Following a 17-month boycott, thousands of South Korean medical students are expected to resume their studies, a group told AFP on Monday, bringing an end to a deadlock that also saw junior doctors go on strike.

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's decision to drastically raise medical school admissions early last year, citing an urgent need to increase doctor numbers to meet growing demand in a fast-aging society, threw South Korea's healthcare system into disarray.

The initiative sparked intense opposition, leading to medical students boycotting their classes and junior doctors leaving hospitals, causing procedures to be canceled and service delivery to be disrupted across the country.

Yoon's failed proclamation of martial law led to his impeachment, and the administration eventually offered to rescind the policy in March 2025 after it had been softened down.

A representative for the Korean Medical Association told AFP on Monday that "students have agreed to return to school," but that the timing of the return of students was left to the discretion of each medical school.

The students made this decision because a prolonged boycott could lead to the collapse of medical systems' foundations, according to a previous statement from the Korean Medical Students' Association.

Approximately 8,300 students are anticipated to resume their studies; however, no precise schedule has been given.

In a Sunday Facebook post, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok praised the decision, calling it a "big step forward," and said President Lee Jae-myung was considering solutions.

Aside from the student boycott, 12,000 junior physicians went on strike last year, and the great majority of them have yet to return to work.

On the campaign trail, Lee, who was elected in June after Yoon was ousted from government, had stated that he would try to end the medical strike.

A record number of students retook the college entrance exam in November in an attempt to take advantage of improvements that made it simpler to get into desired majors as a result of the surge in medical school admissions.