South Korean doctors vowed to move forward with their nationwide strike planned for next week, despite a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases, the country's medical association said Wednesday.

The announcement came after Health and Welfare Minister Park Neunghoo and Korea Medical Association (KMA) chief Choi Dae-zip made little headway in their talks in Seoul earlier the day, the doctors’ group said.

The KMA had said its members will stage a walkout from Aug. 26 through Aug. 28 to protest the government's medical reform plan. This follows a one-day strike carried out last Friday, which marked the third major walkout in the past two decades, after those in 2000 and 2014.

Park said after the talks that that there were differences in views.

“The government suggested the opening all possibilities (for talks), but doctors insisted on scrapping the reform plan before any discussions can take place,” the policymaker said. He said Seoul is still open to finding ways to ease disparity in medical services offered in rural areas, and hinted that the health ministry can discuss making adjustments to its proposal in future negotiations with doctors. (Yonhap)