Education Minister Lee to hold 1st meeting with medical students amid prolonged standoff

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is scheduled to meet with medical students next week in an effort to encourage them to return to school and to explain the government’s recent decision to revert the 2026 medical school enrollment quota to its previous level, the education ministry said Friday.

The meeting set for Tuesday marks the first direct dialogue between the government and medical students since a standoff began 14 months ago over the government’s plan to expand medical school admissions.

Since February last year, thousands of trainee doctors have walked off their jobs, and many medical students have boycotted classes in protest of the government’s decision to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 starting in 2024.

The upcoming meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity for the government to explain its response to the current situation, where students admitted in both 2024 and 2025 are set to take first-year courses together due to academic disruptions.

The government has made several proposals to engage in dialogue with medical students, and Lee has previously expressed his willingness to meet with them in person.

Earlier this week, the government announced its decision to roll back the medical school admission quota for 2026 to 3,058 — the same number as two years ago — in an apparent bid to ease tensions and restore stability in medical education.