Open Letter from Presidents and Deans of 40 Medical Schools Nationwide
"If You Do Not Return Today, You Will Be Required to Repeat the Year According to School Regulations
List Will Be Submitted to the Ministry of Education After Confirmation"
On April 30, as the decision on repeating the year for medical students who have not returned was imminent, presidents and deans from 40 medical schools nationwide made a final appeal for students to return.
On this day, the Council of University Presidents for the Advancement of Medical Schools (UCPA) and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate Schools (KAMC) issued an open letter titled "A Final Request for Medical Students to Return," addressing students who have not yet returned. The letter stated, "If you do not return by today, you will not be able to come back to school for the rest of this year."
The presidents and deans of medical schools said, "We have only considered the normalization of medical education and recommended to the government that the admission quota for the 2026 academic year be set at 3,058 students, and the government has accepted this. We have hoped for and requested your return to the classrooms, but the actual participation rate in classes remains very low."
They continued, "If you are still hesitating to return, or if you believe you can come back after May, we earnestly urge you to return, as today is the last day you can do so."
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education and KAMC among medical students starting from April 25, 87.9% of respondents said they support returning. The Ministry of Education stated, "The number of students who wish to participate in classes is two to three times higher than the number actually attending," and added, "We hope that this survey, which allowed students to confirm each other's intentions, will serve as a catalyst for returning to classes." However, the actual participation rate of medical students in classes has not increased significantly from the average of 26% announced on April 17.
The presidents and deans pointed out, "Some students are relying on vague rumors that a new government, after taking office in June, will provide relief measures for those who have not returned, such as academic flexibility. However, these are unfounded and unverifiable expectations." They added, "If you do not return by today, you will be required to repeat the year according to school regulations, and the school will submit the list of students subject to repeating the year to the Ministry of Education."
The Ministry of Education has sent official documents to each medical school, requesting that they confirm the list of students required to repeat the year as of April 30. Measures such as 'academic flexibility,' which were implemented last year, will not be applied this year.
The presidents and deans stated, "Once repeating the year is confirmed, you will not be able to return through academic flexibility measures that adjust the curriculum, and there is no way to avoid repeating the year."
Regarding returning in July or August, they said, "Since the first semester curriculum will have already ended, it is not possible to create a separate curriculum for returning students in the second semester. It is also impossible, under current educational conditions, to operate two different curricula for students who have already returned and those who return later within the same year."
They concluded, "If you do not return by today, it will be difficult to return this year, and you will inevitably lose another invaluable year of your life. As repeating the year will be confirmed as of midnight today, please inform the school of your intention to participate in classes by then."
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