6 out of 10 Koreans Oppose Medical Students' National Exam Retake

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Six out of ten citizens oppose medical students' additional attempts at the national medical licensing examination (Kuksi).

According to a public opinion poll conducted on the 14th by Research DNA, a professional polling agency, commissioned by Heo Jong-sik, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 57.9% responded that they oppose additional attempts by medical students. Those in favor accounted for 36.9%, and 5.2% were unsure.

Rep. Heo explained, "The opposition was higher than support due to issues of fairness compared to other national exams."

In particular, people in their 40s, the Honam region, and those with progressive political tendencies were found to oppose additional attempts by medical students.

The response "Do not allow additional attempts by medical students" was highest among people in their 40s at 71.9%, followed by those in their 30s (69.3%), 20s (56.5%), 50s (55.2%), and 60s and older (44.9%).

By region, opposition was highest in Gwangju and Jeolla (71.3%). Gangwon and Jeju also recorded opposition rates in the 70% range (70.0%), while Daejeon, Chungcheong, and Sejong (59.4%), Seoul (58.0%), Gyeonggi and Incheon (56.0%), and Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (55.4%) all exceeded the majority by a wide margin. Daegu and Gyeongbuk had the lowest opposition at 47.8%, in the 40% range.

By ideological tendency, opposition reached 77.3% among progressives, followed by moderates (56.3%) and conservatives (35.8%).

Heo Jong-sik, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

Rep. Heo said, "Although the heads of major university hospitals recently appealed for additional attempts by medical students and issued a public apology, the public still remains unwilling to open their hearts."

This survey was conducted the previous day using an automated response system (ARS) via wireless (80%) and wired (20%) calls targeting 1,000 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide. The sample was randomly selected using the RDD method. Statistical adjustments were made by applying weights for gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of the end of September. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

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