- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
- Liverpool share responsibility for Nunez goal drought, says Slot
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
Seoul allocates new medical school slots despite doctors' strike
South Korea on Wednesday announced the allocation of 2,000 new medical school admissions slots nationwide every year, moving ahead with a reform plan to create more doctors despite a crippling month-long strike by medics opposed to it.
Hospitals have been forced to cancel crucial treatments and surgeries since thousands of trainee doctors stopped working February 20 to protest proposed training reforms, but the government has vowed not to back down, threatening striking medics with legal action.
Seoul says it needs more new doctors to address one of the lowest doctor-to-population ratios among developed nations and to cope with the needs of an ageing population.
The bulk of the 2,000 new slots for medical students were awarded to universities outside the Seoul capital region, underscoring the government's drive to boost capacity in under-served rural areas.
More than 80 percent of the new quota of students was allocated outside of the capital region "to set up competitive regional medical systems", Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said at a press briefing.
Medical schools in Seoul had sought 365 more slots, but were not awarded any, according to a press release from Lee's ministry.
Experts say that one of the South Korean medical system's biggest problems is the concentration of doctors in the Seoul metropolitan area, leading to access issues in rural areas.
The new reforms will "serve as an opportunity for us to move closer to a global standard," Lee said.
The Korean Medical Association, a representative body for doctors, criticised the allocation announcement, saying it would "burn the last bridge for compromise" leading to "catastrophic consequences".
Doctors say they fear the reform will erode the quality of service and medical education, but proponents of the plan accuse them of trying to safeguard their salaries and social status.
With thousands of junior doctors still off work, the government has been warning it will suspend the licences of those who refuse to return to their patients.
Earlier this week, it suspended the licences of two senior doctors, the Korean Medical Association has said, in the first punitive action against medics involved in the work stoppage.
Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from striking, and the government has requested police investigate people connected to the stoppage, including officials at the KMA.
T.Vitorino--PC