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Last month, medical students from Chung-Ang University held a picket protest in front of Heukseok Station in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, urging opposition to the expansion of medical school quotas. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Medical school students have decided to continue their strike of collective leave of absence that began last month. They took collective action in protest against the government's medical policies, and unlike other medical organizations that reached agreements with the government or stepped back, they have decided to maintain a hardline stance. This decision came after discussions that extended beyond a day due to differing opinions among schools.

According to the medical community on the 11th, the Korean Medical School and Graduate School Student Association (KMSA) discussed whether to continue the strike from 10 a.m. the previous day and decided to maintain the leave of absence. It was reported that more than half of the schools opposed the proposal to end collective actions such as the strike, resulting in its rejection. While the Korean Medical Association withdrew the general strike after issuing an agreement with the government and ruling party, and residents and fellows returned to clinical practice while conducting low-level collective actions such as one-person protests, attention was focused on whether the KMSA would also end the strike, but they decided to continue collective action.

Some schools expressed opinions to stop the strike, conditionally agreed, or abstained, but it is known that the majority favored continuing the leave of absence. Although the strike decided last month will be maintained, no conclusion was reached regarding the national medical licensing examination (KMLE) for fourth-year medical students. A survey on the refusal to take the exam, mainly targeting examinees, will be conducted, and the matter will be discussed again on the day.

However, even if the policy to refuse the KMLE is withdrawn and students decide to take the exam again, the possibility of this happening is currently very low. The government has already postponed the exam registration once, and due to considerations of fairness and equity with other national exams, as well as negative public opinion, it is unlikely that the government will reverse its position and allow another opportunity to take the exam. Previously, medical students have been conducting collective actions by deciding on a strike of leave of absence from first-year premedical students to third-year medical students, and refusal to take the KMLE for fourth-year medical students, in opposition to the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools.

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