The president of Seoul National University(SNU) said he respects a decision by the dean of the school’s College of Medicine to approve a leave of absence for medical students who stopped attending classes in February, apparently to protest the government's decision to increase the medical school admissions quota.

Appearing at a parliamentary audit on Tuesday, SNU President Ryu Hong-lim said the dean holds authority not just over leave of absence requests, but over all academic matters, as stipulated in university regulations.

Although the applications could have been authorized immediately, the SNU chief said the school delayed doing so in an attempt to persuade the students to return to their studies.

The medical school had also informed the university that the students’ absence made it difficult to manage the academic curriculum and it would be necessary to approve the leave of absence for everyone.