Court Rules Notification of "Unselected for Active Duty" for Medical Residents Is Not an Administrative Disposition

Six Military Medical Officer Candidates' Lawsuit Dismissed
"Notification from Defense Ministry to Military Manpower Administration Is an Internal Administrative Act"

In the first trial of a lawsuit filed by military medical officer candidates against the Ministry of National Defense after the mass resignation of medical residents, demanding the cancellation of their classification as "unselected for active duty," the court dismissed the case.

The Administrative Division 1 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Yang Sangyun) dismissed the lawsuit filed by Kim and five other military medical officer candidates against the Minister of National Defense, seeking to overturn their classification as "unselected for active duty." Dismissal refers to a procedure where a case is closed without a substantive ruling when procedural requirements for a lawsuit are not met. The court explained, "The Ministry of National Defense's act of classifying the plaintiffs as 'unselected for active duty' and notifying the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration does not constitute an administrative disposition subject to administrative litigation."

Seoul Administrative Court. The Asia Business Daily DB

Previously, Kim and others were incorporated into the military medical officer candidate registry while serving as medical residents at training hospitals. When the government pushed to increase medical school admissions, they submitted their resignations, which were accepted after the Ministry of Health and Welfare lifted its ban on the collective resignation of medical residents. In February 2025, the Ministry of National Defense revised the pertinent directive to classify those exceeding the quota for active duty military personnel as "unselected for active duty" instead of the previous classification as supplemental service, and notified the Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration accordingly.

Kim and the others filed the lawsuit seeking the cancellation of this classification as "unselected for active duty." They argued that being classified in this way could prevent them from immediately fulfilling military service obligations as medical officers or public health doctors and could leave them in limbo, waiting without a definite induction date or service assignment.

However, the court determined that the Ministry of National Defense's notification of classification as "unselected for active duty" does not constitute an administrative disposition. The court stated, "This classification notification is merely an internal action between administrative bodies," and added, "It does not directly alter the rights or obligations of the plaintiffs, nor does it impede the exercise of any rights." An administrative disposition must impact the legal status of citizens or similar rights, but in this case, the classification notification was merely a procedure for the Ministry of National Defense to report the selection results to the Military Manpower Administration.

The court did not rule on the legality of the Ministry of National Defense's revision of the relevant directive in February 2025, nor on whether the criteria for classifying Kim and others as "unselected for active duty" were appropriate. As the classification notification was not deemed an administrative disposition subject to cancellation lawsuits, the court found there was no need to review the legality of the measures in question.

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