SEOUL — South Korean medical students who had walked out of universities in 2024 in protest against a controversial plan to expand medical school admissions announced on July 12 that they would return to campus. The move marks a significant step toward restoring the country’s disrupted medical education and healthcare training pipeline.
In a joint statement with Parliament’s education committee and student lobby groups, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) — the country’s main doctors’ lobby — urged the government to normalise academic schedules 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 statement said.
Although no specific timeline was given for the return, the announcement is seen as a breakthrough in a long-running standoff that began in early 2024. Thousands of medical students staged a walkout in response to a plan introduced by the previous administration to significantly increase medical school admissions.
The students, along with trainee doctors, argued that merely expanding student intake would risk diminishing the quality of education and fail to resolve deeper issues in the healthcare sector. They called instead for comprehensive reforms to attract doctors into critical but under-resourced fields such as emergency medicine and paediatrics.
The joint statement also called on the president and the government to establish a formal task force to lead long-term reforms in medical education and training. It emphasised the importance of including students and all relevant stakeholders in shaping future policies.
The South Korean healthcare system has been strained by a shortage of medical professionals in essential departments, and the prolonged academic boycott had raised serious concerns over future staffing and service delivery. The return of students is expected to ease some of these pressures while setting the stage for broader policy discussions.