A medical school classroom in Daegu is empty. / Yonhap News
Among the students who left school in opposition to the policy of increasing medical schools, more than 1,000 medical students chose to take a leave of absence from the military.
It is analyzed that he gave up his military doctor and chose to join the active military while leaving school in opposition to the policy of increasing the number of troops.
According to the "number of people allowed to take military leave of absence from national and private medical schools nationwide" secured by the Ministry of Education by Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea of Korea of the National Assembly Education Committee today (8th), 1,059 military leave of absence were approved at 37 medical schools as of the 23rd of last month. This is the number excluding three universities that have not submitted data among 40 medical schools nationwide.
The number of medical students who took a leave of absence from the military was only 100 in 2021, 138 in 2022, and 162 last year, but it increased sharply this year. Compared to last year, the number of medical students on military leave has increased nearly seven times this year.
Many of them seem to have tried to resolve their military service in a short period of time as the parliamentary conflict dragged on. Medical students mainly serve as military doctors (37 months) or public information doctors (38 months) after obtaining a medical license, and the period of service for active-duty soldiers in the Army is 18 months.
As a large number of medical students choose to join the army this year, the supply and demand of military doctors and public information is expected to be disrupted several years later.
Reporter Park Sun-young of Digital News Team
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