Medical staffs tend to a civilian patient at the emergency room of the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 20. Yonhap

The emergency rooms of military hospitals nationwide opened their doors to the public in full scale Tuesday as trainee doctors in the civilian sector walked off the job in protest of the government's plan to increase the number of medical students.

As of Monday, 6,415 trainee doctors had submitted their resignations, with about 1,600 of them walking off the job to protest the plan to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats.

Amid concerns of major disruptions to public health services, the defense ministry has taken measures to give civilians better access to the emergency services of 12 military hospitals across the country by relaxing entry procedures.

While the hospital emergency rooms have been accepting civilians before the doctors' collective action, they have been difficult to access due to security procedures.

A 50-year-old surnamed Im visited the emergency room of the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, on Tuesday with her father, who recently suffered a hip joint fracture.

"It's a relief," Im, who lives in Namyangju, 25 kilometers northeast of Seoul, said. "I've called university hospitals since last night, but they've all said they weren't able to (operate)."

The hospitals also told her that their emergency room did not have trainee doctors to care for them, and they would have to wait, she said.

Im said she called the military hospital after learning that it would be open to civilians. Im's father will receive a hip operation at the hospital later this week.

Medical staffs transport a civilian patient to the emergency room of the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 20. Yonhap

An official at the Armed Forces Medical Command said two civilian patients had visited the hospital as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, compared with 30 in the past two months.

"While it's not particularly a large number, it is meaningful that one of the (patient) guardians said they visited after learning that military hospitals will be open," the official said.

With trainee doctors stopping work at some hospitals, some patients have already experienced delays in surgeries and other treatments. To cope with a potential wider disruption, the government said it will extend operating hours at 97 public hospitals.

The defense ministry is also considering further measures if the situation worsens, such as offering outpatient care from the military hospitals and dispatching medical officers to public hospitals.

The government says the increase in the admission quota is needed to address a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

But doctors have claimed that the government has not had full consultations on the matter and that the move will compromise the quality of medical education and services. (Yonhap)