Next Year's Medical School Quota, Ultimately Restored to 3,058 Students

Average Return Rate at 40 Medical Schools Only 25.9%
Not Enough for Normal Classes, Yet Government Breaks Its Own Principle
Concerns Grow Over Reinforcing the Attitude of "Just Hold Out"

The core of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's medical reform, the 'increase in medical school admissions,' has returned to square one after 1 year and 2 months of conflict between the government and medical community.

On the 17th, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, announced at the Government Seoul Office a plan to revert the number of medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year back to the pre-increase level of 3,058 students. This was done by accepting the proposal of the presidents of the 40 universities with medical schools.

Earlier, on the 16th, the presidents held a Zoom meeting and agreed on adjusting next year's medical school admissions to 3,058 students and conveyed this to the government.

The figure 3,058 was the number the government and universities proposed earlier this year, stating that "if medical students return by the end of March, the number will be frozen." The Ministry of Education considered full return, while the presidents considered half return as a 'return rate sufficient for normal classes,' but the actual average return rate among the 40 medical schools was found to be 25.9%.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, announced on the 17th at a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the adjustment direction of medical school admission quotas for the 2026 academic year, that the medical school quota has been set at 3,058.

Kim Hong-soon, Director of the Medical Education Support Bureau at the Ministry of Education, said at a pre-briefing held that day, "As of the 16th, the average class attendance rate at 40 medical schools was 22.2% for pre-medical courses and 29% for medical courses, averaging 29.5%." Fourth-year medical students had the highest attendance rate at 35.7%, but this was far below the level expected by the government or universities. According to the Ministry of Education, only four schools had an overall attendance rate above 50%. Among the 40 schools, 26 were found to have attendance rates below 30%. This is interpreted as due to large variations in attendance rates by school.

According to Kang Kyung-sook of the Office of the Innovation Party for Justice, at Chonnam National University, although 99 third-year and 100 fourth-year medical students registered for practical classes starting on the 7th, none actually attended. At Jeju National University, third- and fourth-year medical students did not even register for a required class with a capacity of 36 students. At Chungbuk National University, out of 45 medical major courses taken by first to fourth-year students, only two courses filled their enrollment capacity. At Pusan National University, three-quarters of students had not paid tuition. Except for 163 freshmen from the class of 2025, all other grades had unpaid tuition. The situation was similar at other five regional national universities including Kangwon National University, Jeonbuk National University, and Chungnam National University.

On the 21st, the deadline set by some medical schools including Yonsei University, Korea University, and Kyungpook National University for returning approached, and a student was seen moving at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. 2025.3.21. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The government's reason for setting the medical school admissions at 3,058 regardless of whether medical students return seems to be to send a signal to the students refusing classes that 'there will be no increase,' and then persuade students to return later. The urgency that medical education is impossible if students do not return even this semester also played a part. This is why the government says it "had no choice but to step back for the normalization of medical education."

An official from the Ministry of Education said, "When meeting with deans of medical schools, about 30% of medical students are hardliners, and 30% want to participate in classes. The remaining 40% are caught in between and cannot return due to pressure. The freeze at 3,058 can be seen as providing students with a reason and opportunity to come back." The Ministry expects that once the class attendance rate reaches about 40%, participation will increase rapidly. Currently, attendance has increased about fourfold from 7.8% on the 31st of last month to around 18 percentage points higher.

Nevertheless, the government, which initially set the principle that the quota could be frozen if students returned to a level sufficient for normal classes by the end of March, cannot avoid criticism for breaking its own principle.

Whether the 'freeze at 3,058' will lead to actual class attendance by medical students remains uncertain. There are also concerns that it may only reinforce the attitude of 'just hold out.'

Medical students are still prepared to 'repeat a year' if necessary. According to the Korean Association of Medical Colleges (KAMC), a meeting of medical school deans, as of the 16th, 14 medical schools including Korea University, Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Ulsan University have confirmed repeating a year for fourth-year students. Starting from the end of this month, a domino effect of collective year repetition will begin in earnest. In this case, the government’s concern about 'tripling' (simultaneous classes for the classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026) cannot be avoided. The education sector believes that 'doubling' (simultaneous classes for 2024 and 2025) can be resolved by redesigning the curriculum or through seasonal semesters, but tripling is difficult to manage academically. Deputy Prime Minister Lee also said during a government questioning session at the National Assembly on the 16th, "If all students return, tripling will not occur, but if they return later, it will be very difficult to provide education."