"Not Even Returning to School, Next Year's Freshmen Will Be No Different"…Representative of Residents Opposes

Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho Announces Measures to Normalize Medical Schools
Conditional Leave of Absence Approved if Medical Students Return Next Year
Medical Associations Say "Leave of Absence Is Voluntary... Cannot Be Forced"

The government announced plans to allow medical students who return next year to take a leave of absence and to shorten the current six-year medical education curriculum to five years. In response, Park Dan, the emergency committee chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), predicted that "next year's freshmen will not be different from their seniors."

Park Dan, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Korean Intern Resident Association. [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 6th, Chairman Park posted on his social media, "The Minister of Education is leading poor-quality education," and criticized, "Is it fairness and common sense, as claimed by the current government, to not allow only medical students to take a leave of absence?" He added, "Let me be clear, not only will the medical students not return, but next year's freshmen will also be no different from their seniors."

As medical students opposed the government's plan to increase medical school quotas and did not return for the second semester, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho announced an "Emergency Plan for Normalizing Medical School Academics" on the same day. This plan includes allowing limited leave of absence only for medical students who plan to return next year and institutionalizing a system to shorten the current six-year medical education curriculum to five years, to be applied from next year onward. Deputy Prime Minister Lee emphasized, "For students who do not return, we have prepared a limited leave approval plan based on the premise that they will return at the start of the 2025 academic year."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Seoul National University College of Medicine, in opposition to the government's increase in medical school quotas, was the first among medical schools nationwide to collectively approve the large number of leave of absence applications submitted by medical students on the 30th of last month, raising concerns that this movement might spread to other universities. In response, the Ministry of Education decided to approve limited leave as an emergency measure. They also stated that leave applications from medical students will be approved on the condition of returning next year, but for those who do not return despite these measures, they will face grade retention or expulsion, and to minimize the gap in medical workforce training, they will institutionalize a plan to shorten the medical education curriculum by one year.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Lee stated, "The government maintains a consistent policy that 'alliance leave,' which is conducted as a means to achieve collective goals rather than for personal reasons, is not a legitimate reason for leave."

On the same day, five medical organizations?the National Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors, the National Association of Medical School Professors, the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools, the Korean Medical Association, and the Korean Physicians Association?issued a statement criticizing the government policy, saying, "Medical students' leave of absence is by free will. The state cannot force their return." The five organizations pointed out, "The government is rushing out hasty measures that forcibly fit the academic schedule without any qualitative consideration of medical education, trying to cover up poor education," and added, "Medical education itself is already not normal, and as time becomes tight, they are now blatantly trying to institutionalize the deterioration of medical education."

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