Park Dan, Representative of Resident Doctors, to Returning Medical Students: "Without the Resolve to Give Up an Arm..."

"What They Want Is Submission...
It's Not the Time to Give Up"

Park Dan, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association and Vice President of the Korean Medical Association, sharply criticized returning medical students, saying, "What do you expect to achieve without being prepared to give up an arm?"

On the 28th, Chairman Park posted on social media (SNS) a post titled "A Binary Choice: Unregistered Leave of Absence or Return to School." He began by sharing recent developments, stating, "Yonsei University requires a pledge to sincerely attend classes after registration, and Korea University treats withdrawal as a dropout if the return application is withdrawn." He then criticized, "The government and universities have maintained a high-handed stance throughout the year, and professors who claimed to respect free choice are actually suppressing students by using hierarchical power."

Park Dan, Acting Chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) and Vice President of the Korean Medical Association. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Chairman Park continued, "Punishment. The opponent’s blade is aimed at my neck, so what do you expect to do without being prepared to give up an arm? Is it true that refusing classes after registration frees you from expulsion?" He asked, adding, "What they ultimately want is submission, isn’t it?" He also said, "There are only two options: live or die. The school is kindly informing you, so why?" He concluded his post by saying, "It is not yet time to give up."

Chairman Park also shared a news article link about ongoing interviews with medical students at Korea University who wish to return.

Meanwhile, students from major medical schools such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University are showing signs of withdrawing their alliance leave of absence. Seoul National University medical students decided to register for the first semester on the 27th, the registration deadline, and Yonsei University medical students changed their stance from "refusing registration" to "registering and then taking a leave of absence." It is reported that over 80% of Korea University medical students have expressed their intention to register. Other medical schools, whose return deadlines have already passed, are also extending their deadlines and continuing efforts to increase student return rates.