SEOUL: South Korea on Wednesday announced the allocation of 2,000 new medical school admission slots nationwide every year, moving ahead with a reform plan to create more doctors despite a crippling monthlong strike by physicians opposed to it.

Hospitals have been forced to cancel crucial treatments and surgeries since thousands of junior doctors stopped working on February 20 to protest the proposed training reforms, but the government has vowed not to back down, threatening the striking physicians 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 its aging 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 underserved 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 told a news briefing.

Medical schools in Seoul had sought 365 more slots but were not awarded any, said a press release from Lee's ministry.

Experts say 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 (KMA), a representative body for doctors, criticized the allocation announcement, saying it would "burn the last bridge for compromise" leading to "catastrophic consequences."

Doctors say they fear the reform would 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 licenses of those who refuse to return to their patients.

Earlier this week, it suspended the licenses of two senior doctors, the KMA said, in the first punitive action against physicians 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 KMA officials.