Ministry of Education: 8,305 Medical Students to Be Held Back, 46 to Be Expelled

A Total of 1,626 First-Year Students Set to Be Held Back
Only 34% of Medical Students Able to Attend Classes This Semester

A total of 8,305 medical students who registered but did not participate in classes are set to be held back, and 46 are expected to be expelled. As a result, the so-called "tripling" phenomenon?where students from the classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026 converge in the first year of medical school in 2026?is expected to become a reality.

On May 9, the Ministry of Education announced the status of medical students subject to being held back or expelled, based on reports submitted by 40 medical schools nationwide. Previously, on April 30, the Ministry had requested universities to finalize and submit their decisions regarding the holding back or expulsion of students who had not returned to their studies.

According to the data submitted by each university to the Ministry of Education on May 7, 8,305 students?42.6% of the 19,475 enrolled medical students?are expected to be held back. The number of students expected to be expelled is 46, and each university plans to handle these cases in accordance with their own regulations and procedures for appeals.

Among those expected to be held back, there are 1,241 first-year pre-medical students from the class of 2025 and 385 first-year pre-medical students from the class of 2024 or earlier. The number of second-year pre-medical students is 829. In the main medical program, the number of students expected to be held back is 5,850.

At universities where students are not held back in the pre-medical phase, the number of students expected to receive academic warnings after the first semester this year is 3,027. These students will be processed according to end-of-semester grading and related procedures. There are 1,389 students who registered for only one course during the first semester. In these two cases, a total of 3,650 pre-medical students will be able to participate in classes in the second semester this year, and if they make up for missed credits through summer or winter sessions, they can advance to the next year as usual.

Excluding these cases, the Ministry of Education estimates that 6,708 students?34.4% of all medical students?will be able to participate in classes to the fullest extent possible during the first semester.

The Ministry of Education plans to focus on ensuring that students who return to their studies can receive a normal education in cooperation with universities. The Ministry also warned of a strict, government-wide response to ensure that the learning rights of returning students are not infringed upon. In addition, a "Medical Education Committee" (tentative name) will be established to gather opinions from all stakeholders in the field of medical education, including students.

To address vacancies caused by expulsions and other factors, each university will be supported so that they can fill these gaps through transfer admissions.

The Ministry also urged universities to thoroughly analyze and prepare for the status of students by promotion year in advance, in response to the now-realized "tripling" situation. Measures such as granting priority course registration rights to students from the class of 2026 are being considered. The Ministry of Education stated, "Taking into account the educational conditions at each university, we will work closely with universities to ensure that new students can receive priority education within feasible educational capacities."

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