Seven out of ten medical students nationwide show no sign of returning to class for more than a year. Medical students are at risk of being collectively failed if they do not return by midnight on the 30th. The presidents of colleges across the country and the deans of medical schools issued an ultimatum, stating, "If you do not return now, you will no longer be able to attend classes this year."
◇"There is no way to remedy if failed"
The Council of Presidents for the Advancement of Medical Colleges (Sunjin Council), comprised of the presidents of 40 universities with medical schools, and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate Schools (KAMC) issued a statement titled "Last words requesting medical students to return today."
They stated, "We will confirm failures based on the time of 24:00 today according to school regulations," adding, "There is no way to remedy if failed." They continued, "If you are still hesitating to return, we urge you one last time to have courage," and requested, "Please inform the school of your intention to participate in classes."
Previously, the government confirmed the number of admissions for the 2026 academic year for medical schools at 3,058 with zero increase, urging medical students to return. However, medical students have continued to not return, facing the risk of failing due to insufficient class days. Since medical education is conducted on a yearly basis, if students fail in the first semester, they are automatically placed on leave in the second semester.
This would mean that over 10,000 medical students (students from the classes of 24, 25, and 26) would attend classes simultaneously next year. There are projections that maintaining the standard of medical education would be difficult, even with the addition of faculty and securing classrooms. Dong-A University and Jeonbuk National University decided that if students from three different classes are attending classes simultaneously, the class of 26 will be given priority in course registration.
◇Considering supplemental admissions for vacant seats in medical schools
Students who accumulate 2 to 4 fails may be expelled according to school regulations. The government is reviewing plans to fill the vacancies left by medical students through transfer students. Medical schools nationwide plan to monitor whether students return by today before determining the scale of vacancies.
If the government and universities set a basic plan for transfers by October, it will be possible to fill next year’s medical student vacancies with transfer students early next year. Typically, universities determine the scale of transfers based on educational conditions rated from 1 to 6, but this time, there are predictions that they will accept transfer students regardless of the rating.
Medical students have mixed reactions. Strong student factions argue that they must prolong negotiations until the next government is in office to maintain bargaining power. They state that even if failure is decided that day, it would not be processed on paper until the end of June to early July when first-semester grades are released, according to each university's administrative system.
On the other hand, there are survey results showing that the majority of medical students want to return to classes. The Ministry of Education recently surveyed 24 out of 40 medical schools nationwide and found that 87.9% (6,742) of respondents (7,673 total) agreed to return.
There were also differences by year. Thirteen medical schools surveyed by year found that 51.1% of second-year premedical and third-year medical students agreed to return. This was followed by 49.4% of second-year medical students, 49.3% of the class of 25, and 47.4% of fourth-year medical students. The class of 24, which enrolled last year, had the lowest agreement rate at 45.7%.
Medical school consists of 2 years of premedical studies and 4 years of medical studies, totaling 6 years. Ongoing conflicts over medical policies have led to the refusal of classes by medical students, causing the classes of 24 and 25 to be first-year premedical students together.