The actual enrollment rate of medical students nationwide for the second semester of the 2024 academic year stood at a mere 3.3 percent.

According to the “National Medical Student Enrollment Status” data submitted by the Ministry of Education to Rep. Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea, 653, or 3.3 percent, of the total 19,374 medical students, enrolled in the second semester, as of Sept. 2.

Only 3.2 percent of the 5,919 national university medical school students have enrolled, and 3.4 percent of the 13,455 private university medical school students have done so for the second semester.

Nine medical colleges—two national and seven private—showed zero second-semester enrollments, meaning not a single student enrolled. The DPK lawmaker withheld the names of these medical colleges.

As of July 22, the attendance rate of medical students in the first semester was even lower, at 2.7 percent.

“As we feared, concerns about the non-registration of medical students in the second semester have become a reality,” Rep. Jin said. “Despite the Education Ministry’s guidelines for flexible academic management, no students are attending classes.”

Jin continued, “Now that medical students are facing the possibility of being expelled beyond mass flunking, the educational authorities should not just tell them to return to school but offer realistic alternatives.”