Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho will meet with medical school students on the 22nd to discuss the normalization of medical education. This is the first time the Deputy Prime Minister has officially met with medical students since the government announced its policy to expand the number of medical school admissions in February of last year.
On that day, the Deputy Prime Minister will attend a meeting hosted by the Korean Medical Policy School at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
The Korean Medical Policy School is an unofficial educational organization that opened in March and aims to enhance policy proposal capabilities for physicians who obtained their medical licenses within the last 10 years and medical students.
However, the Korean Medical College and Medical Graduate Student Association (Medical Student Association), which has opposed the government's increase in medical school admissions, is reported not to participate in the meeting on that day.
Attendees at the meeting on that day will include the Deputy Prime Minister, the Director of the Talent Policy Office of the Ministry of Education, and the Medical Education Support Officer. It is also reported that around 10 medical students will attend.
Participants in the meeting plan to discuss measures for the normalization of medical education, educational proposals for the 24th and 25th cohorts, future support plans, and directions for the development of medical education for about one hour.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Education, the national average class participation rate for 40 medical schools was recorded at 25.9% as of the 16th. The participation rate for clinical students was 29%, while for pre-clinical students it was 22.2%. This data was collected from approximately 19,760 current medical students, including those at risk of failing. By year, fourth-year students preparing for the national medical examination had the highest participation rate at 35.7%.