South Korean students end the 17-month-old Boycott Class

Thousands of South Korean medical students should return to classes after a 17-month boycott, the Korean Medical Association said.

The internship doctors came out against the government’s plans to increase the medical school, claiming it would reduce the quality of the education.

The Association did not provide their refund time, but the group called on the government to restore the academic calendar and improve learning conditions.

Prime Minister Kim Min-Sek welcomed the end of the boycott, calling it a “big step forward.”

“Time to look more deeply at the medical sphere, Congress and the government so that citizens can help solve problems,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

The Korean Medical Association stated that “we will trust the government and the parliament and pledge to return to school to help normalize medical education and health care system,” in a message, which was published with the Parliament’s Committee and other groups of the lobby.

The government wanted to increase annual medical students to universities from about 3000 to approximately 5000, saying that more employees needed demand.

He returned to his plan in March 2025.

Yonhap’s news agency reported that 8 305 students would be subject to class maintenance, requiring their repetition of the same academic year, the Ministry of Education reports.