Medical Students Likely to Continue Taking Leave of Absence This Year as Well

"2025 Academic Year Struggle Proceeding with Leave of Absence Submission"

Medical school students are expected to continue their leave of absence this year in protest against the government's policy to increase the number of medical students.

According to the education and medical sectors on the 6th, the Korean Medical School and Graduate School of Medicine Student Association (KMSA) announced in a notice the day before that "following the resolution of the expanded general student representatives' meeting on November 15 last year, KMSA will carry out its 2025 academic year struggle through the submission of leave of absence applications."

On November 15 last year, KMSA held a general meeting attended by representatives from 40 medical school student councils nationwide and class representatives, where they passed a resolution stating that "to rectify the national issues caused by the government, the association will conduct a struggle to enforce its demands to the government in the 2025 academic year."

Since submitting leave of absence applications in February last year in protest against the government's plan to increase medical school admissions, most medical students have not returned. The Ministry of Education states that according to school regulations, students cannot take a leave of absence for three consecutive semesters and must return in the first semester of this year, but some medical organizations argue that many universities allow leaves of absence for more than three semesters.

Therefore, some students from the 'Class of 2025' at schools where three consecutive semesters of leave are not allowed or where first-semester leave for first-year students is prohibited are expected to engage in actions equivalent to leave of absence, such as skipping classes.