Medical School Professor's Side "Preparing Re-Appeal"... Government "Appreciates Judiciary's Wise Judgment"

Court Dismisses and Rejects Government's Suspension of Execution Application
Medical Representatives: "Supreme Court's Judgment Indispensable"
Han Deok-su: "Deep Gratitude for Judiciary's Wise Decision"

Medical school professors, residents, and medical students have filed a request for a suspension of enforcement against the government regarding the 'decision to increase and allocate 2,000 medical school quotas,' but the court dismissed or rejected the request. Meanwhile, the representative of the medical school professors expressed their intention to file a retrial with the Supreme Court.

On the afternoon of April 22, local medical students participated in a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding the injunction lawsuit filed against the president of their university to prohibit changes to the college admission screening plan. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, lawyer Lee Byung-chul (Law Firm Chanjong), who represents medical school professors and students, stated, "We will do our best to prepare for the Supreme Court retrial procedure." He added, "For now, we consider it a draw," and said, "We believe that the Supreme Court's judgment is indispensable along with the remaining six cases (including Chungbuk National University) at the Seoul High Court."

Earlier, the Administrative Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun, Baek Sang-won, Choi Da-eun) dismissed the appeal against the suspension of enforcement request filed by 18 individuals including examinees, medical students, residents, and medical school professors, who sought to halt the enforcement of the policy to increase and allocate 2,000 medical school quotas. The court ruled, as in the first trial, that the applicants who are medical school professors, residents, and prospective medical students were not direct parties to the case but merely third parties, and thus dismissed their requests.

Regarding the application by current medical school students, the court recognized their standing as applicants and the urgent necessity to prevent harm. However, it dismissed the request on the grounds that the public welfare of medical reform through the increase in medical school quotas was more important.

The government expressed gratitude for the judiciary's decision and urged residents and medical students to return. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, immediately after the Seoul High Court's decision on the appeal for suspension of enforcement, delivered a public address at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu regarding the medical school quota issue, saying, "We deeply appreciate the wise judgment of the judiciary," and added, "Although the main lawsuit remains, today's decision allows the government’s efforts to increase medical school quotas and medical reform to overcome a major hurdle."

He continued, addressing residents and medical students, "It is now time for you to return," and urged, "Please continue your precious dream of becoming excellent doctors who save patients."

Although lawyer Lee Byung-chul expressed the intention to file a retrial, it is physically difficult for the Supreme Court to issue a ruling by the end of this month, so it is expected that the decision on whether to increase medical school quotas this year will be effectively determined by this ruling. Each university must finalize the quota by reflecting the medical school recruitment numbers in the 2025 academic year early admission guidelines by the end of this month.

However, lawyer Lee said, "The Supreme Court is the highest court responsible for protecting fundamental rights and has the final review authority over government administrative dispositions, so we expect the retrial case to be heard and finalized before May 31." This implies that given the seriousness and urgency of the matter and the well-known issues, the Supreme Court can promptly review and make a judgment.

With the dismissal and rejection of the provisional injunction, it is expected that the medical community's opposition, centered on residents, will intensify. A resigning resident said, "Looking around, almost no one is considering returning. Among residents, even if the provisional injunction had been accepted, the atmosphere is that it is not over, so they will not return."

Kim Jong-il, chairman of the Seoul National University Medical School Professors' Council, said, "If the provisional injunction had been accepted, residents who were willing to return even a little would have hoped to use that as a justification to come back, but with the dismissal, the justification for returning completely disappears."

Despite the dismissal and rejection of the provisional injunction, if the residents who have left do not return within this month, it is highly likely that their specialist qualification exams will be postponed until next year according to the principle. According to regulations on specialist training and qualification recognition, if a resident experiences a training gap within the training year, they must undergo additional training, and if the additional training period exceeds three months, the timing of obtaining specialist qualification is delayed by one year. Since residents will have been absent from medical sites for more than three months by the 20th, if they do not return within this week, the acquisition of specialist qualifications may be delayed by one year.

Meanwhile, the Korean Medical Association plans to announce its position at a press conference the next morning. Im Hyun-taek, president of the Medical Association, stated on his personal social media on the same day, "The Medical Association's position will be announced together with the professors at a press conference tomorrow morning after analyzing the judgment."