Medical School Professors Demand Immediate Withdrawal of Enforcement Decree Amendment That Undermines the Korea Medical Education Assessment Institute

"Preparation to Promote Pro-Government Medical Evaluation Institute"
"Medical Students' Legitimate Leave of Absence Must Also Be Approved"

Medical school professors urged the Ministry of Education to withdraw the amendment to the enforcement decree concerning medical education evaluation and accreditation.

Choi Chang-min, Chairman of the Emergency Measures Committee of Professors from Medical Schools Nationwide, is speaking at a protest rally against the Ministry of Education's amendment to the enforcement decree on medical education evaluation and accreditation, held in front of the Ministry of Education at the Government Sejong Complex on the morning of the 21st.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi Chang-min, chairman of the Emergency Committee of the National Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi), held a protest rally in front of the Ministry of Education building in Sejong City on the 21st, stating, "Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is pushing for an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE), the last bastion of medical education, to weaken KIMEE," and added, "It must be withdrawn immediately."

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, the Ministry of Education announced a legislative notice for partial amendments to the regulations on evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions. The amendment mainly allows for the extension of the validity period of existing evaluations and accreditations if evaluation and accreditation by the existing recognized institution is impossible, and in cases where large-scale disasters prevent normal academic operations at medical schools, KIMEE must grant medical schools a supplementary period of more than one year before issuing a non-accreditation. The Ministry explained the reason for the amendment as "to prepare grounds for extending the validity period of existing evaluations and accreditations when recognized institutions do not exist or evaluation and accreditation are impossible, so that universities and students do not suffer damage due to a gap in recognized institutions."

Chae Hee-bok, a professor at Chungbuk National University College of Medicine and a member of the emergency committee, criticized the amendment decree on the same day, saying, "This is preparation to dismantle KIMEE," and added, "They are building up to conditionally accredit KIMEE, then cancel its designation, and promote a 'government-controlled KIMEE'."

He continued, "When Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong unilaterally decided and announced an increase of 2,000 admissions quota, the Minister of Education, who is the competent authority, could not say anything and went around promoting the increase as a good policy to medical school professors and students nationwide, as if he were Cho’s deputy."

He pointed out, "Minister Lee should have first assessed the capacity of medical education and calculated an acceptable number before increasing admissions, but instead, he increased the quota as ordered by the Minister of Health and Welfare, who is lower in the Cabinet hierarchy."

They also demanded that the government approve medical students’ leaves of absence. Chairman Choi said, "Minister Lee is not approving students’ legitimate leaves of absence, which infringes on students’ basic rights and university autonomy," and added, "Education is already impossible this year, so leaves of absence must be approved immediately."

He added, "This is a crisis in Korean university education," and said, "If even the basic matters stipulated by law can be changed by a single word from the minister, there is no future for Korean universities."