Medical Students and Government at Odds, National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board Steps in to Mediate... Will the Deadlock Be Resolved?

Director Lee Yoon-sung "If candidates express willingness to take the exam, the government should prepare relief measures"

On the 8th, the practical exam day of the 85th Medical Licensing Examination, officials are moving at the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy reporters Seo So-jeong and Cho Hyun-ui] As the practical exam for the Medical Licensing Examination began on the 8th, Lee Yoon-sung, president of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI), the exam management agency, expressed the view that relief measures for medical students should be prepared. Medical students are collectively refusing to take the medical licensing exam, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare has taken a firm stance that no further relief measures will be provided, prompting the KHPLEI president to effectively step in as a mediator. Since the entire fourth-year medical students could fail, causing significant aftereffects such as disruptions in the future supply of medical personnel, attention is focused on whether the KHPLEI president’s mediation can break the deadlock.

◆ KHPLEI: "Timing of Medical Students’ Decision is Crucial"= On this day, Lee Yoon-sung, president of KHPLEI, stated, "Relief measures should be prepared if the government permits it on the premise that medical students first express their intention to take the exam." He added, "If medical students express their intention and the Ministry of Health and Welfare tells them to take the exam, KHPLEI can prepare anew," emphasizing, "The timing of the medical students’ decision is important; otherwise, it could extend beyond the year," urging medical students to make a decision.

This statement drew attention as it came amid demands from the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Intern Resident Association for additional relief measures for medical students. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which had already extended the exam schedule once, is taking a tough stance against further extensions, so Lee’s remarks could provide a breakthrough in the current deadlock. The Ministry’s position is that "we cannot offer relief measures first while medical students are voluntarily refusing the national exam," but the possibility of choosing to avoid the worst-case scenario cannot be ruled out.

◆ Practical Exam from the 8th... Lowest Number of Examinees in History= According to KHPLEI, this year’s practical exam is being held from today until November 20 at the KHPLEI main building in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Only 446 out of 3,172 eligible candidates, about 14%, are taking the exam, marking the smallest scale ever. The practical exam consists of 12 tasks, including the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), which uses mannequins to verify basic skills, and the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX), where examinees directly treat trained patients. In the CPX, examinees ask symptoms to standardized patients (actors trained for 30 hours), conduct physical examinations, and make diagnoses. The OSCE tests basic medical skills such as suturing wounds, administering injections, and applying bandages on patient models. The pass rate for the practical exam generally exceeds 95%. According to KHPLEI, the pass rate for the 84th Medical Licensing Examination practical exam held in 2020 was 97.0%, with 3,093 out of 3,189 examinees passing. Previous practical exams also recorded high pass rates: 95.6% in 2019 (83rd), 95.8% in 2018 (82nd), and 96.4% in 2017 (81st).

This is not the first time medical students have refused to take the licensing exam. In 2000, when the medical community opposed the government’s medical separation policy and even staged a general strike, medical students also collectively refused to take the exam. About 90% of eligible candidates almost failed to take the exam, but it was held a month later than scheduled following an agreement between the government and the medical community. Since only the written exam was held at that time before the introduction of the practical exam, there was no confusion caused by the postponement.

Medical students have also previously boycotted classes at the start of a new semester. In March 1996, fourth-year medical students protested the national exam’s 30% failure rate, stating, "Compared to the usual 10% failure rate, this is unacceptable. The national exam questions have lost fairness and objectivity due to interference by senior doctors concerned about an oversupply of medical personnel," demanding additional exams and other measures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.