The Korean government has compelled medical schools to submit the personal information of representatives of medical school students who have pledged to embark on a collective leave of absence this week, as revealed in a document obtained by Korea Biomedical Review. 

The Korean Medical Student Association (KMSA) earlier said it conducted a survey of medical students nationwide from Thursday to Friday last week. The results revealed that over 90 percent of respondents, or some 18,000 students, expressed support for the collective leave of absence initiative.

According to sources in the medical community, the Ministry of Education has requested a comprehensive report on the overall student trend, including data on whether students were on leave or not. 

This request was made during a meeting attended by the dean of each medical school and the vice president of education on Friday. 

A medical school's report should include personal information such as the names and phone numbers of each medical school's student representative.

According to the document, originally obtained by The Korean Doctors’ Weekly, the sister paper of Korea Biomedical Review, the Education Ministry distributed a document form to each medical school, requesting them to submit a daily status report on changes in the status of students at each medical school. 

The template titled "Report on Major Situation of Medical Schools," sent by the Ministry of Education, comprises a table with inquiries concerning various aspects:  enrolled students, current students, students applying for leave of absence, and students on approved leave of absence, spanning from first-year students to fourth-year students. Furthermore, medical schools were ordered to write significant trends, the status of university actions, plans, and any special circumstances.

The ministry required medical schools to submit the daily status report, which should be completed by 4 p.m. each day, via email to the designated Ministry of Education representative no later than 6 p.m.

The government also asked universities to submit the status of their communication networks. From Tuesday this week, when the collective leave of absence begins, the ministry said it would establish a KakaoTalk chat room based on the collected contact information to establish a permanent contact system.

However, the deans of medical schools are not pleased with the ministry's unprecedented demands but it is not easy for schools to refuse the ministry's request.

The majority of medical schools opted not to disclose personal information, such as the names and contact details of medical student representatives. Instead, they solely report on the status of leave applications.

A dean of a medical school in the Seoul metropolitan area, who wished to be unnamed, said, “The Education Ministry asked us to submit daily status (of med students). I heard that most medical schools are doing it.” "It is difficult for schools to refuse the ministry's request even if they want to."

Some universities have entered the legal review because they thought it could be a case of abuse of authority or outside the scope of their normal duties, he added.

"It's an unprecedented situation, so I'm not sure how to respond.”

A dean of another medical school in a provincial area said deans of medical schools were reluctant to do what the ministry asked them to do.

“At our school, we decided not to disclose personal information,” he said. 

Korea Association of Medical Colleges (KAMC) also expressed grave concern about the issue. 

A senior KAMC official said, "The entire medical schools are being inspected. However, it will be difficult for schools to refuse to report." 

"The situation is very concerning. The universities are struggling to find a way out, and they are sharing the situation among themselves."