Gov't to confirm expansion of medical college seats with focus on rural access

Collegiate jumpers and white gowns are placed on desks at a lecture hall at a medical college of Pusan National University on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The government will announce on Wednesday how many seats will be added at each medical college nationwide.

As the government has highlighted its policy to bolster health care access in rural areas and boost educational competencies in small-sized medical schools, it is speculated that nearly 80 percent of the expanded seats will be allocated at medical schools outside the greater Seoul area.

Of the 40 medical colleges nationwide with 3,058 admission seats a year, 13 schools in the metropolitan region accommodate some 1,035 students, or 33.8 percent. The remaining 27 schools in suburban and rural areas receive 2,023 students.

If a 2,000-seat increase takes place, making the total quota 5,058, students at medical colleges in metropolitan areas will account for 28.4 percent of the students across the country.

Nine public medical colleges located outside of the greater Seoul area will be the most significant beneficiaries of the hike, embracing the largest scale of the seat addition.

In Seoul and adjacent regions, there are no small-sized medical colleges admitting fewer than 50 students per year. It means that those schools are likely to be less affected by the quota increase.

The Korean Medical Association will start its election to vote for a new president starting Wednesday. Most of the presidential candidates have been showing anti-governmental stances regarding the country’s medical reform, including the quota hike at medical colleges.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]