Ministry of Education: "Impossible to Withdraw Medical School Expansion at This Point... No Need to Halt Procedures"

"Medical Students' 'Class Boycott' Goal Disappears"
7,500 First-Year Students Compete if Held Back
Repeated Appeals to Medical Students to 'Return to Class'

The Ministry of Education stated regarding the plan to increase medical school quotas for the 2025 academic year, "It has become impossible for the government to withdraw the quota increase policy. This is because the issue of the 2025 academic year quota has reached a point where changes are difficult." At the same time, they repeatedly requested medical students to return to classes.

At a regular briefing on the morning of the 20th, Ministry of Education spokesperson Koo Yeon-hee explained, "We must now consider the 2025 academic year admission quota, which includes the 1,500 increase submitted by universities, as finalized."

Earlier, on the 16th, the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 7 (Presiding Judges Gu Hoe-geun, Bae Sang-won, and Choi Da-eun) dismissed the appeal for suspension of execution filed by 18 medical school professors, residents, and medical students against the Ministers of Health and Welfare and Education regarding the increase in medical school quotas. Regarding this, spokesperson Koo said, "The first trial was dismissed, and the second trial's dismissal means the court judged there was no need to suspend execution," adding, "There is no need to halt the quota increase procedure for the sake of admission stability." The Ministry plans to complete the changes to university admission plans and amendments to each university's academic regulations as scheduled by the end of May.

According to the Ministry of Education, as of the 15th, 35 schools are operating classes for at least one grade. However, many medical students are still continuing collective actions such as taking leaves of absence. On this, spokesperson Koo explained, "The purpose of medical students' class refusal is due to concerns that medical education quality will deteriorate following the quota increase," and added, "The Ministry of Education and other government departments are working to create measures to enhance class quality." She also urged students to return to classes repeatedly, saying, "Currently, the goal to achieve class refusal has disappeared."

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, attended the "Medical School Operating Universities Presidents' Meeting" held on the 20th at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and shared opinions with the presidents of universities operating medical schools via video conference. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

She continued, "If a large-scale failure occurs, the biggest victims will be first-year university students," explaining, "First-year students cannot take leaves of absence, so they can only either fail the year or advance to the second year." According to the Ministry's estimates, if the approximately 3,000 current first-year students fail, combined with the 4,500 new medical school freshmen in 2025, a total of 7,500 students could be attending first-year classes. Not only will they have to attend classes together for the next six years, but competition for internships and residency positions will also become fiercer compared to other cohorts.

Additionally, the Ministry explained that if a large number of failures occur during the advancement of current second-year students to the first year of the clinical course, about 6,000 students may have to attend classes together at the clinical first-year level in 2025. Spokesperson Koo said, "I once again ask senior medical students to silently trust and support their juniors so that they do not face greater harm," and added, "It is necessary for everyone to make efforts so that students can return to school as much as possible."

The Ministry of Education reiterated that there is room for dialogue with medical students. Spokesperson Koo said, "We proposed a dialogue with the representatives of the Korean Medical School and Medical Graduate Student Association in March, but there has been no progress since then," and added, "However, our dialogue channels with students are always open, and we are ready to discuss together." Regarding the postponement of the medical licensing examination, she responded, "I understand that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is currently reviewing it."