Gov't to unveil plan for boycotting medical students' return to school
An empty lecture hall is seen at a medical school in Seoul, July 17. Yonhap
The education ministry said Wednesday it will unveil a plan this week to accommodate the mass return of medical students back to school after many walked out in protest of the government's medical school admissions plan.
The move comes after the Korean Medical Student Association announced earlier this month that students who had boycotted classes in protest of the government's plan to sharply increase medical school admissions would return to school.
Vice Education Minister Choi Eun-ok will announce measures to expedite medical students' return Thursday, the ministry said in a notice to reporters, as currently, about 8,000 medical school students nationwide have been held back a school year for failing to show up to classes.
The government is likely to allow students retained for a year to return to classes in the fall semester and for senior-year students to take additionally scheduled medical license exams.
A group of deans from 40 medical schools has reportedly requested the government to conduct additional exams in the first half of next year to accommodate seniors who would be unable to take the series of exams scheduled to begin this September.
Early last year, thousands of trainee doctors walked off their jobs, while many medical students boycotted classes in protest of the government's decision to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 seats starting this year.
The government later reversed course and decided to return the 2026 quota to the original level of approximately 3,000.