Medical standoff loosens with gov't plans including med. school students return unveiled

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A new study schedule has been proposed for medical students whose prolonged protest against the former administration's healthcare reform has disrupted their original academic time table.

Park Kun-woo has details.

A year-and-a-half-long standoff between the South Korean government and the medical community is now showing signs of a breakthrough.

On Friday, the Education Ministry unveiled a plan allowing roughly 8,000 medical students, who faced failing their courses after boycotting classes, to return in the second semester.

The students had protested the previous administration's push to expand medical school admissions.

The new plan follows a proposal put forward by the Council of Medical School Presidents, which has been under discussion.

Key elements of the government's plan include shifting from a year-based academic system to a semester-based one, allowing students to make up missed credits during breaks and continue their studies.

Graduation timelines for third-year students will now vary by school, with options in either February or August of 2027.

As the duration of clinical training varies by university, those graduating in February will be able to graduate one semester earlier.

Additional national medical licensing exams will also be scheduled to accommodate returning students that graduate this August.

The government on Friday also held the first disaster response meeting on the collective resignations by doctors since President Lee Jae Myung took office.

Second Vice Health Minister Lee Hyung-hoon expressed deep regret over the prolonged disruption to healthcare services.

He reaffirmed the government's commitment to a "people-centered" medical reform, built on dialogue and trust with the medical community.

The minister added that both the new administration and the medical sector are beginning to take steps toward rebuilding trust, emphasizing efforts to listen to feedback directly from the field.

With these developments, a once tightly knotted standoff now appears to be slowly unravelling.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.