Medical Students Declare ‘Collective Leave of Absence’ in Protest Against Government Policy

Representatives of students from 40 medical schools and medical graduate schools nationwide announced they were planning to submit a collective leave of absence in opposition to the government’s policy of increasing the number of medical students.

Kim Min Ho, the president (representative) of the Student Council of the Seoul National University College of Medicine, and representatives of students from 40 medical schools and medical graduate schools nationwide stated in a joint statement on the 20th, “From today, we are starting to submit a collective leave of absence to protect future generations and patients who will suffer from doctors produced recklessly, and juniors who will not be able to receive proper education due to the increase.”

In their statement, they criticized, “Why can’t the Ministry of Health and Welfare anticipate the confusion and damage to the public when incompetent doctors are produced?”

They also pointed out, “The Ministry of Education has not once communicated with students, telling them just to study quietly” and “At the same time, the government is creating a sense of unease by deploying police and demanding the student representatives’ phone numbers from the school side.”

They criticized, “The government’s undemocratic measures and coercive orders, reminiscent of the military dictatorship era, are happening in real-time today in 2024,” and questioned, “I’m curious if it’s real 2024.”

They demanded the government withdraw policies such as the increase in medical students and establish a communication channel with the Korean Medical Schools, the Association of Medical Graduate Schools (Medical Association), and medical students.