SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho expressed regret on Monday for the government’s delayed communication with protesting medical students, who have been boycotting classes over the government’s plans to expand medical school enrollments.

At a press conference in the city of Sejong, Lee acknowledged the government’s failure to close the gap with students who have not returned to school since March.

"I apologize to the public for our delay in opening communication lines and not bringing the students back to school sooner,” Lee said. He added that although the Ministry of Education made efforts to persuade the students to return, "the wall of distrust was too high" between medical circles and the government. Lee pledged that the ministry would work toward a resolution by the end of the year.

In defending the surprise decision to grant autonomy to schools on the fate of medical students last month, Lee drew a strict line in saying that the ministry still does not allow collective action and the intention was to give universities more autonomy and for them to contribute to initiating talks with students.

“While sticking to our principles, we gave universities more autonomy over the leave of absence as requested by the universities,” the education minister said, adding that it contributed to the formation of the political and medical consultative body.

The Education Ministry had initially stuck to its policy against a collective leave of absence for medical students. However, as the boycott dragged on, the ministry shifted its stance, allowing universities to approve students' leave applications to ease the disruption and enable students to resume their studies in 2025.

Yet it remains unclear whether medical students who have been boycotting classes for the second semester in protest against the expansion of the medical school quota will return to classes, as opposition parties and medical students' organizations have been absent from the consultative body that was launched Monday.

The Monday meeting comes after ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon proposed the formation of a four-way consultative body in early September to break through the medical impasse amid the crisis in the health care sector sparked by junior doctors' resignations.

While the body is designed for representation from the ruling and opposition parties, medical students and doctors, the medical sector's main stakeholders -- the Korean Medical Association, the largest doctors' group here representing some 140,000 members, the Korean Intern Resident Association and the Korean Medical Student Association -- have rejected their invitations to participate, demanding the government scrap the hike plan before engaging in any form of dialogue.

When asked if he thought students would return in March, Lee said, "I believe that if we keep open dialogue channels with the ruling, opposition and legislative councils, students will come back.” He added that with support from medical school deans, the ministry hopes to clarify misconceptions and address students' concerns to bring them back to their studies.

Minister Lee also highlighted recent achievements in the education sector under President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration.

Lee referred to the "Always Caring School" initiative, which offers free after-school learning programs and arts and crafts classes. He noted that the policy, set to expand to second-grade students next year, has improved parental satisfaction and reduced teacher concerns.

"It has become a branded policy of the Yoon administration," Lee said, emphasizing his commitment to ensuring the program's smooth implementation.

Amid speculation that this may be his last press conference as minister, Lee stated that he remains committed to making positive changes and will continue working toward further achievements in the time he has remaining.