[Breaking] Seoul High Court: "Medical School Professors, Residents, and Medical School Applicants Are Third Parties... Dismissed"

Medical school professors, residents, and medical students filed for a suspension of enforcement against the government, requesting to halt the effect of the decision to increase and allocate 2,000 medical school quotas, but the court dismissed or rejected the applications.

On the 16th, the Administrative Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Gu Hoe-geun, Bae Sang-won, Choi Da-eun) ruled on the appeal of the suspension of enforcement application filed by 18 examinees, medical students, residents, and medical school professors to stop the effect of the policy to increase and allocate 2,000 medical school quotas. The court judged, as in the first trial, that the applicants, including medical school professors, residents, and medical school applicants, were not direct parties to the disposition but merely third parties, and dismissed the application.

Previously, the first trial court stated, "The applicants are not direct parties to the disposition but merely third parties, and therefore, no legally protected interest is recognized for the applicants," and dismissed the suspension of enforcement application.

This case was filed together with an administrative lawsuit by medical school professors, university hospital residents, and medical students against the Ministers of Health and Welfare and Education, requesting the cancellation of the increase of 2,000 medical school quotas for the 2025 academic year. Suspension of enforcement refers to a court decision to temporarily halt the execution of an administrative disposition or the continuation of procedures when an administrative disposition cancellation lawsuit is filed.

Earlier, the Seoul Administrative Court, which handled the first trial, dismissed the suspension of enforcement application itself by questioning the 'applicant's standing.' Dismissal means a decision to end the trial without examining the merits when the lawsuit does not meet the requirements or the claim is not subject to judgment. For the same reason, seven out of eight suspension of enforcement applications filed separately by the National Association of 33 Medical School Professors (Jeonui Gyohyeop), medical school professors, residents, medical students, and examinees at the Seoul Administrative Court were consecutively dismissed.