Honam Region Medical Students Gradually Return... Large-Scale Expulsion Crisis Averted

All Medical Students at Chonnam National University and Chosun University Return
Less Than Half of Students at Jeonbuk National University Have Paid Tuition
Reinstatement Applications at Wonkwang University Close at Midnight Today
Collective Leave of Absence Ends... Universities Anticipate Normalization

On the last day of March, which is the deadline set by the Ministry of Education for medical students to return, medical students on leave of absence at medical schools in the Honam region are showing signs of returning.

According to local universities on the 31st, all medical students at Chonnam National University, who had gone on a collective leave of absence in protest against the increase in medical school admissions, submitted their applications for reinstatement to the university on the 30th. This year, the total number of medical students at Chonnam National University and Chosun University is 893, of which 697 had applied for a leave of absence.

At Chosun University, where 689 out of 878 students (78.5%) had applied for a leave of absence, students also met with the university administration on this day and decided to return in full. Previously, Chosun University medical students conducted an anonymous vote through the emergency response committee, and the university is now guiding students on additional reinstatement applications.

Chonnam National University and Chosun University plan to compile their registration rates and report the status to the Ministry of Education. Although the deadline for each university's notice has passed, the last-minute return of medical students at both universities has been approved, thereby avoiding a large-scale expulsion crisis.

Chonnam National University had set the registration deadline for the first semester of the 2025 academic year as the 29th and has continuously encouraged students to register. This full-scale registration is expected to be an important turning point for the normalization of academic operations.

At Jeonbuk National University, which rejected leave of absence applications from about 800 students, it is known that less than half of the students have applied for registration so far. Jeonbuk National University plans to expel students who remain unregistered by the tuition payment grace period, which ends on the 17th of next month. However, even if students register by then, those who have missed a quarter of the total class days may be held back a year.

At Wonkwang University, where 478 out of 736 students had their leave of absence applications rejected, reinstatement applications are being accepted until midnight today. Wonkwang University will decide on the 1st of next month whether to expel students who have not applied for reinstatement.

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