Park Dan: "Tokyo University Medical School Without 'Class of 1969'... Korea's Future in 2026"

Park Dan, Acting Chair of Daejeon Medical Association, Shares Tokyo University Case
All Students Failed, No Entrance Exam Next Year
"If Classes Are Boycotted Next Year, 7,500 Students... Unmanageable"

Park Dan, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), referred to a past case at the University of Tokyo in Japan where the recruitment of new students was suspended the following year due to inadequate educational support, arguing that South Korea could face a similar situation in 2026. On the 28th, Park shared a column from a daily newspaper on social media (SNS), stating, "Will normal university admissions be possible in 2025 and 2026?" and urged, "I hope you closely examine how serious the repercussions of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's clumsy policies will be."

Park Dan, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Korean Intern Resident Association. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The column he shared introduced the 1968 case at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine, where disputes over intern treatment spread to the entire faculty, resulting in all students being held back a year and no admissions being conducted the following year, leading to the absence of the 'Class of '69' at the University of Tokyo. Park analyzed that 2026 would be a critical year for Korea, and that current high school sophomores could be adversely affected. He wrote, "If the government insists on recruiting 4,500 students, and yet students still do not attend classes in March 2025, what will happen? Adding the 3,000 students who were held back this year to the 4,500 new students results in a single grade of 7,500 students."

The government announced that the medical school admission quota for the 2025 academic year will total 4,567 students, combining the existing 3,058 with an increase of 1,509. He stated, "Even if the number is not 7,500 but 6,000 (maintaining the existing quota), education would be impossible, so a normal government and universities should reconsider even recruiting the existing quota of 3,000 students." He argued, "Considering the current educational capacity of medical schools nationwide and the University of Tokyo case, the 2026 medical school admissions may be completely suspended, meaning the nationwide medical school admission quota could be zero." He added, "While the increase policy might benefit current high school seniors, sophomores might completely lose their chance to enter medical school."

Park said, "Depending on how the situation is resolved, it is uncertain whether the 2027 medical school admissions can return to normal, and if admissions are suspended, the acceptance thresholds for science and engineering fields at universities like Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University will likely rise in a chain reaction." He noted, "The University of Tokyo began discussing not holding the September 1968 admissions and ultimately decided not to conduct the December admissions." He added, "Are the Ministry of Education and universities preparing countermeasures? The early admission guidelines of each university state, 'The recruitment units and number of recruits may change depending on the adjustment of student quotas.'"

As a representative of interns and residents, Park maintains the position of 'complete cancellation of the 2025 medical school quota increase.' On the 26th, he held a private meeting with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. He revealed on SNS, "I conveyed to Leader Lee what the resigned interns and residents demand, such as improvements in intern treatment and the abolition of work commencement orders, how resolute they are, and what problems may arise in the future." He emphasized, "Interns and students will not return next spring either," and stressed, "Education for 7,500 students (after the increase) is impossible. The 2025 quota increase must be withdrawn."