South Korea is preparing to take legal action against thousands of trainee doctors who staged a walkout last month, and ignored an ultimatum to return to work last week.
韩国有关部门正准备对数千名实习医生采取法律行动,这些医生于上个月举行了罢工,并无视了上周发布的要求其重返工作岗位的最后通牒。
That's according to the country's health minister, who said on Monday that authorities will begin inspecting hospitals to confirm which doctors have not yet returned.
这一信息是由韩国卫生部长宣布的,他在本周一表示,当局将开始检查医院,以确认哪些医生尚未返岗。
His deputy added that the government would take steps to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainee doctors who had left their jobs.
他的副手还表示,政府将采取措施,吊销约7000名离开工作岗位的实习医生的行医执照。
The government had previously warned the protesting trainee physicians they could face penalties including the suspension of their medical licenses and fines or even a jail term if they did not return to work by the end of February.
韩国政府此前曾警告抗议的实习医生,如果在2月底前不重返工作岗位,他们可能会面临诸如吊销他们的行医执照、罚款甚至监禁等在内的处罚。
Around 9,000 resident and intern doctors, or about 70% of the country's total,
大约9000名住院医生和实习医生(约占韩国全国住院和实习医生总数的70%),
have walked off the job since Feb. 20 in protest of government plans to increase medical school admissions.
自2月20日起开始罢工,抗议政府增加医学院招生的计划。
They say the government should first address their pay and working conditions before trying to ramp up the number of new physicians.
他们声称,政府在试图增加新医生的数量之前,应该首先解决他们的工资和工作条件问题。
The government maintains the plan to boost medical school admissions is needed in a rapidly aging society with one of the lowest doctor to patient ratios amongst countries in the OECD.
在经济合作与发展组织(OECD)成员国中,韩国是医患比例最低的国家之一,韩国政府坚持认为,在一个迅速老龄化的社会中,提高医学院入学率的计划是很有必要的。
A recent Gallup Korea poll found that over three quarters of Koreans are in favor of the plan, regardless of political affiliation.
韩国盖洛普最近的一项民意调查显示,超过四分之三的韩国人,无论其政治派别如何,均支持该计划。