Half of Medical Students Nationwide Take 'Valid Leave of Absence'... Over 9,000 Students

It has been confirmed that more than 9,000 medical students have submitted valid leave of absence requests in protest against the government's policy to increase the number of medical school admissions. Approximately half of the medical students nationwide have applied for leave.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 24th, a survey conducted over two days from the 22nd to the 23rd targeting 40 medical schools nationwide found that 415 students from 12 schools submitted valid leave of absence requests.

During this period, 4 students from 2 schools withdrew their previously submitted leave requests.

A valid leave of absence request is one submitted following the procedures stipulated in the school regulations.

The cumulative number of valid leave requests has reached 9,109. As of April last year, this means that 48.5% of the 18,793 medical students nationwide have applied for leave.

Until last month, the Ministry of Education had compiled the total number of leave requests submitted by students regardless of compliance with school regulations. The total number of medical students who submitted leave requests was 13,697 (including duplicates). However, starting this month, only valid leave requests are being counted. Universities have been asked to reject leave requests that do not follow the proper procedures.

With the Ministry of Education announcing the university-wise allocation results for the 2,000 additional admissions on the 20th, collective actions such as solidarity leave by medical students are expected to continue for a long time. The Ministry's position is that even if the formal requirements are met, solidarity leave is not a valid reason for leave and should not be approved.

Eight universities were confirmed to have class boycotts on the 22nd and 23rd. If the class boycott continues, students may face collective failure. In response, universities have postponed the start of the clinical years, originally scheduled for February, until the end of this month or have continued suspending classes immediately after the semester began.

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