SEOUL, The education ministry warned Pusan National University (PNU) of punitive action, including the suspension of student admissions, on Wednesday, a day after the school decided to halt its planned hike in medical school admissions.
The university in the port city of Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was one of 32 schools that were allocated a total of 2,000 additional admission seats by the government in March as part of a medical reform initiative.
The allocation raised PNU’s total medical school quota from 125 to 200, but the school had sought to utilize only about 50 percent of the increase to admit 163 medical students for the academic year of 2025.
In a meeting the previous day, however, PNU’s academic board rejected a revision of school regulations reflecting the quota expansion, saying that sufficient social debate should precede any medical school quota hike.
PNU is the first of the 32 medical schools to make such a decision.
The education ministry responded on Wednesday that it wil
l issue a rectification order on PNU and proceed with punitive administrative action if the school does not comply.
“We can issue a rectification order if the school’s rejection of the (quota) revision is determined to be final,” a ministry official said.
“If the order is not obeyed, the ministry plans to take administrative measures, including the suspension of student admissions,” the official said.
Cha Jeong-in, president of PNU, later told the press that he has requested the academic board to re-review the quota hike plan for approval. Following the request, the board plans to schedule a meeting in the near future for reconsideration.
Jeju National University also said its council of professors and advisory board rejected a revision to school regulations that would increase the medical school enrollment quota.
The university’s admissions management committee halted deliberations on the admissions increase and decided to hold further internal discussions.
Kangwon National University, meanwhile, withd
rew a proposal to revise school regulations in accordance with the admissions hike plan, suspending related discussions. The proposal had been sent by the advisory board.
Separately, the Seoul High Court plans to receive material from the government by Friday on its grounds for increasing admissions by 2,000, and decide around next week whether to grant an injunction on the plan, according to sources in education and legal circles.