Ministry of Education Issues Official Letter to 40 Medical Schools Prohibiting Large-Scale Collective Leave of Absence

The Ministry of Education sent an official letter to the presidents of 40 medical schools nationwide on the 18th, requesting that they "do not approve collective large-scale leave of absence applications."

In the letter, the Ministry stated that the collective leave of absence by medical students is "a situation that raises concerns about damage to public health and life due to long-term academic disruption and gaps in medical workforce training," and added, "Medical schools responsible for medical education have the responsibility to manage the curriculum operation related to large-scale collective leave of absence and subsequent return of medical students, so the approval of leave should be decided considering the educational conditions of each university."

Furthermore, it said, "While leave of absence applications may formally be for personal reasons, we hope that universities take measures not to approve applications that are effectively collective large-scale leave of absence requests."

Earlier, the Ministry of Education announced that if all medical students return by the end of this month, the medical school enrollment quota for the 2026 academic year will be frozen at the pre-increase level of 3,058 students. Measures such as academic flexibility allowed last year will not be permitted this year, and the academic regulations will be applied as is.

They also decided to respond strictly to acts of forcing leave of absence on new medical students and disrupting classes. The Ministry has requested police investigations into a total of five cases related to pressure for leave of absence and similar acts from the end of December last year to the present.

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