Medical students have decided to take collective action in protest of the government’s plan to expand the medical school admissions quota. 

The Korean Medical Student Association(KMSA) announced on social media on Thursday that the student representatives of 40 medical schools nationwide unanimously agreed on the course of action in an extraordinary plenary session the previous day. 

The association called on the government to completely withdraw its plan to expand the quota, stressing that the government must produce a medical education policy based on rational and scientific grounds, not political calculations.

Ahead of the announcement, fourth-year students at the college of medicine at Hallym University decided to take a one year leave of absence en masse in protest of the government's plan. 

The medical school’s emergency committee announced the decision on social media, saying that the move is an effort to prevent the government from making damaging decisions when it comes to medical reform. The emergency committee plans to collect the fourth-year students’ applications for the leave and submit them to the school on Thursday.