A medical student who's not coming back...Chancellors Are Struggling to Take a Leave of absence or Paid

[Anchor]
After the recognition of student leave of absence at Seoul National University Medical School, the Ministry of Education called in university presidents with medical schools to pressure them not to approve the leave of absence, but the universities are worried.

This is because medical students cannot approve leave of absence as they wish, nor can they be paid.

Reporter Kim Joo-young reports.

[Reporter]
When Seoul National University Medical School approved medical students to take a leave of absence for the first time since the parliamentary conflict, the Ministry of Education immediately took a hard-line response.

We conducted a large-scale audit of Seoul National University Medical School, and gathered university presidents with medical schools to hold a meeting and put pressure on them.

The government reiterates its position that it cannot accept approval for a leave of absence.

[Kwon Byung-ki / Essential Medical Support Officer, Ministry of Health and Welfare (Yesterday): As part of the collective action, the Ministry of Education believes that taking a leave of absence from the alliance does not constitute a legitimate reason for taking a leave of absence. We will closely consult with related ministries to ensure that medical school education is normalized as soon as possible.]

The problem is that medical students are showing no signs of returning even with persuasion from the government and the school.

In fact, none of the first-year medical students at Seoul National University have registered for the second semester of this year.

Even nationwide, only 3.4% of medical students paid tuition for the second semester.

If they do not accept their leave of absence, they are likely to be paid, contrary to the intention of medical students, and from the president's point of view, they could be subject to a large-scale class action.

However, it is burdensome to approve the leave of absence like Seoul National University Medical School because it is directly against the government.

In this situation, there are cases in which the government is wary of the government while easing the paid standards, or the university president only holds the case of a leave of absence approved by the dean of the medical school.

More than a quarter of the first semester of college as well as the second semester has already passed!

Between the difficult choice of taking a leave of absence or paid, university presidents are only worried.

I'm Kim Joo-young of YTN.