[Exclusive] Nine National Medical Schools Gathered in One Place for Class Participation... Medical School Quotas Remain 'Frozen' Atmosphere

Course Registration Completed, But Actual Attendance Is Zero
At Pusan National University, 624 Out of 903 Students Have Not Paid Tuition
Normal Classes Remain Difficult... '3,058' Admission Quota Likely to Be Frozen
Government Announcement Expected Soon Based on Medical School Deans' Meeting on the 16th

Despite threats from the Ministry of Education and universities stating "class refusal will be handled according to school regulations," the number of students registering for courses remains in the single digits. At some universities, up to three-quarters of students have yet to pay their tuition fees. Nevertheless, the medical school admission quota for next year is expected to be finalized at '3,058'.

Yonhap News

On the 16th, Asia Economy analyzed attendance data of medical students from nine regional national universities (Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Kyungpook National University, Gyeongsang National University, Pusan National University, Chungnam National University, Chungbuk National University, Kangwon National University, and Jeju National University) obtained from the office of Assemblywoman Kang Kyung-sook of the Innovation Party for Justice. The analysis confirmed that these schools have not filled their course quotas, and actual normal classes are not being conducted.

At Chonnam National University, for practical classes for 3rd and 4th-year students that started on the 7th, 99 out of 115 seats (3rd year) and 100 out of 115 seats (4th year) were registered. However, the actual attendance was zero. Jeju National University had no registrations at all for a required course with a quota of 36 for 3rd and 4th-year students.

At Chungbuk National University, among 45 medical major courses taken by 1st to 4th-year students, only two courses filled their quotas: 'Medicine and Society' (54 students) for freshmen and 'Otorhinolaryngology and Dermatology II' (37 students) for sophomores. Even so, as of the 4th, lectures had not yet started.

At Pusan National University, as of the 7th, three-quarters of students had not paid tuition. Except for 163 freshmen from the class of 2025, all other grades had unpaid tuition.

The number of students who paid tuition was in the single digits across all grades: 6 out of 129 sophomores in the pre-medical program, 8 out of 131 freshmen in the medical program, 7 out of 123 sophomores, 4 out of 126 juniors, and 3 out of 117 seniors. Excluding cases where tuition was deferred, 624 out of 903 students had unpaid tuition.

Attendance status is also not tracked for students who registered for courses, including freshmen. The university stated, "All theoretical classes are conducted via video lectures, making it difficult to track attendance by course." Similar situations were reported at Kangwon National University, Jeonbuk National University, and Chungnam National University. A Ministry of Education official said, "The class participation rate at regional national universities is particularly low," adding, "The national average participation rate for medical schools is estimated to be around 30%."

Yonhap News

Although medical students' class participation remains low, the medical school admission quota for next year is expected to be frozen at the pre-increase level. On the afternoon of the 16th, the presidents of 40 medical schools held a meeting of the Association of Medical School Deans and decided to set next year's admission quota at '3,058', and the Ministry of Education is expected to officially announce the 2026 academic year admission numbers based on this.

The figure '3,058' was proposed by the government and universities as the number to freeze next year's medical school admission quota if the medical students who are refusing classes return by the end of March. The Ministry of Education considered "full return" and the Association of Medical School Deans considered "about half" as "a return rate sufficient for normal classes," but the average return rate across the 40 medical schools is understood to be in the 30% range.

As a result, the medical students neither returned by the 'end of March' nor did the return rate reach the "level sufficient for normal classes."