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Gov't leaning toward scrapping plan to hike medical school quota

Published: 07 Mar. 2025, 10:22

A pedestrian walks by a medical college in Seoul on March 6. [YONHAP]

The government is reportedly moving to scrap a contested plan to increase medical school admissions for next year, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday, in efforts to resolve a prolonged dispute with trainee doctors.

Following a policy consultation meeting with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and a subsequent closed-door meeting with relevant ministries and the presidential office, the government reportedly decided to accept a request by the ruling party and the medical community to scrap the plan, according to the sources.

Under the plan, the annual admissions quota for medical schools across the nation will be set at 3,058, equivalent to the figure before the government put forward a plan to increase admissions by 2,000 a year ago, to address a shortage of doctors.

"The PPP views the issue of normalizing medical school education as urgent and assesses that the proposal made by the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate School of Medicine (KAMC) is realistically reasonable," PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said in a press briefing at the National Assembly, following the policy consultation meeting.

The KAMC, a consultative body of medical school deans nationwide, proposed last month keeping the quota for next year's admissions at 3,058.

The move comes amid concerns over disruptions in the country's health system and medical education should the prolonged walkout by over 10,000 junior doctors continue.

The government is expected to announce its decision in a press briefing on normalizing medical school education, scheduled for Friday.

The government decision, however, hinges on the condition that medical school students return to their classrooms by the end of March to ensure that classes can run normally.

Yonhap