THOUSANDS of striking junior doctors in South Korea faced legal action and suspension of their medical licences today as the government launched a crackdown.

Authorities have started police investigations into the leaders of the walkouts, which have disrupted hospital operations.

Nearly 9,000 of South Korea's 13,000 junior doctors have refused to work for the last two weeks in protest at a government plan to enrol thousands more students in the country’s medical schools in the coming years.