Lee Pil-soo (left), head of the Korean Medical Association, speaks at a press conference on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

The doctors' association vowed Tuesday to launch a nationwide strike if the government "unilaterally" pushes for raising the medial school enrollment quota.

The health ministry is widely expected to announce a plan later in the day to increase the number of medical students by up to around 2,000 starting 2025 as part effort to address the chronic shortages of doctors in rural areas and the essential health care field.

It will be the first hike in nearly 20 years, as the current limit of 3,058 medical school students was set in 2006.

"Despite repeated suggestions from the medical circle, the government has been pushing for its own policy measures without ample discussions and consultations," Lee Pil-soo, head of the Korean Medical Association, said in an emergency press conference on Tuesday.

"If the government unilaterally goes ahead with the plan, we will release the result of our survey conducted in December on a strike and begin a process to stage a general walkout," he added.

Doctors have claimed that the quota hike will compromise the quality of medical education and services and that the government should find other ways to better allocate physicians and boost compensation.

The health ministry has said that the increase is a must as the country is suffering from a shortage of medical staff in essential medical fields and who serve in non-metropolitan and other remote regions, and it has been in close consultations with the medical circle.

The number of doctors per 1,000 people in South Korea came to 5.6, far below the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations, according to government data.(Yonhap)