Medical Students Face Imminent Risk of Repeating a Year... Signs of Leave of Absence Approval on Campuses

Medical Schools Increasing Enrollment Complete Academic Regulation Revision Process
Some Universities Move to Approve Leave of Absence Starting June

The procedure for revising university regulations to increase the quota for medical schools in the 2025 academic year was virtually completed at the end of last month, but the issue of collective grade retention among medical students remains unresolved. In some universities, voices are emerging that leave of absence approvals may need to begin as early as this month.

According to university sources on the 3rd, 31 out of 32 universities that increased their medical school quotas completed the regulation revision process by the 31st of last month. Yonsei University (Mirae) is scheduled to hold a university council meeting on that day to review the regulations.

However, as the majority of medical students have still not returned to classes, the risk of collective grade retention is increasing. Since March, universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University have been conducting classes after the semester started, but most have been replaced with online classes, and normal classes are not being conducted. The government has stated that it will not approve leaves of absence aimed at rejecting the medical school quota increase, but some universities feel they can no longer delay approving leaves of absence.

A medical school in Seoul on the 20th, when the results of the increased medical school admission quota distribution, which triggered conflicts between the medical community and the government, were announced. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

At Yonsei University College of Medicine, Dean Eun-Jik Lee sent a letter to the faculty on the 20th of last month stating, "At some point, we have decided that we have no choice but to approve leaves of absence." At Korea University College of Medicine, Dean Seong-Beom Pyeon sent a letter to professors stating, "The deadline for leave of absence processing has been set to May 31." This implies that leave of absence requests will be approved within this month. At Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, about 70 medical professors held an emergency committee meeting on the 28th of last month to discuss the necessity of approving leaves of absence. A president of another university with a medical school also explained, "We are currently waiting for the Ministry of Education's guidelines and observing the atmosphere within the university."

The reason universities are inclined to approve leaves of absence is that the likelihood of students returning is becoming slim. They argue that leaves of absence must be recognized to prevent the risk of collective grade retention. In medical schools, if a student is absent for more than one-quarter or one-third of the total class days, an F grade is assigned. Even one F grade results in grade retention.

However, the Ministry of Education has repeatedly stated that "we will make efforts to enable students to return as much as possible within June" and will not recognize medical students' leaves of absence. Some speculate that the government may consider verifying leave of absence procedures and approval documents, and if problems are found during the approval process, convert the matter into an audit.

On the same day, Koo Yeon-hee, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said at a regular briefing, "On the 31st of last month, department heads contacted university officials and students to persuade them specifically," and added, "I understand that the deans are not saying they will approve leaves of absence but are considering various options."

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