South Korean medical students ready to return to school, ask for education reforms
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A protest in Seoul in February 2024 against a plan to admit more students to medical school.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - South Korean medical students who walked out of school in 2024 in protest at a government plan to increase medical school admissions said on July 12 that they would return to campus, calling on the authorities to normalise academic schedules.
The Korean Medical Association, the main lobby group for doctors, in a statement urged the government to take steps to restore the academic calendar and improve training conditions.
“We will place our trust in the government and Parliament and commit to returning to school to help normalise medical education and the healthcare system,” the association said in the statement, which was jointly issued with Parliament's education committee and lobby groups representing medical students.
A specific timeline for the return was not provided.
Thousands of medical students walked out of school in early 2024 in opposition to a plan by the previous administration to add thousands of new spots to medical schools.
The trainee doctors had argued that the planned rise in admissions would lower the quality of medical education. They said that rather than just an increase in the number of students, more reform was needed to attract doctors into essential care, such as emergency or paediatrics.
The statement called on the president and the government to form a task force to address long-term reforms in medical education and training and to ensure the participation of all stakeholders, including students. REUTERS
