A majority of medical school students have refused to take the state medical licensing exam, but their parents are desperately pushing the doctors’ group to demand another chance.
However, the government and the ruling party reiterated that they could not receive additional applications for the clinical test of the Korean Medical License Examination, which runs until Nov. 20.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Tuesday in a briefing that those who did not apply for the state test will not have another chance.
“Medical school students have decided themselves to refuse to take the state exam,” Health and Welfare Ministry Spokesperson Son Young-rae said. “They have not even told us that they would take the exam. In this situation, it is impossible to give them state support. Even if they demand another exam, such demand is not reasonable.”
The government had already postponed the exam for a week and extended the application period. Giving students another chance to take the exam can cause controversy over equity and fairness with those who have already applied for the test, Son said.
Rep. Kim Seong-ju of the ruling Democratic Party also said in a radio program on Tuesday that the government can no longer help medical school students because it has to maintain consistency and fairness in the policy.
Medical school students are also adults who can express their complaints against the government in many ways and take responsibility for their actions for themselves, Kim said.
In response to the government’s strong stance, parents have flooded the Korean Medical Association with phone calls of complaints and inquiries. The KMA, a group of around 130,000 doctors, initiated the recent strike by junior doctors and medical school students.
Parents said they wondered why the KMA did not take any action to help students who boycotted the test. Some of them even cried and appealed to the group to take follow-up measures.
Regional medical associations were in similar situations.
A medical association leader in a province said he received calls of inquiries and appeals from parents about taking the state exam.
“One parent said the child wanted to take the test but couldn’t do so because of peer pressure,” the association leader said.
The KMA expressed regret over the government’s stance, saying no single student should be affected by the government’s ban on additional applications.
KMA’s External Affairs Director Song Myoung-je said in a radio program on Tuesday that “the prerequisite” of the agreement between the medical community, the government, and the ruling party was that trainee doctors and medical school students would not have any damage.
However, the government ignored such a prerequisite, and it was regrettable that the government did not give students a second chance, Song said.
“KMA can’t force students to take the state exam if they keep insisting that they would not take it. But if they say they would take it after some time, the government should allow it,” he said.
Jeollanamdo Medical Association President and KMA Vice President Lee Pil-soo staged a one-person protest in front of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute in Seoul, Tuesday, demanding the government allow students who missed the application to take the state exam.
“The government should actively listen to the voices of 20,000 medical school students on the establishment of a proper healthcare system, communicate with young doctors, and reflect their opinions in policy,” Lee said.
If any medical school student becomes a victim, the 130,000-membered KMA will hold a nationwide protest, he warned.
(Caption)
Lee Pil-soo, president of the Jeollanamdo Medical Association and vice president of the Korean Medical Association, stages a one-person protest in front of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute in Seoul. (KMA)