"There is no regulation that forbids approval just because many applied"
The National Association of Medical School Professors and the Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors nationwide jointly issued a statement on the 5th, strongly opposing the directive to reject medical students' leave of absence approvals. In their statement, the two organizations criticized the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Education's directive to deny leave approvals as an "unconstitutional administrative guidance" and demanded its immediate cessation.
The medical school professors pointed out, "Leave of absence can be applied for based on an individual's free will, and there is no regulation that prohibits approval just because many have applied." They also criticized, "The presidents of 40 medical schools are succumbing to the Ministry of Education's unjust administrative guidance and abandoning university autonomy."
They stated, "The directive from the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Education to deny leave approvals is an unconstitutional administrative guidance that damages the precious values of liberal democracy," and demanded, "Stop this absurd administrative guidance immediately and respect the autonomy of each university."
The professors argued that normal medical education is impossible under the current circumstances and warned that poor education will ultimately lead to harm to the public.
Regarding Jang Sang-yoon, the Presidential Office's Senior Secretary for Social Affairs, who said, "The issue of medical school quotas for the 2025 academic year has practically been set in motion," they rebutted, "If the arrow is misfired and could harm the public, it must be stopped immediately."
They also insisted that the Ministry of Education, which pressured the presidents of 40 medical schools the previous day with "Do not approve collective leave of absence," should "approve the leave immediately."
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