Medical students respond coldly to education ministry's approval of leave policy

The Ministry of Education has decided to leave it up to universities to approve medical students’ leaves of absence, reversing its previous stance of granting conditional leave of absence with the premise of returning next year.

The medical community, including medical school deans, welcomed the move, but medical students remained apathetic, saying, “Nothing has changed.”

“We will leave it to the autonomous judgment of universities to approve leaves of absence requested by students for personal reasons,” the ministry said Tuesday. Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announced it in a video conference with the presidents of 40 universities that have medical schools.

The Korea Association of Medical Colleges immediately issued a welcome statement. “We hope that major political parties will also join to start a dialog to resolve medical issues,” the association said. KAMC, along with the Korean Medical Association (KMA), has said it will participate in the consultative body comprising the government, the medical community, and the ruling and opposition parties.

“Universities will respect the student's right to choose to study and will handle the leave of absence submitted by the individual according to the regulations and procedures,” KAMC said. ”During the leave of absence, we will operate student support programs to help students return to their studies normally.”

As a party responsible for educating students who will shoulder the future of medical care in Korea, KAMC will listen to the opinions of students and professors and do its best to normalize universities’ academic administration, it added.

The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences also welcomed the announcement, saying the association hopes it will be the first step in resolving the medical crisis.

“The Education Ministry's approval of the medical student leave of absence is a measure to minimize the disruption in the medical education field caused by the disrupted medical school,” the academy said. “We hope that medical students’ applications for leave of absence will be approved as soon as possible.”

The Korean Medical Association welcomed the ministry's decision, saying it would be “a starting point to resolve the medical crisis.”

The KMA said in a statement that it was the right decision, albeit belated, to withdraw the policy that had illegally defined a leave of absence, which is a student's right, and forced students to return to school.

“It is positive that the government had approved the medical student's leave of absence, which the KAMC had demanded when it decided to participate in the trilateral consultative body,” the association said. ‘We hope that the government will change its attitude to reverse the unjustified pressure and human rights violations imposed on doctors and medical students and allow them to return to work with hope for the future.”

It continued, “We will continue to communicate with the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and the Korea Association of Medical Colleges and do our best to normalize medical education.”

Medical students reacted coldly, however.

“It is natural to approve legitimate leaves of absence,” said Son Jeong-ho, co-chairman of the Korean Medical Students’ association. “Students will not forget that the Ministry of Education has been blocking the approval of leaves of absence until now. Nothing else has changed."