"Expanding to 1,000 National Medical School Professors by 2027"…Government Announces Medical School Enrollment Increase Plan (Comprehensive)

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The government has increased the medical school student quota by 2,000 for the first time in 27 years. To overcome regional disparities in medical conditions, 82% of the increased quota was allocated to non-metropolitan areas, with the remaining 18% distributed to the Gyeonggi and Incheon regions. To support this, the government declared plans to expand full-time faculty by 1,000 at national medical schools by 2027 and recommended that each non-metropolitan university select more than 60% of students through regional talent recruitment. Regarding opposition from the medical community, the government stated it will "proceed with substantive discussions."

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is making an announcement regarding the allocation of 2,000 medical school quotas on the 20th at the Joint Briefing Room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

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On the 20th, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, said at a joint briefing at the Government Seoul Office that the government will support improvements in educational conditions necessary for expanding medical school quotas, stating, "We will expand full-time faculty at national medical schools by 1,000 by 2027."

In a subsequent Q&A session, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, responded to related questions by saying, "We believe the basic pool of human resources is sufficient," and added, "As recruitment plans are announced over time, sufficient pools of human resources will apply for faculty positions and be hired through appropriate procedures." The Ministry of Health and Welfare noted that many medical school professors currently move on to private practice after completing fellow (full-time resident) training, and when positions open at universities, these individuals are expected to take up faculty roles.

Regarding the plan to promote "more than 60% regional talent recruitment" at non-metropolitan universities, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the autonomous implementation by each university. He said, "Recently, there has been a clear trend in educational settings to increase regional talent recruitment to around 60%," and added, "We will promote more than 60% regional talent recruitment in a bottom-up manner." On plans to expand necessary facilities and equipment, Oh Seok-hwan, Vice Minister of Education, stated, "Related ministries are cooperating to quickly establish a support system for budgets and other resources."

When asked how the allocation committee completed the allocation work in just five days, Vice Minister Oh explained, "A demand survey was conducted last November, and requests and investment intentions based on current situations and conditions were first received from each university. Accordingly, data accumulated through on-site inspections was available," adding, "Although the period was short, the allocation committee held very in-depth discussions." The Ministry of Health and Welfare also added that, if necessary, communication processes with individual universities were conducted through non-face-to-face meetings and on-site inspections. They reported that a total of 14 universities were visited for on-site inspections.

The government explained that it will manage the ongoing opposition from doctors, professors, and students regarding the medical school quota increase. Regarding medical students' collective leave applications, Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "We have been continuously persuading regarding the issue of collective leave," and added, "Taking this opportunity, I will visit more universities, and the Ministry of Education will have more contact points and dialogues with universities, so I expect a breakthrough regarding the leave issue."

In response to concerns that the announcement of the medical school quota might negatively impact the current strong opposition from the medical community, including class boycotts and mass resignations, Vice Minister Oh said, "Academic schedules at schools are facing significant difficulties," and added, "The government's position that an increase of 2,000 students is necessary is clear, and there are many additional topics for discussion following that." He further stated, "We plan to proceed with substantive discussions on parts where progress has not been made so far," leaving room for dialogue with individuals and groups.

Regarding professors who have announced mass resignations starting from the 25th, Park Min-su, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, explained, "It is expected that school authorities or hospital directors will not accept the resignation letters," and added, "Even if resignation letters are submitted, medical services will continue without disruption."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is delivering a statement on medical reform and the allocation of 2,000 medical school quotas at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. Attending the announcement were Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance; Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education; Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety; Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare; and Bang Ki-sun, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

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On the same day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reaffirmed the government's plan to increase the quota by 2,000 as initially announced during a public address, stating, "Considering educational conditions and regional medical realities, the increase scale was set at 2,000." Prime Minister Han emphasized, "We must steadily train doctors by increasing medical school quotas even now," and added, "From next year, even with an increase of 2,000, Korea's medical school educational conditions can sufficiently accommodate this. We have confirmed compliance not only with current legal standards but also with the accreditation standards of the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation."

