전공의•전임의 업무개시명령 전국으로 확대…'약 80명 복귀'

The South Korean government has applied its return-to-work order to doctors nationwide who are striking in protest against planned healthcare reforms.
It has also decided to prosecute doctors who reject the order.
Kim Do-yeon reports.
The government has decided to prosecute the doctors that did not follow the return-to-work order imposed on Wednesday in the capital area.
In addition, it has decided to expand the order nationwide.
The health and justice ministries and police held a briefing on Friday morning to discuss the legal actions that will be imposed after they have investigated the doctors that violated Wednesday's order.
"With the expansion of the order, we will thoroughly investigate 30 major hospitals in the country. In addition, at 10:30 today, we will file a complaint against the ten doctors who failed to abide by the return-to-work order in the capital area on August 26th.".
Under the current legislation, doctors who violated the order could face up to three years in prison or over 25-thousand U.S. dollars in fines
They could also have their medical license suspended... or even canceled.
The government added that after their field investigation, they found around 80 doctors returned to work due to the order.
It also said the main focus at the moment is to beat COVID-19.
Reports say that around 68% of interns and residents joined the strike, and while some have returned to work, many of them turned off all means of communication when the order was imposed in the capital.
Medical interns and residents went on strike on August 21st over the government's health reform plans, and were joined by doctors nationwide from Wednesday.
Amid the lack of medical personnel, a man in his 40s at the city of Busan died on Thursday morning after an ambulance couldn't find an available emergency room in time.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News