South Korea has given doctors till tonight to end a strike, or face prosecution

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government made a last appeal to junior doctors to end a walkout, with hours left to go before the Thursday deadline on its threats to suspend medical licenses and prosecute the strikers.

Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the government’s push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials have warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they don’t return to their hospitals by Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their hospitals after submitting resignations, according to the Health Ministry.

Observers say many strikers are likely to defy the deadline, continuing the labor boycott for weeks or months. The government is expected to begin formal steps toward punishments on Monday, as Friday is a national holiday.

“We’ve said that we won’t hold them responsible for leaving their worksites if they return by today,” Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told a briefing. “Doctors are there to serve patients, and those patients are anxiously waiting for you. This isn’t the way to protest against the government.”

Park said officials had invited 94 representatives of the strikers to a meeting on Thursday afternoon, using a mass text message. It’s not clear if any doctors will attend, but Park said he would go to the meeting site and meet with anyone who showed up.

Starting March 4, the government will notify doctors who miss the deadline that it plans to suspend their licenses, and will give them opportunities to respond, senior Health Ministry official Kim Chung-hwan told the same briefing.

Under South Korean law, the