National Scholarship Applications by 'SKY Medical Students'... 74% from 'High-Income Households'

Seoul National University College of Medicine, 80% of Applicants Are Children of High-Income Families

Among medical students nationwide who applied for the national scholarship, 56.5% belonged to the 'high-income group.' Additionally, among students who applied for the national scholarship at the so-called 'SKY' (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University) medical schools, 74% were children from high-income households earning over 11 million KRW per month. Furthermore, 45.9% of medical school graduates found jobs in Seoul.

More than half of the students enrolled in 39 medical schools nationwide, including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, are estimated to come from high-income households within the top 20% income bracket. Amid ongoing National Assembly audits, the educational environment for high-income groups in Seoul is being repeatedly confirmed.

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According to the national scholarship application status received by Moon Jung-bok, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Korea Student Aid Foundation, 55.19% of students who applied for the national scholarship in these universities for the first semester of this year were classified as high-income and thus disqualified. A total of 38,048 students applied for the national scholarship this semester from Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University, and medical schools.

The national scholarship is provided by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation to alleviate university students' tuition burdens and is only available to those in the 8th income decile or below (below 200% of median income).

According to this, as of the first semester of this year, the 9th and 10th income brackets correspond to monthly incomes of 10.8 million KRW or more, and students from such high-income households accounted for more than half of the national scholarship applicants. The 10th bracket households earn over 16 million KRW per month.

The national scholarship is generally applied for by more than half of enrolled students, making it a reliable sample to infer the income levels of households of students at specific universities.

Among 7,347 medical students from 39 medical schools who applied for the national scholarship, 4,154 students (56.54%) belonged to the 9th and 10th income brackets. In particular, the proportion of children from high-income households among applicants at Seoul National University College of Medicine was notably high. Of the 471 applicants from Seoul National University College of Medicine this semester, 80.0% belonged to the 9th and 10th income brackets.

Meanwhile, although 7 out of 10 medical students attend universities located outside the metropolitan area, 6 out of 10 find employment in the metropolitan region.

According to employment status data of medical school graduates submitted by Seo Dong-yong, a Democratic Party member, from the Ministry of Education, 45.9% of students who graduated from medical schools nationwide between 2017 and 2021 found employment in Seoul.

The employment rate in the metropolitan area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, reached 57.7%. During the same period, 31.8% of medical school graduates attended universities in the metropolitan area, and 29.1% graduated from universities located in Seoul.