Seoul: The education ministry announced it will reveal a plan this week to facilitate the mass return of medical students to school following widespread protests against the government's medical school admissions strategy. This move follows the Korean Medical Student Association's recent declaration that students who boycotted classes in opposition to the increased admissions would resume their studies.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Vice Education Minister Choi Eun-ok is set to disclose measures on Thursday to expedite the return of approximately 8,000 medical students who have been held back a year for not attending classes. The government is expected to permit these students to return in the fall semester, with provisions for senior-year students to partake in additional medical license exams.

In response to these developments, a group of deans from 40 medical schools has requested the government to schedule extra exams in the first half of the coming year. This request aims to accommodate senior students unable to participate in the exams slated to begin this September.

The protests began early last year when thousands of trainee doctors and numerous medical students opposed the government's decision to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 seats. The government later retracted this decision, opting to maintain the 2026 quota at the original level of approximately 3,000 seats.