<기사제목>Education Vice Minister Oh Seok-hwan: "Low Participation of Medical Students in Classes... Preparing Flexible Academic Management Measures"

"College Admission Process Confirmed... Difficult to Suspend Announcement of Recruitment Guidelines"

Deputy Minister of Education Oh Seok-hwan stated, "Students' participation in classes (at medical schools) is still low," and added, "We are preparing flexible academic management measures to minimize disadvantages such as failing grades and to enable students to attend classes and study."

Deputy Minister Oh appeared on KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' on the 31st and explained, "The college entrance examination system was finalized as of May 31," adding, "For the 2025 academic year, 39 medical schools will increase their intake by a total of 1,469 students, recruiting 4,485 students. Including 125 students outside the quota, the total recruitment will be 4,610."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the Korea Association of Medical School Professors' request to the presidents of 32 universities nationwide, where medical school admissions will increase next year, to suspend the announcement of university admission guidelines until the Supreme Court's re-appeal decision is made, the government's position was stated as, "Since admission guidelines greatly affect students and parents preparing for college entrance, it is difficult to halt the ongoing procedures."

Deputy Minister Oh emphasized, "We are making efforts to enable students to return," and said, "The most important issue is whether classes can be conducted once students return. We have already prepared with universities to ensure sufficient classes can be held, considering not only by semester but also by academic year." He continued, "There are various difficulties arising from students not returning to school, and in response, university headquarters will organize counseling teams to provide close individual counseling."

Regarding concerns that the sudden increase in medical school admissions might lower the quality of education, he said, "We allocated the final quota after assessing whether the increase could be made without compromising educational quality," and added, "We believe the increased quota can be adequately educated." Deputy Minister Oh also stated, "However, since the number of students has increased, it may become somewhat more challenging than before. For national universities, there will be state-level support, and private universities will plan according to their investment strategies," adding, "The government is also preparing measures to advance medical education."

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