Deadline passes for medical students to return to class
A mass repeat of academic years for South Korean medical students has become a reality after the deadline for returning to classes passed at midnight Wednesday, with only a small number of last-minute returns.
As a result, a rare 'tripling' scenario — where three cohorts of first-year pre-medical students take the same classes simultaneously — now appears inevitable.
All 40 medical schools across the country had finalized their lists of students who failed to return to class as of midnight, according to the Education Ministry Thursday.
Despite repeated calls from the government, only a few students who had continued to boycott classes this year chose to reverse their decision by the deadline. Data as of late April showed that only about 30 percent of students had resumed classes, meaning up to 70 percent may now be subject to academic failure.
On April 17, the government offered to reduce the annual medical school admission quota for 2026 to 3,058 students, reversing a controversial plan to expand it to 5,058. The decision was made in the hope of restoring normalcy to medical education amid a standoff with students lasting over a year.
Education officials had earlier sent a directive to universities requesting detailed data on students at risk of failing, including how many had not attended enough classes to receive academic credit, and whether universities had notified students that further non-attendance would result in academic failure.
The ministry also asked universities to convene early academic review committees to confirm repeat status before the end of the semester.
Several universities are now preparing for the logistical and academic challenges of teaching three cohorts of first-year students simultaneously. Schools such as Dong-A University and Jeonbuk National University have already revised their regulations to prioritize course registration for the 2026 cohort, with others expected to follow suit.
Despite the ministry's repeated warnings, some students who have not returned are reportedly holding out on the hope that the new administration — which takes office after the June 3 presidential election — will implement a more lenient academic policy and reverse the decisions. Medical education leaders quickly dismissed such hopes as false optimism.
'Any belief that students who have not returned by now can be saved later is completely unfounded,' said Lee Jong-tae, chair of the Korean Association of Medical Colleges. 'Administrative timing may differ between schools, but as of today, academic failure is effectively confirmed.'
Medical school presidents and administrators echoed the sentiment. 'We have reached the point of no return,' said an Education Ministry official. 'What's needed now is serious planning for how to accommodate a historic academic bottleneck in 2026.'
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