'Medical School Expansion → Autonomous Adjustment' Confused Universities... Ministry of Education "Must Submit by the 30th"

The government’s acceptance of a plan allowing medical schools to autonomously recruit 50-100% of their 2025 academic year quotas has intensified confusion among universities required to submit their final new student increase figures. However, the Ministry of Education firmly stated that the scale of the '2,000 student increase' and the submission deadline for each university’s recruitment quota remain unchanged at the 30th of this month.

Shim Min-cheol, Director of Talent Policy Planning at the Ministry of Education, said at a regular briefing on the 22nd regarding the 'final deadline for confirming university-specific recruitment quotas,' "The basic implementation plan for the 2025 academic year university entrance examination is, in principle, to be submitted by April 30, so universities must finalize and submit their quotas by the end of April."

Earlier, universities were in the process of revising their academic regulations to reflect the increase in medical school quotas when the government’s 'autonomous recruitment' plan was announced on the 19th. By the 30th of this month, universities must submit their admission plans reflecting recruitment numbers to the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE), obtain KCUE approval, and upload the recruitment guidelines on their websites by May.

In response to a question about whether there is room to adjust the deadline amid ongoing confusion in the education field, Director Shim explained, "There have been cases in the past where university-specific quotas were decided late. However, the implementation plan must be issued. If opinions within the schools are consolidated by April 30, I believe there will be no major issues."

On the 9th, Oh Seok-hwan, Vice Minister of Education, attended an emergency briefing on the operation and resumption of classes at 40 medical schools nationwide in April at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and answered reporters' questions. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

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Regarding the quota scale, he said, "The quota is fixed at 2,000 students," adding, "Academic regulations must be revised based on the 2,000 student figure. However, if the 2025 academic year implementation plan is submitted in advance within the 50-100% recruitment range, conditional approval can be granted on the premise of academic regulation revision."

So far, six universities (Kyungpook National University, Gyeongsang National University, Chungnam National University, Chungbuk National University, Kangwon National University, and Jeju National University) have expressed intentions to voluntarily reduce their quotas, while no other universities have submitted such requests at this time.

Regarding reports that some private universities are reluctant to participate in quota reductions, he said, "There is also a possibility that they will actively recruit 100% of the increased quota," adding, "We appreciate that. Since the principle is a 2,000 student increase, I believe that is the correct approach."

The day before, the Ministry of Education announced that it had officially requested a police investigation on the 18th into cases of coercion to participate in collective actions by medical students, which were reported through the 'Medical School Student Protection and Reporting Center.' On this matter, he firmly stated, "If criminal charges are clearly recognized and criminal punishment is imposed, we plan to request schools to take various measures such as disciplinary actions."

On the 20th, when the results of the medical school admission quota increase distribution that triggered conflicts between the medical community and the government were announced, a medical school official was entering the research building at a university hospital in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

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Regarding the situation where some universities are postponing classes again because students have not returned, he said, "The number of universities that announced plans to resume classes has decreased to 23 (as of the 22nd), but conversely, it has increased from 16 to 23 universities," adding, "I think this shows that universities are demonstrating a strong willingness to implement their plans." However, he acknowledged, "In some cases, classes were suspended again because students did not return."

On the medical community’s hardline stance, he emphasized, "It is fundamentally excessive to refuse to accept the '2,000 student increase' quota and only demand a complete re-examination while not returning," adding, "The opportunity for dialogue is still open."

When asked what efforts the Ministry of Education is making to resolve the confusion, Director Shim said, "We plan to operate on-site inspection teams at universities this week," explaining, "We will focus on checking whether universities are well-prepared for the entrance examination process, the extent of students’ willingness to return during this process, the practical difficulties faced on-site, and what the Ministry of Education can do to resolve these issues." He added, "We are trying to take measures to minimize student retention as much as possible."

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