Regarding claims that the government should reduce the increase scale and negotiate with medical organizations such as resident doctors, he actively rebutted, saying, "An increase of 2,000 is the minimum number to resolve the shortage of doctors." Citing the case of reducing medical school quotas by 351 during the 2000 separation of drug prescribing and dispensing, Prime Minister Han added, "If those 351 had not been reduced, an additional 6,600 doctors would have been secured by now, and by 2035, more than 10,000 doctors would have graduated."

The detailed medical school quota expansion plan released by the government that day reflected this determination. The government officially announced an increase of 2,000 medical school students for the 2025 academic year, confirming the first medical school quota increase in 27 years. The key point was allocating 82% of the increased quota to non-metropolitan areas to expand regional medical infrastructure and distributing the remaining 18% to the Gyeonggi and Incheon regions.

First, 1,639 students will be added to 27 non-metropolitan universities. This accounts for 82% of the total increase. Currently, the non-metropolitan medical school quota is 2,023, which is 66.2% of the national total of 3,058. Starting next year, it will rise to 3,662, or 72.4%. Specifically, Chungbuk National University’s medical school quota increased by 151, the largest increase. So-called 'mini medical schools' will expand from a minimum of 80 to up to 200 students. Although no increases were made to medical schools in Seoul, non-metropolitan medical schools training at the 'Big Five' hospitals, such as Ulsan University (Seoul Asan Medical Center) and Sungkyunkwan University (Samsung Seoul Hospital), will see their quotas triple.

However, the government did not allocate increased quotas to eight Seoul-area universities that participated in the demand survey. The government explained that the main criteria were to resolve medical disparities between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas and to overcome disparities in medical conditions within the metropolitan area, including Seoul and the Gyeongin region. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho explained, "We divided the quotas based on standards for establishing a 'regionally self-sufficient medical system' so that all citizens can enjoy quality medical services anywhere."

The government plans to secure a total quota of about 200 students for regional base national medical schools, while allocating at least 100 students to small medical schools with fewer than 50 students to ensure appropriate scale and efficient operation. Other non-metropolitan medical schools will also have their total quotas expanded to around 120 to 150 students to contribute to improving regional medical conditions.

In addition to Chungbuk National University and Gyeongsang National University, regional base national medical schools will have their quotas increased as follows: Jeju National University to 100 students; Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Chungnam National University, Pusan National University, and Kyungpook National University to 200 students; and Kangwon National University to 132 students. Small medical schools with fewer than 50 students will be allocated increased quotas to reach at least 100 students for efficient operation. These include: Ajou University from 40 to 120; Inha University from 49 to 120; Gachon University from 40 to 130; Catholic Kwandong University from 49 to 100; Dongguk University from 49 to 120; Daegu Catholic University from 40 to 80; CHA University from 40 to 80; Dong-A University from 49 to 100; Jeju University from 40 to 100; Dankook University from 40 to 120; Konkuk University from 40 to 100; Konyang University from 49 to 100; and Eulji University from 40 to 100.

Going forward, the Ministry of Education plans to work closely with related ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety to actively support faculty recruitment and expansion of facilities and equipment to improve medical education conditions after the quota increase. Minister Lee Ju-ho stated, "This expansion of medical school quotas marks the beginning of medical reform and aims to create a new medical ecosystem that actively resolves medical disparities between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas," adding, "We will listen more closely to voices from the field and actively communicate by visiting universities directly."

Meanwhile, medical organizations, resident doctor groups, and medical school professors have agreed to discuss future response plans following the government announcement. According to the medical community, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), and the National Medical School Professors Association (NMSPA) will hold an online meeting at 8 p.m. that day to discuss the government’s medical school quota allocation results. Experts analyze that since it is extremely rare for these three representative organizations of doctors to come together, they may mount stronger resistance.

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