Nearly 25% Drop in Regular Applicants to Medical and Pharmacy Schools
38.7% Surge in Applicants to Corporate-Linked Departments
University contract departments directly linked to major corporations have shown strong performance in the regular admission process, while applications to traditional top-tier fields such as medicine and pharmacy have significantly decreased. The number of applicants to contract departments established in cooperation with large corporations increased by nearly 40%, whereas the number of applicants to medical and pharmaceutical fields, including medical and pharmacy schools, decreased by almost 25%.
A college admission guidance seminar for the 2026 regular admission is being held at Inchon Memorial Hall, Korea University, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
According to an analysis of the 2026 regular admission process by Jongro Academy, a company specializing in education and admissions, released on January 18, a total of 2,478 applicants competed for 16 contract departments involving seven major corporations, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. This represents a 38.7% increase compared to the 2025 academic year (1,787 applicants).
By company, Samsung Electronics attracted the most attention, with 1,290 applicants across eight contract departments. This was followed by SK hynix with 320 applicants, Samsung SDI with 554, LG Uplus with 105, Hyundai Motor Company with 99, Kakao Enterprise with 61, and LG Display with 49 applicants.
The competition ratios were also extremely high. The Department of Semiconductor Engineering at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), linked to Samsung Electronics, recorded a competition ratio of 89:1 in the regular admission, drawing intense interest from top-tier students. The semiconductor engineering departments at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) also saw competition ratios exceeding 50:1.
Departments associated with SK hynix also performed strongly. Hanyang University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering posted a competition ratio of 11.80:1, while Sogang University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering recorded a ratio of about 9:1. Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Battery Engineering, newly established in cooperation with Samsung SDI, showed a high competition ratio of 46.17:1 despite being a new program.
This trend coincides with the annual expansion in the scale of recruitment for contract departments. The number of students selected through the regular admission process for large corporation contract departments has steadily increased from 78 in the 2022 academic year to 194 in the 2026 academic year.
In contrast, the number of applicants to medical and pharmaceutical fields through the regular admission process decreased by 24.7% during the same period, highlighting a stark contrast. Jongro Academy analyzed that "the guarantee of education and employment linked to corporations is a strong attraction for applicants, leading more top-tier students in the natural sciences to choose contract departments over medical and pharmaceutical fields."
An industry insider stated, "A structure where recruitment is directly connected is seen by applicants as a clear safety net for their career path," and added, "In a prolonged period of employment instability, contract departments linked to major corporations have effectively established themselves as a 'career-oriented admission' route."
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