EXPLAINER Korea’s push for ‘regional doctors’: Reform or gamble?

Doctors walk down a hallway of a major hospital in Seoul, Dec. 31, 2025. Newsis

Korea’s long-running debate over a shortage of doctors outside the Seoul metropolitan area is now centering on a new policy idea: a so-called "regional doctor system" that would require qualified physicians to serve for several years in underserved areas and key specialties.

Years of incentive payments, pilot projects and increases in medical school quotas have so far failed to ease the shortage of physicians in emergency rooms, maternity wards and key specialties in smaller cities and rural counties. Health authorities say a mandatory system is now needed to maintain — or at least stabilize — medical services outside the capital region.

The regional doctor system has become a key part of President Lee Jae Myung’s health care plan. Last month, lawmakers passed a law that makes the system official and gives the government the power to require doctors to work in hospitals and clinics outside the capital.

At its core, the scheme reserves a set share of medical school seats for “regional tracks,” in which students receive government financial support for tuition, dormitory fees and other education costs.

In return, they accept a binding obligation to work for 10 years at medical institutions in designated regions after earning their medical licenses, with a portion of those slots earmarked specifically for students who completed middle and high school in the areas.

Alongside this, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are advancing plans for a new public medical graduate school designed to train doctors exclusively for local or public roles. Structured as a graduate program instead of a typical six‑year undergraduate program, it would produce doctors who, once licensed, are required to serve for 15 years in the public health care sector. If everything goes as planned, the institution could open as early as 2029, according to officials. Under the proposal, students who drop out or skip their obligations may be ordered to repay the financial support they received, and persistent noncompliance could lead to license suspensions, with the possibility of revocation after repeated violations.

Authorities are also moving to set up new national medical schools in regions that lack them, such as South Jeolla Province. By combining these measures, they aim to hard‑wire more physician supply into provinces that have long struggled to recruit and retain staff, most of whom prefer working in major city areas, particularly Seoul.

These measures come as data suggests Korea could face a severe doctor shortage in the near future. The Physician Workforce Projection Committee, an advisory body involving representatives of doctors, warned last month that the nation could face a shortage of up to 11,136 doctors by 2040, even if artificial intelligence is deployed more widely in clinical practice.

Based on that estimate, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is expected to finalize the size of next year’s increase in medical school admissions by early February. After Tuesday’s meeting, the government plans to increase school quotas but run all of the additional seats through the regional doctor track ― a move seen as an attempt to minimize backlash from physicians. But it remains to be seen whether they will accept any expansion of seats.

The same day, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the country’s largest group of doctors, said, based on its own projections, Korea will have an oversupply of up to 13,967 doctors by 2035, rising to as many as 17,967 by 2040. That contrasts sharply with state estimates of a shortage of 5,015 to 11,136 doctors in 2040.

In a statement, the Medical Professors Association of Korea urged the government to cancel the expansion plans.

“An abrupt expansion of school quotas without the necessary educational infrastructure will inevitably undermine the quality of medical care,” the group said.

On Thursday, the KMA also expressed “serious concerns” over the government plans. It said it plans to hold an emergency meeting on Jan. 31 at its headquarters, where representatives of doctors across the country will discuss their next steps, including potential protest actions and negotiations with the government.