Over 8,000 med students to be flunked, 46 expelled amid class boycott

A sign for a medical school in Seoul, Wednesday / Yonhap

Amid a yearlong standoff between the government and medical doctors over plans to increase medical school admission quotas, the Ministry of Education announced Friday that 8,305 students — about 43 percent of all medical students at the nation’s 40 medical schools — will receive failing grades. Another 46 students are set to be expelled for refusing to return to class in protest.

This decision comes despite the government's partial retreat from its original proposal under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, scaling back the planned increase in medical school admissions to 3,058 from the original proposal of 5,058 seats as part of its broader medical reform initiative.

Students who receive failing grades will be precluded from progressing to the subsequent academic year or semester. Those expelled will lose their status as medical students and will be formally dismissed from their respective institutions.

According to data from 40 medical schools nationwide submitted to the education ministry, 42.6 percent of the total 19,475 enrolled students have received failing grades, and 0.2 percent face expulsion.

At schools where the premedical program does not enforce academic retention, 3,027 students are expected to receive academic warnings by the end of the semester. Additionally, 1,389 returning students have registered for only a single course.

Excluding these students, only 6,708, accounting for 34.4 percent of the total, are expected to be able to fully participate in classes during the first semester of this year.

Both the ministry and universities have made clear that they will no longer accommodate students who refuse to return to class. The ministry also warned that any acts of harassment — such as circulating lists of students who have resumed their studies — will be met with legal action without exception.

To ensure the learning rights of the returning students, the government pledged a firm, coordinated response in cooperation with universities. The education ministry said it will strengthen protective measures and establish a temporary medical education committee to collect feedback from stakeholders, including students, in an effort to improve medical training.

Regarding the predicted confusion due to students from multiple cohorts, the ministry also stated that it will work closely with universities to prioritize education for newly admitted students and come up with measures to ensure a proper education for the students at the same time.

Meanwhile, some medical students have pushed back by filing a complaint against the Ministry of Education in response to the decision to flunk or expel them.

The Korean Medical Student Association held a press conference in front of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gyeonggi Province, and announced that they filed a complaint against two education ministry officials and a vice minister for alleged coercion, obstruction of duty and abuse of authority.