Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is scheduled to meet with about 10 medical students on the afternoon of the 22nd at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam, Seoul. This is the first time the Minister is meeting with medical students since the outbreak of the conflict with the medical community. Both sides are expected to share opinions on medical education and healthcare reform.
The meeting between the Minister and the medical students was arranged by the Korea Medical Policy School. The Korea Medical Policy School is an organization founded by about 10 specialists who resigned in protest against the government’s healthcare policy and was established last month. However, it has been reported that the strong medical student organization, the Korean Medical College and Graduate School Student Association (Medical Student Council), will not participate in this meeting.
The government has finalized its plan to increase the number of medical school admission quotas for the 2026 academic year to 3,058, a figure that remains unchanged from this year, conceding to the conflict; however, the embers of disagreement between the two sides still remain.
Medical students are also demanding the withdrawal of the essential medical package, which is one of the government’s healthcare reform policies. The essential medical package policy prohibits the mixing of covered and non-covered treatments. The medical community argues that mixed treatment should be allowed since non-covered services constitute a major revenue source for private practitioners. A representative from the Korea Medical Policy School noted, "We will create minimal contact points in a situation where there are differences in opinions between the government and medical students."
The controversy over medical students’ academic probation continues. Currently, most medical students have registered for the first semester but are not attending classes. The attendance rate among students in 40 medical schools nationwide is 74%. This is interpreted as a strategy to maintain negotiating power until the next government takes office while refusing to attend classes during the early presidential election phase.
The government has announced that medical students who do not return to classes this year will be treated with academic probation according to principle. Medical students who miss one-third or one-fourth of the classes, according to school rules, will receive an F grade and be put on probation. Earlier, Yonsei University, Korea University, Chonnam National University, and Chosun University notified medical students who lacked attendance days of their academic probation.
Hanyang University, Catholic University, Kyungpook National University, Chungbuk National University, and Dongguk University must decide on academic probation by the end of this month, while Chung-Ang University must do so in early next month, and Sungkyunkwan University by late June to early July. Clinical students who do not complete 52 weeks of practical training will not be able to take the national examination. This would result in a disruption in the issuance of doctors for the second consecutive year.
Despite the government and universities' policies on academic probation, medical students respond by saying, "Isn't it the case that even if we return, we will be in a situation where 7,500 to 10,000 students take classes at the same time?" and express concerns over whether classes can be conducted properly.