to increase medical school quotas.

The ongoing strike has caused disruptions in hospitals and forced delays or cancellations of key treatments, including chemotherapy.

Last month, the government finalised an admission quota hike of around 1,500 for medical schools for 2025, which it says will tackle shortages of doctors and a rapidly ageing population.

Senior doctors at the country’s key medical institution, the Seoul National University Hospital, as well as its branches, began an indefinite walkout on Monday in response to the plan.

A lower court ruled in favour of the government in May, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision and dismissed the doctors’ and students’ …