Ministry of Health and Welfare Sends Official Requests to Medical Community
Committee Member Nominations Accepted Until April 28
The government has officially begun forming the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Committee, which will discuss the 2027 academic year medical school enrollment quota.
On the 21st, the approaching "deadline" set by some medical schools including Yonsei University, Korea University, and Kyungpook National University for returning, a student is seen walking at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. 2025.3.21. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
According to the government and the medical community on April 22, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to accept nominations for committee members until April 28 and sent official requests to various organizations for nominations starting from April 18.
The recipient organizations include the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Hospital Association, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, the Korean Intern Resident Association, the National Association of Medical School Professors, as well as consumer and patient organizations, medical academic societies, and research institutes.
The Estimation Committee is an independent deliberative body under the direct supervision of the Minister of Health and Welfare, which periodically conducts mid- to long-term supply and demand forecasts for healthcare personnel and reviews the results. The amendment to the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services, which provided the legal basis for this committee, was passed by the National Assembly after much debate and was promulgated on March 17.
While the number of medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year has reverted to the pre-increase level of 3,058, the quota for the 2027 academic year, which is two years from now, will be determined based on discussions within the Estimation Committee.
The committee will consist of a total of 15 members, including one chairperson, and will ensure that experts recommended by provider organizations such as the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Hospital Association make up the majority. Experts recommended by labor organizations, consumer and patient advocacy groups, as well as those recommended by medical academic societies and research institutes, will participate as representatives of demand-side stakeholders.
To qualify as a committee member, a person must meet all three of the following criteria: ▲ have specialized in a field related to supply and demand estimation, such as economics, public health, statistics, or demography; ▲ possess extensive expertise and research achievements in workforce policy or workforce supply and demand estimation; ▲ hold a position of assistant professor or higher at a university, research fellow or higher at a research institute, or an equivalent qualification.
A Ministry of Health and Welfare official explained, "After conducting qualification verification procedures for the nominated individuals, the Estimation Committee could be launched as early as next month."
Previously, in September of last year, the government also decided to form an estimation committee to analyze the appropriate size of the medical workforce and requested nominations from relevant organizations. However, the medical community insisted that discussions should restart from the 2025 academic year quota, for which the government had decided on an increase of 2,000, and ultimately did not nominate any members, resulting in the failure to form the committee.
The amended Framework Act on Health and Medical Services stipulates that if there are no nominations from provider organizations, the committee may still be formed by appointing from among the nominated individuals, even if the majority principle for provider group nominations is not met.
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