Revised process underway at 18 universities including Chungbuk National University
In the face of strong opposition from the medical community, a cautious approach has been taken, with a number of national universities set to finalize their revised regulations by the end of this month amid the aftermath of the rejection of the medical school expansion regulations at Pusan National University and Jeju National University. With the majority of national universities planning to complete the final steps of revision procedures by the end of this month, there is a possibility that additional cases may face obstacles in the revision process due to the impending fierce backlash from the medical industry.
According to university officials on the 9th, a significant number of national universities whose medical school quotas have increased, including Chungbuk National University, Chungnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Gyeongsang National University, and Gyeongbuk National University, are planning to conduct deliberations on revised regulations at the end of this month due to delays in reflecting the expansions in their regulations. Chungbuk National University, where internal conflicts were intense until the determination of the expansion scale, proposed a revision of regulations on March 31st and is currently gathering opinions from its members. Following a faculty meeting on the 14th, the university is scheduled to proceed with remaining deliberation procedures through the academic affairs committee and other bodies. A Chungbuk National University official stated, “Given that medical school professors may express opposing views, there may be opinions advocating for a re-evaluation,” adding, “There was a faculty meeting regarding the determination of the expansion scale at the end of April, and given that this meeting is part of the process to incorporate it into the regulations, we need to wait and see if the discussion results will change.”
Jeonbuk National University, which is currently collecting opinions on the revised regulations, is expected to conclude the revision process through a faculty meeting and an academic affairs committee meeting around the 22nd, followed by a meeting of the university council around the 29th.
A national university official stated, “There is a strong emphasis on making decisions carefully,” explaining, “The reason for providing an ample period for collecting opinions from members is also tied to this.” Chungnam National University has decided to undergo a minimum 10-day period of opinion collection after announcing the legislative notice of revised regulations later this week. They anticipate that if the medical school expansion regulations are not presented at the academic affairs committee meeting scheduled for the 23rd, related procedures, including deliberation by the university council, could be delayed until June. Gyeongsang National University will hold an academic affairs committee meeting on the 21st followed by a meeting of the faculty council on the 22nd and the university council on the 29th. Gyeongbuk National University will convene a faculty meeting on the 16th and then hold a meeting of the university council in late June.
Out of the 32 universities where medical school quotas are set to increase in the academic year 2025, only 12 universities have completed the revision of their regulations. Excluding the two rejected cases, 18 universities are in the process of revising their regulations. The Ministry of Education states that the final authority for regulation revision lies with the university president, and that universities may face corrective orders including a suspension of student recruitment. On the 9th, the heads of major national university faculty councils nationwide urged the government to respect the autonomy of universities regarding their decisions.