SEOUL, South Korea (NEWSnet/AP) — The South Korean government announced on Monday that it would abandon its plan to revoke the licenses of striking junior doctors.

It was initially unclear whether the thousands of striking doctors would return to their hospitals after the announcement.

The health minister said the government has decided not to suspend the licenses of the strikers, who are medical interns and junior doctors, regardless of whether they return to their hospitals or not. He said the government will also offer special measures to the returnees to minimize the gap in their training and help them obtain specialist licenses in time.

More than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and assistants went on strike in February to protest government plans to significantly increase admissions to medical schools.

Some senior doctors and professors at these educational institutions supported the strike by holding rallies and temporarily stopping work or reducing their working hours.

Officials have announced plans to increase their doctor workforce by up to 10,000 by 2035 to address the country’s rapidly aging population and shortages of doctors in rural areas and in low-paying but essential specialties such as pediatrics and emergency departments.

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