South Korean medical students end strike over admission quotas

South Korean medical students on Saturday announced they will end their months-long boycott and return to medical school, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency.

The decision was announced by the Korean Medical Student Association during a joint press conference with members of the National Assembly's education and welfare committees and the Korean Medical Association.

“We will return to school, placing our trust in the National Assembly and the government, and commit ourselves toward normalizing medical education and the health care system,” student leaders said.

However, the group did not provide a specific date for when students would resume classes.

The announcement came after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung earlier this month called for reforms in the health sector and urged dialogue with trainee doctors to resolve the crisis.

Since February 2024, thousands of trainee doctors have staged walkouts and many medical students have boycotted classes in protest of the government's plan to increase the annual medical school admission quota by 2,000 starting in 2025.

Although the previous administration reversed the decision, many trainee doctors and students had yet to fully return to hospitals and universities.

The protest is one of the longest-running strikes in the medical sector globally.