Ministry of Education "Focus on Allocating Medical Schools Outside the Capital Region... '60% Increase' Standard Needs Consultation"

Medical School Quota Demand Survey by University Until March
Allocation Committee to Be Formed to Establish Criteria

As the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to increase the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 starting from the 2025 academic year, the Ministry of Education stated, "We agree with the direction and will continue to consult moving forward." However, regarding the allocation criteria such as the plan to fill more than 60% of admissions through the regional talent selection track, the Ministry explained that "these matters have not yet been decided" and that practical consultations will be conducted.

A Ministry of Education official said at a back briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 7th, "Once the Ministry of Health and Welfare officially notifies us of the scale of the medical school quota increase, we plan to consult with them to establish allocation criteria for each university's medical school quota and receive the 2025 academic year medical school quota demand from each university by mid-March."

Based on this, the Ministry of Education plans to finalize the allocation of medical school quotas by university and notify them by mid to late April. Universities will then revise and announce their 2025 academic year admission guidelines by the end of May after review by the Korea Council for University Education.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Education is expected to begin consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the allocation criteria for each university within this month. An official stated, "We have agreed with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the principle of focusing on allocating medical school quotas to non-metropolitan areas in broad terms," adding, "We plan to consider various factors such as the demand submitted by universities, educational capacity, the need to strengthen the educational capacity of small-scale medical schools, and the necessity of regional medical support."

In particular, since the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the day before that they will promote filling more than 60% of admissions to non-metropolitan medical schools through the regional talent selection track, attention is also focused on how the allocation of the regional talent selection track will be carried out by region and university.

Regarding this, the Ministry of Education expressed agreement with the direction but stated that the allocation criteria related to the regional talent selection track have not been decided. An official explained, "The increase to 60% for the regional talent selection track is already being achieved by more than 80% of universities, and at a recent Education Development Special Zone meeting, it was a common voice among key national universities with medical schools that they will select more than 60% by 2025," adding, "It is expected that universities will voluntarily achieve the target of over 60% as various consultations proceed at the Local Era Committee."

The Ministry of Education plans to form an allocation committee composed of officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, and external experts to establish the allocation criteria.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.