Medical Student Association: "Only 3% Attendance After Full Return... Converging Direction Through Struggle"

Results of Internal Survey by School Announced
"Various Forms of Support Including Legal Advice"

The Korean Medical School and Graduate School of Medicine Student Association (Uidae-hyeop) claimed that, according to their own investigation, the actual class attendance rate of medical students was only 3%.

Korean Medical College and Graduate School of Medicine Student Association

According to Uidae-hyeop's own survey on the 2nd, out of 6,571 enrolled students from 15 medical schools, only 3.87% (254 students) were attending or planning to attend classes.

Uidae-hyeop stated that this data is the result of internal surveys conducted by each school, covering 15 out of 40 medical schools nationwide, and that 80-90% of enrolled students from these 15 schools participated in the survey.

According to the survey, the school with the lowest attendance rate was Gachon University, where only 1 out of 245 students (0.41%) returned to class. This was followed by Hallym University (0.64%), Korea University (1.57%), Soonchunhyang University (2.01%), Ajou University (2.12%), Dong-A University (3.49%), Chungnam National University (3.65%), Yonsei University Mirae Campus (3.79%), Catholic University (3.93%), Ewha Womans University (4.89%), Chosun University (5.35%), Yonsei University (5.65%), Hanyang University (5.89%), Sungkyunkwan University (5.99%), and Ulsan University (9.49%).

Uidae-hyeop also announced that after discussions with each medical school's representatives (student council presidents), they decided to adopt a stance of 'struggle' moving forward. Lee Sun-woo, the emergency committee chair of Uidae-hyeop, said, "We announce that the association's direction has converged on 'struggle,' and we hope each school will follow the guidance of their representatives well."

He added, "The association is continuously holding close discussions with each school's representatives and is providing various forms of support, including legal advice."

Lee emphasized, "Although there have been many reports of full returns, there are ultimately no photos of classrooms filled with students anywhere. We will strive for a meaningful and prompt resolution."

Earlier, Uidae-hyeop, which had maintained a stance of non-registration protest, apologized in a letter to members on the 31st of last month after a large-scale return of medical students began starting with Yonsei University on the 21st. They stated, "We deeply apologize for not being able to uphold the lawful leave of absence against the Ministry of Education and the schools that succumbed to it."

The notice on that day was interpreted as a decision to return to avoid deregistration due to non-registration, but with the intention to continue the struggle through collective class refusal.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education's position is that returning means not just simple registration but also attending classes properly and earning credits. Accordingly, they plan to observe the class situation until mid-month and then decide on the medical school admission quota for the 2026 academic year.