Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday reiterated a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of violent, illegal protests or challenges to public authority amid intensifying rallies being held ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment ruling.
“With the Constitutional Court preparing to issue its critical ruling, public concerns are growing over deepening social conflict and (the possibility of) physical conflict,” Choi said in a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul.
While explaining that freedom of expression is a fundamental right to liberal democracy, Choi said that freedom comes with responsibility.
“The international community is closely watching South Korea. I sincerely urge the public to demonstrate mature public awareness based on mutual respect and understanding despite the differences,” Choi added.
Choi also requested the return of South Korean medical students. Last week, the government decided to reverse its increase in the quota for medical school admissions on the condition that protesting students on a "voluntary" break go back to school.
Choi explained that the decision was made after considering the urgency of restoring the country's medical education.
“The crucial task is to bring medical students back and normalize medical education. We believe that minimizing conflict and focusing on medical reform can be accomplished by understanding the actual challenges in the field of education and accepting the requests of the educators, who wish to support their students,” Choi said in the meeting.
But, Choi stressed that this decision is by no means a retreat or abandonment of Yoon’s flagship medical reform policy.
“We are steadily transforming the system in the tertiary hospitals, accelerating efforts to strengthen regional and essential health services. Different health care-themed policies are scheduled to be announced with improvements in the near future,” Choi said.
“Now is the time to return to school. There will be no enrollment quota flexibility granted for medical students like last year,” he added.
The government had announced it would promptly increase the 2025 medical school enrollment quota to 5,058 students — almost a 2,000-student increase compared to the admissions quota in 2023 — in February last year.
The plan was met with fierce resistance from the medical community, with medical students and junior doctors at teaching hospitals taking collective leaves of absence in opposition to the government’s plan. Despite repeated attempts by the government to address the issue, the students have yet to return to their programs.
Meanwhile, Choi remained tight-lipped on the prospects of filling the sole remaining vacancy on the Constitutional Court and the special prosecutor bill to investigate Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker who allegedly exploited ties with Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee for the ruling party to nominate a candidate he favored for the National Assembly.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
