[The Era of Medical Student Cartel]④ "There is a compensation mentality, but the medical community and patients aim for coexistence"

Confessions of a Medical Student on Leave
"We Are Not Pursuing Only Personal Gain"
"Students Will Return If Education Is Normalized"

Editor's NoteSince February last year, residents who left hospitals in protest against the government's medical school expansion policy have not returned for two years. Medical students who followed their seniors in boycotting classes and collectively taking leave of absence have mostly accepted the formality of returning in response to warnings from the government and universities threatening to fail or expel them, but there remains a strong possibility they will continue their struggle through re-leave and class boycotts. Even if the medical school environment appears to be barely normalizing, the collective unity of medical students and the impact of their power are unlikely to fade easily. Asia Economy analyzes over six installments how and why they can unite so tightly like a 'cartel.'

During this investigation, Asia Economy interviewed several medical students either face-to-face or by phone. When anonymity was guaranteed, they generally spoke out actively. However, regarding questions other than the official reasons claimed by the medical community, they all guarded themselves extremely and did not reveal their true feelings.

They feared two main things: criticism from friends and seniors asking, "Why are you unnecessarily stepping forward?" and concerns that "the interview content might be distorted when perceived by the general public." Below is an interview conducted with difficulty on the 24th of last month with one of them. The interviewee is a 24th class student from a regional medical school who participated in the collective leave of absence.

A medical student on a leave of absence is being interviewed by an Asia Economy reporter at a cafe in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

- There are criticisms that collective selfishness and a sense of privilege lie behind medical students not returning.

▲ It would be a lie to say there is no desire for reward for achievements at all. They studied hard to get into medical school, but the government suddenly tried to dismantle the entire medical system overnight, so resistance to this is indeed one of the driving forces that brought medical students this far.

However, medical students are not acting out of unilateral personal gain. They want to move toward a direction where both medical consumers and the medical community can coexist. They are naturally willing to accept improvements needed in the unsustainable current medical system.

- Did seniors' encouragement to take leave, persuasion, or the blacklist incident influence the allied leave of absence?

▲ During the process of deciding on leave last year, seniors or residents did not come at all. Especially third- and fourth-year students had barely seen each other’s faces since admission. The only time the 23rd class met freshmen was briefly during last year's freshman orientation (OT). Voices that started internally by grade level became the consensus.

- If there was no encouragement or persuasion, how did you come to take collective leave?

▲ It started with an appeal letter from Hallym University medical students. We sympathized with the issues they raised. The content was shared in our classmates' KakaoTalk chatroom, forming public opinion, and I recall that the school's emergency response committee and individual grade student councils also held general meetings. Our grade attended school for about a month after other grades took leave, but as the situation worsened, we joined the leave.

A medical student on a leave of absence is being interviewed by an Asia Economy reporter at a cafe in Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

- What do you think about the unfavorable social views?

▲ I think the biggest reason is the difference in information. Outsiders do not know the internal situation well and can only have a superficial image. For example, people ask why the 25th class, who are beneficiaries of medical school expansion, are not attending classes.

But it is not because of seniors' encouragement or persuasion; they also discovered problems after entering medical school and examining the policy. They realized that simply attending school would not solve the issues once they understood what the essential medical package would result in beyond just increasing the quota.

If the 25th class is criticized even though they were not selected because they asked for an increase in medical school quotas, they are also just victims. Recently, there was talk of expelling medical students who do not return and recruiting transfer students, but if even transfer students understand the internal situation and the policy, they would have joined the allied leave of absence.

The Korean Medical Association and others should more widely publicize that medical students are not avoiding dialogue and persuasion, that this is not about protecting doctors' interests, and that the medical reform being pushed by the government will directly harm the public's access to medical services.

- What do you consider the most important improvement to fully resolve the current situation?

▲ For now, the biggest desire is to receive proper education to become competent doctors. The medical school I attend suddenly increased its quota significantly overnight. However, the Ministry of Education has not presented clear measures on how to educate this many students. Even if we return to school, it is not easy to receive proper education. If education is normalized, many students will return.