Decisive action is needed to end medical students' boycott and coercion

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Decisive action is needed to end medical students' boycott and coercion

Published: 18 Mar. 2025, 00:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Attendees including Park Dan, far right, of the Korean Medical Association salute the Korean flag before the opening of a forum to discuss the normalization of medical education held at the National Assembly on March 10. [YONHAP]

Despite the government's recent decision to freeze the expansion of the enrollment quota for the upcoming class of medical school first year students, Korea's medical education system remains in turmoil. This year’s cohort of 4,500 incoming medical students is being obstructed from attending classes due to pressure from their senior counterparts. At Konkuk University, senior medical students even issued a statement declaring, “We resolve to no longer consider those who return to class our peers.” Such behavior epitomizes collective self-interest and raises a fundamental question: Can those who ostracize their peers simply for attending class claim to embody the ethical standards required of future physicians?

On Monday, four professors from Seoul National University’s College of Medicine and affiliated hospitals released a statement titled, "To Those Who Claim That Returning Peers Are No Longer Colleagues: It Is Time to Decide." It pointedly noted, “Residents and younger students have displayed courage and wisdom in addressing the issues surrounding medical school quota increases, yet a year has passed without any concrete road map for health care reform.” The statement further condemned the ongoing protests, remarking, “What remains are only ‘lying flat’ in passive resistance and opposition without alternatives. The current approach and objectives of this struggle lack both justice and societal support.” This assessment is undeniably accurate.

First-year medical students refusing to attend classes and upperclassmen pressuring them to join the boycott must face an undeniable truth: As adults, they alone are responsible for their own futures. Licensed physicians and residents cannot shoulder this burden on their behalf. While some criticize the government for its decision to freeze the enrollment expansion, accusing it of capitulating once again to the medical community, the administration's deadline for returning to classes is fast approaching, leaving little justification for further concessions. The time to resume academic studies is now.

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) must also assume responsible leadership. Medical students participating in the boycott are closely watching the words and actions of KMA President Kim Taek-woo and Vice President Park Dan. If the association is, in effect, using students as bargaining chips to prolong this standoff, it is a dereliction of duties. If KMA leaders truly care about the future of their profession, they must encourage medical students to return to their studies. Will they continue to "lie flat" while the health care system teeters on the brink, offering no viable alternatives?

This conflict is not merely a standoff with the government — the ultimate victims of this prolonged disruption are the patients who depend on medical care. The dignity of the medical profession itself is at stake. As the professors' statement suggests, if this situation persists, discussions on reallocating some of the medical field’s exclusive rights to other sectors may become inevitable.

With universities nearing deadlines for disciplinary action, expulsion or dismissal of students would be a regrettable loss not only for individuals but for society as a whole. However, if the boycott continues, universities will have no choice but to enforce their regulations strictly. Simultaneously, a thorough investigation into the coercion of younger students by their seniors must take place. The Ministry of Education, university administrators, medical faculty and parents must collaborate to ensure students return to their education, preventing this crisis from spiraling further out of control.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.