Minister Cho Kyu-hong appealed to medical students, saying, "I hope you will return to campus, and I ask that parents and our senior colleagues in the medical field encourage medical students to come back."
Minister Cho said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for physician collective action on the morning of the 14th, "On the 7th, the social vice prime minister announced that he would accept the recommendations of university presidents and medical school deans regarding the number of medical school admissions for 2026."
Deans and presidents of medical schools nationwide proposed to revert next year's medical school enrollment figures to before the increases in order to normalize medical education. The government stated that it plans to freeze next year's medical school admissions at 3,058, on the premise that all medical students will return by the end of this month.
However, the return of medical students and residents remains uncertain. Contrary to government policy, if they do not return, a large-scale expulsion of up to 15,000 is expected.
Medical schools across the country are also increasing pressure on medical students. Currently, the deans of 40 medical schools nationwide (including medical graduate schools) are requesting the return of medical students through letters, text messages, and one-on-one meetings with students and parents. However, it has been warned that approvals for leaves of absence will not be granted as they were last year, and expulsion or retention will be unavoidable if they do not return. Yonsei University and Korea University have set deadlines of the 21st, while Seoul National University has set a deadline of the 27th.
Catholic University sent a letter from Dean Jeong Yeon-jun on the 10th, stating, "It would be inappropriate to approve the leave of absence submitted earlier, given the significant change of freezing the enrollment figures for 2026 since the submission of the leave request, and you are requested to meet again."
Cha University also notified all students and incoming freshmen in its medical graduate school on the 11th that they may face disadvantages such as retention or expulsion if they do not return to classes by the end of this month. Chosun University and Jeonnam University also demanded returns by the 24th.
In this situation, there are ongoing cases of some medical schools encouraging collective disruption of classes and advocating for leaves of absence. A medical school's emergency response committee was reported to have demanded students withdraw from their applications for first-term general courses, and it is known that seniors at a metropolitan area medical school gathered freshmen to raise their hands to confirm whether they would apply for classes.
In response, Minister Cho warned, "Reports have emerged that actions hindering the return of medical students are occurring in some instances," adding, "The government plans to take strict measures against these illegal activities."
Minister Cho also noted that the freeze on next year's medical school enrollment figures does not signify a retreat from medical reform. He stated, "We will push forward with medical reform without wavering in order to overcome the crises in regional healthcare and essential medical care that have accumulated over decades," and indicated that many improvement tasks including workforce training, enhancement of compensation fairness, establishing safety nets for medical accidents, and reforming the medical delivery system are currently included in legislative tasks in the National Assembly.
Minister Cho continued, "We plan to soon announce the second implementation plan for medical reform, which includes fostering regional secondary hospitals, reforming non-covered and actual cost insurance, and strengthening safety nets for medical accidents," and encouraged the medical community to actively participate in discussions of the special committee on medical reform, stating, "If immediate participation is difficult, I hope you will share your unfiltered opinions on the reform tasks."
Regarding the budget shortage issue affecting the trauma physician training center at Korea University Guro Hospital, highlighted in February, he stated, "We plan to secure a budget of 868 million won to continue supporting the training of specialized trauma personnel," and assured that "there will be no suspension of operations of the trauma physician training center due to budget shortages."