Most medical students on leave of absence deny the possibility of a return
The government-doctor conflict entered its second year, and some students have returned to school, questioning the sustainability of medical students’ massive leave of absence.
Some skeptics argue that taking a leave of absence for a second year in a row is impossible, predicting that more students will return this year.
Medical students disagree, however. They note that the government's stance on the medical school enrollment quota for 2025 and 2026 remains the same, saying that the expectation that medical students' position will change is “unfounded wishful thinking.”
According to the medical community, in a survey conducted by a university to ask its medical students if they would also submit a leave of absence this year, 96.2 percent said they would. Other medical schools that surveyed their students around the same time also reported similar results.
Seoul National University College of Medicine, which received the media spotlight for “increased” class attendance compared to last year, has already declared 77 percent of its students' intention to take a leave of absence for the 2025 academic year. Last year, the comparable number was 80 percent.
Since last year’s survey, more than 90 percent of Seoul National University College of Medicine students have submitted a leave of absence. That also explains why the medical community, contrary to some predictions, believes that the overwhelming majority of medical students will join the class boycott this year.
“We know that the results of the leave of absence surveys conducted by students at most medical schools are almost the same, and there is not much difference from last year,” said a student at a medical student in the Seoul metro region while requesting anonymity. “I think most students will also take a leave of absence this year.”
Another student at a different medical school in the greater Seoul area said, “The atmosphere is the same. The government hasn't changed, so why should we change our stance and go back? Media reports that the situation is different from last year are either exaggerating some figures or cases of treating someone's wishes as facts.”
Medical students who enrolled for the new semester without taking a leave of absence are not necessarily “returners,” as they may choose to drop classes after enrolling.
The Korean Medical Students Association (KMSA) has decided to submit a leave of absence as its struggle method for the 2025 academic year.
If taking a leave of absence is difficult due to restrictions on the number of years of study, they can engage in “equivalent behavior.” For example, last year, some medical students enrolled and boycotted classes. Given the KMSA’s struggle policy and the examples of last year, the association may also judge that such students have joined the struggle.
How can they educate drastically increased medical students this year?
Yang Oh-bong, the incoming chairman of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE, a council of university presidents, said that it would be difficult to approve a leave of absence for the second year in a row and that students should return by the start of classes in March.
However, medical students interpreted it differently.
They regarded Yang’s remark as an admission that “the schools have acknowledged that normal education is impossible with the expansion of the medical school. Instead of being a reason to stop the struggle and return to school, it showed them why they should continue to struggle for two years in a row to normalize medical education.
A student on leave from a medical school in the Chungcheong area said, “They say they can't educate 10,000 students next year. Still, can they educate 7,500 students this year?”
“I doubt the authenticity of the remarks,” the student said. “Some schools have already seen the number of students more than double due to the increase in the 2025 class. The future that the KCUE chairman is concerned about has already become a reality for medical students.”