Ministry of Education: "No Cases of Mass Resignation Submission by Professors... Conducting Budget Demand Survey for 'Medical School Expansion'"

Official Letter Dispatch Starting as Early as Tomorrow
"Active Financial Support to Universities"
Student Leave of Absence "Preventing Disadvantages Such as Grade Retention"

On the 25th, as medical school professors nationwide announced a collective resignation, the Ministry of Education stated that no collective resignation of professors has been received by universities so far. The government maintains its existing position of 'increasing the quota by 2,000' and plans to begin a budget demand survey necessary for financial support at each university within two weeks.

Shim Min-cheol, Director of Talent Policy Planning at the Ministry of Education, said at a regular briefing that morning, "After confirming with individual university officials, it has been understood that there are no cases where professors have collectively submitted resignations to leave their positions at the school," adding, "In the case of Chungbuk National University, there were instances where professors resigned after saying they would change jobs elsewhere, but there have been no cases of collective resignation since then." However, he added, "The Ministry of Education does not separately collect statistics on professor resignations through schools."

Regarding the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation's statement the previous day reiterating opposition to the 2,000 quota increase, he said, "That reflects the overall stance of the medical community," and added, "The government plans to actively provide financial support to dispel such concerns and to maintain educational welfare stably at the current level."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, the Ministry of Education announced that starting as early as tomorrow (the 26th), official letters for the demand survey will be sent to each university to assess spaces such as classrooms, professors' research offices, and practice rooms, as well as budgets. Director Shim said, "We are currently organizing the items to be surveyed," and added, "We plan to request certain data not only from national universities but also from private universities."

Regarding the specific scale of possible financial support, he responded, "This is not something we can announce proactively," and said, "Once the demand survey results come out, we will consult with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and others to provide maximum support for budget items deemed reasonable."

On medical students continuing their collective leave of absence, the Ministry reiterated its existing position to ensure they do not suffer disadvantages such as failing grades. Director Shim said, "The principle is for students to return first and normalize classes," and added, "Universities are making considerable efforts to ensure students do not face disadvantages." He further explained that since each university can autonomously adjust academic schedules, it is not possible to predict when students might face the risk of failing.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education stated that, as of now, no universities have individually issued warnings of failing grades at the school level.

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