Medical Student Group "Unable to Pay Tuition for 2nd Semester"... Repeatedly Urges Cancellation of Enrollment Increase

"It is no different from breaking down the entire stable and then being told to come back."

A group of medical students refusing to attend classes has reiterated their demand to completely cancel the increase in medical school admissions, expressing their intention to withhold tuition payments for the second semester.

The Korean Association of Medical Students (KAMS) announced this on the 26th through a statement. Previously, the Ministry of Education had stated that if the medical students withdrew their class boycott, they would flexibly operate academic systems such as supplementary classes and I (Incomplete) grades to prevent students from failing.

In response, KAMS argued, "This is rather a 'regressive measure' that would set back the Korean medical education system," adding, "In this situation, simply urging students to return is no different from telling them to come back after having destroyed the stable environment."

They further stated, "Therefore, it is only natural that we cannot pay tuition for the second semester," and questioned, "With the academic schedule for receiving education itself ruined, how can we return to attend classes and pay tuition for what purpose?"

They also pointed out the controversy surrounding the Ministry of Education's meeting minutes of the 'Medical Student Quota Allocation Committee' that arose during the joint hearing of the National Assembly's Education and Health and Welfare Committees on the 16th. They said, "The basis for decisions and allocations of increased admissions requires objective and scientific verification above all," and added, "In this situation, calling for dialogue is an act of deceiving not only medical students but the entire public."

Moreover, they urged acceptance of eight major demands to the government, including the complete cancellation of the increase, stating, "There are numerous procedural problems such as the 2,000-person increase and allocation decided without review or evidence, but this policy is fundamentally flawed from the very beginning before procedures."