Major Universities in South Korea Reduce Medical School Student Increase by 50% – Protest Against Surge in Students

On the morning of the 30th, when professors working at Seoul National University Hospital and Severance Hospital, among the ‘Big Five’, stopped outpatient treatment and surgery, professors at Severance Hospital in Seodaemun -gu, Seoul holds signs announcing the reason for the closure of the day and against increasing the number of medical school students./News Yonhap

Eight of the top nine national universities that have significantly increased the number of medical school students have decided to reduce the amount of the increase by 50%. Some private universities, such as the University of Ulsan, are also reducing the size of their medical school extension.

Graphics = Yang Inseong

According to each university on the 30th, among the 32 universities across the country that will increase the number of medical school students next year, 30, excluding Connaught National University and CHA Medical University, submitted their plan of change for the implementation of the 2025 college admission process’. to the Korean Council for University Education (Korea University Education Association). They were initially given an ‘extra 2,000 medical students’ in February, but recently the government allowed them to hire up to 50% of the increase, and each university has been discussing the final size of the increase. Since the number of new students in the graduate school of medicine, not the undergraduate school, has increased by 40, CHA University of Science and Technology does not need to submit a change plan this time and can to decide the amount of the increase alone. within this month.

On this day, eight major national universities submitted an implementation plan to the Korea University Academic Council to recruit new students by reducing the number of medical schools by 50% each year next year. Kyungpook National University (up 45 people), Gyeongsang National University (62 people), Chungnam National University (45 people), Chungbuk National University (76 people), Chonbuk National University (29 people), Pusan ​​National University (38 people) , Kangwon National University (42 people), Jeju National University (30 people), etc. am. The number of medical schools at eight national universities was originally expected to increase to 731 students next year, but the number will decrease to 367.

First, ‘independent recruitment within the range of 50-100% of the increase in medical schools’ was proposed by the heads of six national universities. Chonbuk National University, Connam National University, and Pusan ​​National University, which did not participate in this proposal, were lukewarm about reducing the number of medical school students, but after discussions within the day, Chonbuk National University and Pusan ​​National The University finally decided to reduce the number of students. Yang Oh-bong, president of Chonbuk National University, said, “We listened to the views of the medical school as much as possible and decided to reduce the number of students by 50%.” Konnam National University was unable to submit an implementation plan for college admissions to the Korea University Education Association until evening due to differences of opinion among university members regarding the extent of the drop in medical school enrollment. .

Unlike national universities, many of the 21 private universities that did not increase the number of large-scale medical schools decided to maintain the increase. However, among them, Ulsan University reduced 10 students to 70, Sungkyunkwan University reduced 10 to 70, Ajou University reduced 10 to 70, Yeungnam University reduced 20 to 24, and Dankook University reduced 40 to 40. The number of increase people. employees next year. Excluding Soonchunhyang University, which has not announced whether it will reduce its staff or not, the remaining 15 private universities will maintain the size of the increase.

As a result, the size of the medical school increase next year will be reduced from the 2,000 originally announced by the government to 1,546 students, and the total number of students will be reduced from 5,058 to 4,604 students. As Connaught National University and CHA University of Medical Science have not yet decided whether to change the number of medical students, the number of medical school students may decrease slightly.