Medical Students Applying for Leave of Absence Total Over 13,000 in 9 Days... 72% of Medical Students Nationwide

As of the 27th, 282 Students on Leave of Absence
6 Universities Refused Classes

On the day before the government's deadline for the medical residents' strike (the 29th), it has been confirmed that more than 13,000 medical students nationwide have submitted leave of absence applications in protest against the policy to increase the number of medical school admissions.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 28th, as of 6 p.m. the previous day, a total of 282 medical students from six schools had submitted leave of absence applications. Eight students from one school withdrew their leave requests, and 170 applications from two schools were rejected due to not meeting the requirements. At three schools, leave was approved for nine students, but these were not related to the collective leave in response to the increase in medical school admissions.

This follows 1,133 students on the 19th, 7,620 on the 20th, 3,025 on the 21st, 49 on the 22nd, 847 over the weekend from the 23rd to the 25th, and 515 on the 26th, totaling 13,471 leave applications over nine days up to the previous day. This accounts for 71.7% of the 18,793 medical students enrolled nationwide as of April last year.

In response to the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, medical students nationwide have decided to submit leave of absence applications together on the 20th of this month. The photo shows a medical school in Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

However, the Ministry of Education stated that the total number of valid leave applications as of that day was 4,992. This figure excludes withdrawn and rejected applications from the total number of leave requests.

On that day, class refusal was confirmed at six schools. The Ministry of Education explained, "At the respective schools, efforts are being made to conduct normal academic operations through student counseling and explanations."