Seoul, Aug 7 (IANS): South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Wednesday said the government will allow hospitals to extend the application period for trainee doctor programmes this week to help them recruit more junior doctors.

Han made the remark after only 104 candidates, or 1.4 per cent of trainee doctor positions available at 126 hospitals, had applied for the training programmes that begin next month amid a prolonged standoff between the government and the medical community, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Within this week, the government will extend the application period for trainee doctor programmes for the latter half of this year," Han said during an interagency meeting on doctors' collective actions.

Thousands of trainee doctors have resigned since February in protest of the government's plan to expand the medical school quota and refused to apply for training programmes until the end of last month.

Han vowed to keep communicating with trainee doctors to encourage them to return to hospitals and take measures to prevent them from having disadvantages in the medical community.

"We will take stern actions against acts that obstruct (trainee doctors') return to hospitals," Han said.

Later this month, Han said the government will announce detailed action plans for four healthcare reform tasks and an investment plan for the next five years to boost regional and essential medical sectors.

Separately, the health ministry said hospitals will receive applications for the upcoming training programmes on Friday.

"It was very regrettable that the application rate had been low despite the government's efforts to promptly normalise the training system," Jung Yoon-soon, a senior health official, told reporters.

"We ask trainee doctors, who were willing to return but could not do so due to the short application period and external perceptions, to proactively apply during the extended application period," Jung added.

Of 5,701 resident doctors who resigned, 625 doctors have returned to hospitals so far, up from 258 a week ago, according to the ministry.