Inje University Also Registers, All 40 Medical Schools See Full Return
KMSA: "Actual Class Attendance Only Around 3%"
Protests Such as Class Boycotts Expected to Continue
At 40 medical schools, nearly all students who were on leave without registration have registered, but a significant number of returning students are not attending classes. It seemed that 'academic normalization' was achieved after a year, but now there are concerns about a 'large-scale failure' situation.
According to the education sector on the 2nd, medical students at Inje University, the only ones among the 40 universities who had not registered, also decided to return. The deadline for Inje University medical students to return is the 4th of this month, and 370 medical students refused to pay tuition fees, placing them on the 'expulsion candidate' list. Because of this, the return rate of Inje University medical students was the lowest at 24%, but with the decision to register on this day, all medical students nationwide have returned.
However, since they may continue their protest by refusing classes or submitting leave of absence forms after registration, it is expected to take some time before classes return to normal.
The medical student organization, the "Korean Medical School and Graduate Medical School Student Association" (KMSA), released a press statement on the same day, stating that only 3.87% of students are actually attending or planning to attend classes.
KMSA surveyed class attendance rates at 15 out of 40 medical schools nationwide and reported that only 254 out of 6,571 respondents attended classes.
At Gachon University, only 1 out of 245 students (0.41%) returned to class, and at Hallym University, only 3 out of 466 students (0.64%) were attending or planning to attend classes. Other universities such as 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%) also recorded single-digit attendance rates.
Lee Sun-woo, the emergency committee chair of KMSA, revealed these results and said, "The association's direction has converged on 'protest'." Although they decided to return to avoid expulsion due to non-registration, it is interpreted as their intention to continue government protests through class refusal.
Lee, the emergency committee chair, said, "The association is in close discussion with delegates from each school and is supporting various methods including legal advice," adding, "We hope each school will follow the guidance of their delegates well."
Just one day after the government announced on the 1st that "medical education normalization has begun" by reporting the return status of medical students at 40 universities, KMSA countered with a "3% attendance rate," making academic normalization once again distant.
Most universities have academic regulations that assign an F grade and require repeating the year if a student is absent for more than a quarter of the class days. Although tuition has been paid, if students do not attend classes by the end of this month, large-scale failure is inevitable.
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