[2024 National Audit] Daekyohyeop "Medical School Quotas Cannot Change in 2025"

"2026 Garden Reflects Agreement"

Park Sang-gyu, chairman of the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE), stated on the 11th, "I believe the quota for medical schools in the 2025 academic year cannot be changed."

On the same day, during the National Assembly Education Committee’s audit, Park responded to a question from Seo Ji-young, a member of the People Power Party, asking whether the scale of the increase in medical school quotas for the 2025 academic year would remain unchanged. Earlier, KCUE reviewed and finalized the 2025 university admission plans reflecting the increase in medical school quotas on May 30.

Sang-kyu Park, President of Chung-Ang University and Chairman of the Korea Council for University Education. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Although early admissions for the 2025 academic year began on September 9, marking the official start of medical school admissions, the medical community continues to insist that the increase for 2025 should be reconsidered from the beginning. In this context, KCUE, which reviews university admission plans, reiterated its position that a fundamental review is not possible.

According to the 2025 university admission plan, among the 40 medical schools nationwide, 39 universities operating undergraduate programs will admit 4,610 new medical students in 2025, an increase of 1,497 compared to 2024, following the government’s quota increase. Including Cha University College of Medicine (85 students), which operates a graduate medical school and is not subject to KCUE’s review, the total number of students admitted by all 40 medical schools next year will be 4,695.

Additionally, Chairman Park said during the audit that regarding the medical school quota for the 2026 academic year, "If there is a social consensus on the scale of the increase, we will reflect it and announce the university admission plan again at the end of May next year."