40 Medical Schools Lean Toward 'No Leave of Absence'... Countdown to Mass Repetition Crisis Begins

Jeonbuk National University Completes Rejection of 654 Leave of Absence Applications
"Non-returning Students Will Be Dealt with According to School Regulations"
40 Medical Schools Hold Emergency Meeting on the 19th

On the 19th, the 'Council of University Presidents for the Advancement of Medical Schools (UCPAMS),' a gathering of presidents from 40 universities nationwide, held an emergency meeting and agreed to reject medical students' leave of absence applications. Yang Obong, president of Jeonbuk National University and co-chair of UCPAMS, stated, "Jeonbuk National University has rejected all leave of absence applications," adding, "Those who do not return by the end of this month will be dealt with according to the school regulations." Accordingly, if medical students do not return by the end of this month, large-scale grade retention measures may become a reality.

A lecture room at a medical school in Seoul is empty on the 20th, the day the results of the increased medical school admission quota distribution, which triggered conflicts between the medical community and the government, are announced. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

A total of 654 students who applied for collective leave of absence in protest against the increase in medical school admissions but were not approved must complete course registration by the 28th of this month, which marks one-quarter of the total class days. If leave of absence is not processed and students fail to register for courses, they will face expulsion or grade retention. The criterion distinguishing expulsion from grade retention is whether tuition fees have been paid. Students who have paid tuition but do not attend classes will be subject to grade retention, while those who neither pay tuition nor attend classes will be expelled.

On the same day, nine national university medical schools, including Jeonbuk National University, decided to reject all leave of absence applications submitted by medical students. Private medical schools are also applying the policy of not approving collective leave of absence and are expected to take measures according to their school regulations thereafter. Some universities, such as Korea University, have set the deadline for medical students' return as the 21st, meaning that mass grade retention and expulsion of non-returning students could begin as early as the beginning of next week.

This situation makes 'tripling' (simultaneous education of the classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026) inevitable. The Ministry of Education had prepared a plan to normalize medical education through a 'doubling' method, where about 7,500 students from the classes of 2024 and 2025 attend classes simultaneously, but it considers simultaneous instruction of three classes totaling around 10,000 students to be practically impossible. Therefore, the current focus is solely on 'student return.' On the 18th, the Ministry sent an official letter to 40 medical schools requesting that collective large-scale leave of absence applications not be approved. A Ministry of Education official said, "If class refusal continues, the damage will fall entirely on the students," adding, "There are no special exceptions such as academic flexibility this year, and if each university handles the situation according to their regulations, the Ministry will not be able to intervene to assist students."