Hello, I am Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at The Korea Times. I primarily cover financial authorities and write articles on a wide range of topics related to finance and capital markets. If you have any information to share, feel free to email me at jjh@koreatimes.co.kr, and I will review it carefully. I am committed to always doing my best to communicate with readers through high-quality articles.
Universities seek 3,401 additional medical student admissions for 2025
A medical school classroom at a university in Gyeonggi Province is pictured empty, Tuesday, as more than 5,000 medical school students across the country have taken a leave of absence en masse in protest against the government's plan to raise the number of medical students next year. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Ministry to speed up distribution of new slots despite doctors’ continued protests
Forty universities with medical schools nationwide have applied for expanded new medical student places, which would be an increase of more than 3,000 spots, for next year.
According to Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo, Tuesday, the Ministry of Education has accepted applications from the universities after the health ministry announced a proposal on Feb. 6 to raise the medical school admissions quota by 2,000 as part of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s medical reform efforts to improve public access to health care services.
When announcing the results of the applications, Park said that the higher-than-expected demand from the universities has been confirmed, but the government’s original decision to add 2,000 slots will not be changed, considering the current education and training systems the medical schools are equipped for.
The heads of the 40 universities applied for the hike in their medical school admissions despite opposition from doctors, medical students and some professors who raised concerns that the quota hike may compromise the quality of education and training.
This decision apparently came as the government earlier warned that there would be no increase for the schools that did not submit applications. From the point of view of the heads of the universities, increasing admissions at their medical schools, while increasing revenue, could also contribute to boosting the reputation of their institutes.
Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo speaks during a media briefing at the Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap
“The 40 universities requested 3,401 new slots in their medical school admission quotas for next year,” Park said during a media briefing.
“The government believes that the schools suggested maximum figures that they could accommodate. We will determine the distribution within the 2,000 range among the schools.”
Among the 40 universities, 27 located outside the greater Seoul area applied for 2,471 new slots, 72.7 percent of the total.
Chungbuk National University in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, asked the government to raise the annual enrollment quota at its medical school to 250 from the current 49, while the University of Ulsan wanted to increase the quota to 150 from the current 40.
Thirteen universities in the greater Seoul area, which refers to the capital and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, applied for 930 new slots.
The government is expected to speed up the distribution of the additional student places among medical schools, based on its principle that prioritizes efforts to increase the quota at schools situated outside the greater Seoul area. This aligns with one of the goals of the policy, which is to address regional disparities in access to medical services.
“We have received plans from the universities about how they will operate their medical schools when the number of students will increase,” Shim Min-cheol, director of the Human Capital Policy Planning Bureau at the education ministry, said. “The final decision will be made through consultation with the health ministry.”
The distribution is expected to be wrapped up within the month, considering that the government earlier vowed to complete it before the April 10 general elections, although a nationwide walkout by thousands of trainee doctors, which began on Feb. 19, continues.
Professors at Kangwon National University’s medical school in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, have their heads shaved, Tuesday, in a show of protest against the government's plan to raise the number of medical students next year. Yonhap
Ten professors at Kangwon National University’s medical school had their heads shaved in a show of protest against the government.
Medical school students, for their part, have taken a leave of absence en masse. As of Monday, a total of 5,401 students — about 29 percent of the total — took a leave of absence, though none of their applications were accepted.
Some of those who did not take a leave of absence are boycotting classes.