"Prohibition on Medical School Expansion" Injunction Against President Dismissed: "Student-President Contract Not Recognized" (Comprehensive)

Dismissal of Injunction Against Government Followed by Similar Judgment
"No Benefit in Seeking Nullification of Staff Increase," Court Rules
"Whether Increased Quota Infringes on Learning Rights
Should Be Carefully Examined in This Trial"

Medical students who opposed the government's plan to increase the number of medical school admissions filed injunction requests against the presidents of various universities to stop the plan, but the court dismissed them.

A view of a medical college in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Civil Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon) on the 30th rejected the injunction requests filed by a total of 485 medical students from national universities Kangwon National University, Jeju National University, and Chungbuk National University against the university presidents and the president of the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE), seeking to prohibit changes to the university admission plan.

The court stated, "There is no evidence to consider that the medical students and the university presidents or KCUE have a private law contractual relationship," adding, "Although they claim to have entered into a private law contract called a 'matriculation contract' with the presidents, there is no evidence to prove this, so it is not demonstrated that they have a protected right that would allow them to file an injunction."

Since the Framework Act on Education only provides general and abstract provisions regarding the right to receive education or its level, the court held that the medical students' claim to demand a 'specific level' of medical education is not recognized.

The court further stated, "Even if the change in the admission plan is invalid due to violation of the Higher Education Act as the medical students claim, it is difficult to see that the legal status of the medical students would be endangered or put at risk due to the increase in admission quotas," adding, "Therefore, it is difficult to see that there is an interest in seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the approval of this change."

Moreover, the court judged that the quality of education related to the scale of medical school admissions is only an abstract and indirect expectation and cannot be regarded as a direct and concrete legal interest.

The court emphasized, "Whether the increase in quotas due to the change in the admission plan results in the provision of education services of such low quality that the core part of the right to learn is infringed should be determined through thorough evidence investigation and careful examination in the main trial," and stated that there is no necessity for an injunction.

The court also ruled that the injunction request filed against the state should be transferred to the Seoul Administrative Court, stating, "Requests to prohibit infringement of rights against national universities are lawsuits with the state as the debtor and fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the administrative court."

The medical students filed the injunction request with the court on the 22nd, arguing that they had entered into learning-related contracts with the national universities and that if the universities change the admission quotas, the quality of education would significantly deteriorate, so the change should be prohibited. Previously, medical students, professors, and residents had filed a suspension of execution request with the Seoul Administrative Court against the government's decision to increase and allocate 2,000 medical school admissions, but the court dismissed the requests consecutively, citing lack of standing.

Due to the applicants' appeals, the Seoul High Court, during the hearing held on this day, announced that it would receive the government's evidence supporting the increase by the 10th of next month and then make a decision.

The submission deadline for the number of new students to be admitted by 32 universities nationwide for the 2025 academic year medical school admission increase allocated by the government last month is today. The KCUE will review and approve this, revise the 2025 university admission plan announced last year, and universities will finally reflect this in their new student recruitment guidelines by the end of next month.