Medical School Quotas for Next Year Still 'Unclear'... Government Says "University Autonomy"

Discussion Underway for Health Workforce Forecasting Committee Formation
Time Running Out to Reach Agreement on 2026 Quotas
Student Selection to Proceed by Adjusting Admission Numbers Instead of Quotas

The government, which initially planned to finalize next year's medical school quotas by the end of this month, has yet to even begin related discussions and is now pushing for a plan that allows each university to decide its own medical school admission numbers. This is interpreted as a judgment that there is realistically not enough time to reach an agreement with the medical community on the 2026 academic year quotas.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the medical community, and the National Assembly on the 19th, nothing has been decided yet regarding whether the 2026 academic year medical school quotas will remain at the increased level of 2,000 students as last year, revert to the pre-increase level, slightly reduce the increase, or even decrease the number. Considering that universities will announce their admission guidelines in April, a final decision must be made by next month at the latest.

The government’s stance is to discuss the matter from a 'zero base.' However, since it is reviewing the 'scale of increase' rather than the quota itself from scratch, the possibility of reducing the number below the 2024 quota is excluded. On the 14th, during a parliamentary question session, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong explained, "We will adjust by listening to field opinions through supply and demand forecasts without fixing on a specific number, within the range from 3,058 (pre-increase) to 5,058 (2,000 increase)."

On the other hand, the medical community has yet to present specific numbers for the 2026 academic year medical school quotas. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) insists on maintaining the 'cancellation of the increase' and demands that the government first establish a master plan for proper medical education before discussing quotas. Some medical professionals argue that the quota for next year should be reduced below 3,058. Since it is physically impossible to educate both the 2024 academic year students who took a leave of absence last year and the 2025 academic year freshmen who have increased two to threefold this year simultaneously, there are claims that no medical students should be admitted in 2026 and that the year should be taken as a break.

In the National Assembly, a bill to establish the Health and Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Forecasting Committee (Forecasting Committee) is expected to be processed in the standing committee this month, after which the committee will be entrusted with quota discussions. At a public hearing held on the 14th, the medical community argued that doctors should hold the majority and have voting rights on the Forecasting Committee, while consumer groups and academia countered that doctors’ roles should be advisory only.

However, realistically, even if legislation is enacted immediately, it is expected to take considerable time for the Forecasting Committee to start discussions on the 2026 medical school quotas and reach an agreement. Therefore, separate from the Forecasting Committee, urgent discussions on next year’s quotas need to be conducted through dialogue with the medical community.

Will universities be allowed to adjust admission numbers autonomously again this year?

Accordingly, on the 18th, the government prepared and submitted to the National Assembly a revision related to six bills proposed by ruling and opposition lawmakers to establish the Forecasting Committee (amendments to the Health and Medical Workforce Support Act or the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services). This includes a provision that 'if the Minister of Health and Welfare finds it difficult to decide the scale of physician training for the 2026 academic year after deliberation by the Forecasting Committee and the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (Bojeongshim), the head of each university may change the number of medical school admissions in the university’s admission plan by April 30, 2025, considering the educational conditions of each university.' It also includes a clause that 'the head of the university must consult in advance with the Minister of Education.'

This kind of adjustment in admission numbers allows universities much more autonomy compared to the quota finalization process. Last year, when the government allowed a reduction of up to 50% in the 2025 academic year admission numbers, national university medical schools only increased their intake by up to 50% of the increased quota. If the adjustment plan is finalized, national university medical schools will be able to admit fewer students than the quota, as they did in the 2025 academic year.

Minister Cho said during the Health and Welfare Committee plenary session regarding questions about the Forecasting Committee, "I do not think that legalizing the committee will solve everything, but it will be a clue (to the solution). If the legislation is passed quickly, I believe it can also be reflected in deciding the 2026 medical school quotas."