12,527 Medical Students Apply for Leave of Absence in Ten Days... 67% of All Medical Students

Application Rejected Due to Unmet Requirements
6 Schools Refusing Classes
Ministry of Education: "61% Do Not Meet Requirements"

As collective actions by medical students opposing the 'increase in medical school admissions' continue day after day, 515 students submitted leave of absence requests on the 27th. Since the leave of absence submissions began on the 16th, students accounting for 67% of all medical students have submitted leave requests.

According to the Ministry of Education on this day, 515 students from 14 schools applied for leave on the 26th. Forty-eight students from 3 schools withdrew their leave requests, and 201 leave applications from 1 school were rejected due to failure to meet requirements. This is the first time that leave applications have been rejected at the school level in the Ministry of Education's tally up to this day.

Since the leave of absence submissions began on the 16th following the controversy over medical school admissions increase, the numbers were 3 from the 16th to 18th, 1,133 on the 19th, 7,620 on the 20th, 3,025 on the 21st, 49 on the 22nd, and 847 from the 23rd to 25th. Excluding withdrawals and rejections, the total number of leave applications so far is 12,527. This corresponds to 66.6% of the total 18,793 medical students as of April last year. The number of schools where leave applications have been submitted up to this day is 37.

In response to the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, medical students nationwide have decided on the 20th of this month to submit leave of absence applications together. The photo was taken on the 16th at a medical school in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Education explained that 7,647 cases, accounting for 61.0% of all leave applications, did not meet the formal requirements stipulated by school regulations. Among the total 18,793 enrolled students, the number of leave applications that met the formal requirements was 4,880 (26.0%). The formal requirements include student signatures, co-signatures of guarantors, submission through an online system, and submission of proxy authorization letters for delegated applications.

As of this day, the number of schools refusing classes decreased by 5 to 6 schools.

The Ministry of Education encouraged the withdrawal of leave applications that did not meet the formal requirements and urged universities to take prompt measures such as rejecting applications. Furthermore, it stated that strict actions would be taken according to school regulations if class refusal occurs.

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