Major university medical students say they will return to class after yearlong protest

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Major university medical students say they will return to class after yearlong protest

Published: 30 Mar. 2025, 18:04

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A student walks by the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on March 30. [YONHAP]

Almost all medical students at major universities — including Seoul National University (SNU), Yonsei University and Korea University (KU) — say they will return to classes, signaling a possible end to their yearlong protest against the government’s decision to increase medical school enrollment quotas.

The move to return comes as the Ministry of Education announced earlier this month that the medical school enrollment quota for next year would remain at 3,058 — the same as before the proposed increase — on the condition that all medical students return to class by the end of the month.

According to an exclusive report by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, all medical students at KU have decided to resume their studies as of Saturday.

A source at KU’s College of Medicine said all students who were required to return, except for about 110 students serving in the military and first-year students who have already completed their registration, have decided to do so. The university has extended the tuition payment deadline to 10 a.m. on Monday.

The deadline for first-semester registration ended on March 21. However, the university decided to extend the deadline after requests from students and parents, since it had planned to notify students of their expulsion if they had not made a decision by Wednesday.

A survey showed that, out of 453 medical students at KU, 106 students, or 23 percent, said they would attend classes and not participate in the protest, while 284 students, or 63 percent, said they would reapply for a leave of absence and refuse to attend classes unless their leave was approved.

A source at the university told the JoongAng Ilbo that many students seem to be "tired of protesting," and that those who initially voted to refuse attending classes "may act differently once they actually return."

KU emphasized that it would take every necessary measure to "protect the students who are seeking to return to classrooms" and would "sternly respond to any actions that violate academic policies," such as refusing to attend classes.

All medical students at SNU decided to resume their studies as of Friday, and those at Yonsei University have also decided to return, with the exception of one student. Students at the University of Ulsan and Sungkyunkwan University have all decided to return, according to sources.

Doctors walk across the Seoul National University College of Medicine campus in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 27.[NEWS1]

The decision to return follows a yearlong protest, as medical students took mass leaves of absence in March of last year in response to the government’s decision to increase the enrollment quota.

The government's announcement in February of last year to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 — raising it from 3,058 to 5,058 — triggered mass resignations and leaves of absence among junior doctors and students, plunging the country into a medical crisis.

Deadlines for students to decide on their return are fast approaching, with those at Kyung Hee University and Chungbuk National University required to make their decision by Sunday, followed by other remaining schools, such as Konkuk University and Hanyang University, by Monday.

The Education Ministry will collect data on the number of medical students returning from 40 schools nationwide by Monday and finalize the enrollment quota for next year’s admission.

BY LEE HOO-YEON, CHAE HYE-SEON AND CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]