Seoul, March 21 A South Korean court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by medical professors seeking to nullify the government's admissions hike in medical schools for this year.
The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court marked the first court decision among a string of complaints filed by the medical community in protest of the government's plan that increase annual admissions to medical schools, Yonhap news agency reported.
The court ruled that the defendants had no authority to request for the nullification of the plan, saying they were not the "direct counterpart" subject to the quota hike.
Since February last year, thousands of trainee doctors have left hospitals to protest against the government's decision that raise the number of medical students by some 2,000 for this year.
Meanwhile, a consultative body of medical school deans on Friday urged medical school students to return to class as their reinstatement deadlines neared.
"We will firmly uphold next year's medical school enrollment quota of 3,058 students, and the 40 universities are preparing to ensure that students receive a high-quality education," the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate School of Medicine (KAMC) said in a letter.
The letter addressed medical school students who are taking a leave of absence en masse to protest against the government's medical reform plans that included a sharp increase in the number of students admitted to medical schools.
"However, all of this will only be possible if you return to school," the letter read. The KAMC has 40 medical schools nationwide under its wing.
The message came as major medical schools, including Yonsei University, Korea University, and Kyungpook National University, were set to close registration for students' reinstatement on Friday.
Earlier this month, the government said it would scrap the contested plan to increase medical school admissions next year to resolve the ongoing healthcare crisis, on the condition that all medical students on leave return to classrooms by the end of March.
Under the conditional decision, the medical school enrollment quota for next year has been set at 3,058, reversing the government's plan to increase admissions by 2,000 each year for five years to address a chronic shortage of doctors.
The decision to scrap the disputed plan came amid mounting concerns that disruptions in the country's health system and medical education may become irreparable should the prolonged walkout by junior doctors and students continue.
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