As South Korea’s medical school boycott stretches beyond its first year, frustration is mounting across university campuses. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea’s medical school boycott stretches beyond its first year, frustration is mounting across university campuses over what many students view as unprecedented leniency toward their peers in medical schools.
“There’s nothing that puts medical students above the law, so why are they getting such special treatment?” says Kim Do-yun, 23, a public administration major in Seoul. “These continued concessions make no sense when they’re still just students like the rest of us.”
The Ministry of Education reaffirmed on March 18 that mass absences at the country’s 40 medical schools would not be permitted. Yet with nearly half of these institutions setting March 28 as the return deadline, many students question administrators’ hesitancy to enforce standard academic policies.
“It’s infuriating to watch the government and universities tiptoe around medical students,” says Park, 22, a life sciences major. “Any other student would fail a course after missing a few classes. But here we are, a year later, only now discussing potential consequences. If that’s not preferential treatment, what is?”
The controversy has intensified as the government offered to reverse the medical school enrollment increase, returning it to the previous level of 3,058 students. “Even with this concession, they’re still holding out,” says Han, 24, a business major. “It’s unreasonable that they wield such influence over national healthcare policy while still being students.”
“The Class of 2025, who actually benefited from the enrollment increase, is now refusing to attend classes,” notes Kim, 28, an engineering student. “If they continue to reject both the schools’ and government’s olive branches, they should face standard academic consequences – failed courses or expulsion.”
The debate has ignited university online forums. On Everytime, a popular campus community platform, students have posted: “Medical students seem to think they’re already doctors,” and “They’re just undergraduates who haven’t learned anything yet, but they’re acting like they’re above everyone else.”
Interest has surged in the possibility of filling vacant positions through transfers from other departments. Korea University’s online community has seen a flood of posts asking about medical school transfer requirements, with students organizing study groups and offering to review personal statements for a fee.
“Let’s pool money to share online lecture accounts for the transfer exam,” read one post, while others advertised personal statement review services at premium rates.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
