Ministry of Education "Regrets Rejection of Busan National University Medical School Enrollment Increase Bylaw Amendment... Possible Correction Order"

"Universities Subject to Enrollment Increase Will Be Monitored for Compliance"
"Correction Orders Possible if Enrollment Increase Not Followed"
Regarding 'Bojeongshim Meeting Minutes Controversy': "No Obligation to Prepare"

The Ministry of Education expressed "regret" over the rejection of the medical school quota increase amendment at Pusan National University, marking the first time such a revision was rejected within a university. The Ministry plans to monitor all medical schools targeted for quota increases, including Pusan National University, to ensure that the academic regulations are amended accordingly. Regarding the controversy over the supporting data for the medical school quota increase, the Ministry stated that "there is no obligation to prepare meeting minutes."

On the morning of the 8th, Deputy Minister Oh Seok-hwan held a press conference at the Government Sejong Complex briefing room and said, "Recently, despite the expansion of the medical school quota at Pusan National University, the amendment to the academic regulations reflecting this was rejected at the faculty meeting."

On the previous afternoon, Pusan National University’s faculty meeting held at the university headquarters rejected the "Partial Amendment to Pusan National University Academic Regulations," which included the increase in the medical school quota.

Deputy Minister Oh explained, "According to Article 6 of the Higher Education Act and Article 4 of its Enforcement Decree, the amendment to academic regulations is finally promulgated by the head of the school, and in the case of Pusan National University, the academic regulation amendment process has not yet been completed. The medical school quota for each university must comply with the provisions set by the Minister of Education, and if not followed, corrective orders can be issued under Article 60 of the Higher Education Act."

He continued, "Since the university itself submitted the demand for increasing the medical school quota, I urge the university to gather opinions internally and complete the amendment of the academic regulations. As Pusan National University has stated that there is no disagreement regarding the necessity of expanding the medical school, I expect the academic regulation amendment reflecting the quota increase to be reconsidered and revised soon." He also said, "The Ministry of Education will monitor whether the academic regulation amendments at each university are made within the scope of the law."

Osukhwan Oh, Vice Minister of Education, is holding an emergency briefing on April class operations and resumption at 40 medical schools nationwide on the 9th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

The government and the medical community continue to clash over the existence of meeting minutes from discussions on the recent expansion of medical school admission quotas. In response to the Seoul High Court's request to submit supporting materials and meeting minutes related to the increase of 2,000 medical school quotas by the 10th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to submit the minutes of the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (HMPDC) and the minutes of the Medical Personnel Expert Committee under the HMPDC. The National Council of Medical School Professors (Jeonui Gyohyeop), representing 40 medical school professor organizations nationwide, issued a press release the day before, stating, "The government previously said there were no minutes of the HMPDC in response to an information disclosure request from a media outlet," and criticized, "Later, at a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) briefing, they changed their statement, saying that minutes were prepared and kept."

Regarding this, Deputy Minister Oh explained, "Unlike the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee, the Medical School Quota Allocation Committee is not a statutory committee, and there is no obligation to prepare meeting minutes. Also, the High Court, which is currently conducting an appellate trial related to the medical school quota expansion, did not separately request the minutes of the Allocation Committee," he clarified.

He added that they will sincerely respond to the materials and explanations requested by the court. He also said, "The list of committee members and specific discussion details of the Allocation Committee were agreed from the outset not to be disclosed to respect the members who found it difficult to participate openly in sensitive policy processes, so we ask for your understanding."

Earlier, on March 22, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Office for Government Policy Coordination formed the "Medical School Education Support Task Force (TF)" to take charge of supporting improvements in medical school education conditions. They surveyed the current status and future seven-year demand and investment plans for education conditions in eight categories, including faculty, facilities, and equipment, targeting 32 medical schools scheduled for quota increases, and are currently preparing budget support plans.