The deadline for medical students to return, which the government proposed conditionally on freezing the number of admissions for the medical schools next year at 3,058, is just one day away. As the government has taken a hard stance, saying it will expel medical students who do not return by the end of this month, students from major universities are returning one after another.
According to the education and medical sectors on the 30th, medical students from the 'Big 5' universities, including Seoul National University and Yonsei University, have decided to withdraw their leave of absence and register, followed by Ulsan University and Sungkyunkwan University, Catholic University of Korea.
The student council of the Seoul National University College of Medicine recently decided to continue their protest through registration leave or class refusal after holding a vote related to the 'unregistered leave protest.' The students agreed that it would be difficult to continue the protest while in an unregistered status. The Seoul National University Medical School Conflict Response Task Force conducted a vote from around 10 p.m. on the 26th to 8 a.m. on the 27th, in which 399 out of 607 respondents (65.7%) expressed their support for registration.
Medical students at Yonsei University also decided to register to avoid expulsion. The Yonsei University College of Medicine Emergency Response Committee has decided to change their protest method from unregistered to 'leave after registration' or 'class refusal after registration.'
Medical students from Sungkyunkwan University and Ulsan University also decided to return collectively, and medical students from Catholic University of Korea have decided to continue their protests after registering. This means that all the major medical students referred to as the 'Big 5' have withdrawn their policy of collective leave.
As a result, medical students from other universities are expected to announce their returns soon. Kyunghee University and Chungbuk National University will close their registration and return applications on this day. Gachon University, Konkuk University, Keimyung University, Dankook University, Daegu Catholic University, Ajou University, and Hanyang University will continue to accept registration applications until the deadline of the 31st.
Universities with medical schools have gathered opinions that they will expel medical students who do not return by the end of this month. However, they are appealing to medical students to come back to school to prevent a large-scale expulsion crisis.
The Council of Presidents for Medical Colleges (Medical Council), a meeting of 40 medical school presidents, noted on the 28th, 'We earnestly urge students to trust the university and return to school as soon as possible to grow into excellent doctors.'
The Ministry of Education plans to verify the registration status of the 40 medical colleges nationwide and whether regular classes will resume, and decide the number of admissions for medical schools this week at the earliest. The Ministry of Education initially stated, 'The number of admissions for medical schools will be frozen if all medical students return,' but later shifted its position, stating, 'The return of all medical students means a state where normal classes can be conducted.' It is interpreted as meaning that even if some medical students do not return, the number of admissions can still be frozen if normal classes can take place.
However, as medical students have successively announced policies for leave after registration and class refusal, it remains to be seen how the admissions for medical schools will be affected next year.