Acting President Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday that the decision to respect the autonomy of medical schools by freezing the admissions quota for the 2026 academic year “is by no means an abandonment of medical reform.”

Choi made the statement during a Cabinet meeting, saying the decision to adjust the number of medical school admissions back to 2024 levels was made to tackle the urgent tasks of normalizing medical education and encouraging students to return to their classes.

He said medical students must return to school now, stressing they will no longer be afforded any additional flexibility such as a collective leave of absence.

Choi also called on medical professionals to not only encourage but also persuade trainee doctors to return to their studies and workplaces, emphasizing that medical students are valuable assets to the country’s medical community going forward.

Earlier, the government agreed to a request to reverse its decision to increase the medical school admissions quota for next year on the condition that protesting medical students return to their studies by the end of March.

The government recently cut the number of medical students recruited in 2026 back down to 3,058, the same as before the increase, raising questions over whether the government is scrapping its plans to overhaul the country’s health care system.