During Class Boycott... 3,200 Medical Students Apply for National Scholarships

16% of Total Enrollment Applied for National Scholarship
Nearly 5 Times the Number of Registered Students
"Refused to Return but Applied for National Scholarship" Criticism

A placard condemning the government's increase in medical school quotas is placed at the Korea Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

It has been revealed that medical students applied for national scholarships even while they were boycotting classes in protest against the government's policy to increase the number of medical school admissions.

According to the 'Status of National Scholarship Application Periods by Medical School' received by Kim Mi-ae, a member of the People Power Party and the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, from the Ministry of Education on the 27th, 3,201 students from 39 medical schools nationwide (excluding Cha Medical School, a graduate medical school) applied for national scholarships for the second semester this year. This corresponds to 16% of the total enrollment of 19,374 students across 40 medical schools nationwide.

Earlier, according to a report from Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of enrolled medical students nationwide for the second semester was only 653, accounting for just 3.4% of the total. However, the number of scholarship applicants is nearly five times the number of enrolled students. Since medical students have consistently refused to return to school, there are reactions that the number of national scholarship applicants is higher than expected. In particular, it was confirmed that the national scholarship for this second semester accepted applications twice, from May 21 to June 20 and from August 14 to September 11. Some criticized the fact that most medical students applied for scholarships even though they were boycotting classes in protest of the policy to increase medical school quotas at that time.

In response, Representative Kim Mi-ae said, "One of the core tasks of medical reform is to ensure high-quality medical education and to cultivate excellent medical personnel with the best capabilities," adding, "The relevant authorities should actively consider reasonable support measures for scholarships for medical students."

Meanwhile, the national scholarship is a scholarship that provides differentiated amounts based on income levels to students enrolled in domestic universities. Last year, the number of medical students who applied for the national scholarship was 7,414 in the first semester and 7,776 in the second semester. In the first semester of this year, a total of 7,210 students from 39 medical schools applied.