Schooling Minister Lee Ju-ho, second from left, broadcasts the federal government’s determination on subsequent yr’s medical faculty admission quota and measures to normalize medical training, throughout a press briefing at Authorities Advanced Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
The federal government will cut back the variety of college students it plans to confess to medical colleges to three,058, in response to a request from medical professionals, however provided that college students on go away return to their research, the Ministry of Schooling introduced on Friday. In the event that they fail to take action, the choice shall be revoked.
The choice comes amid pressing issues over disruptions to medical training, because the semester has already begun and the deadline for figuring out the 2026 medical faculty enrollment quota is approaching, whereas most college students have but to renew their research.
„It might be excellent to resolve all points and conflicts surrounding medical reform, however realistically, it’s not a straightforward process,“ Schooling Minister Lee Ju-ho stated.
„The ministry has been in pressing discussions with the medical training sector, emphasizing the necessity to handle the continued disruptions as the brand new semester has already begun and the deadline for figuring out medical faculty admission quotas approaches.“
The Korean authorities deliberate to extend the medical faculty quota from the earlier 3,058 slots beginning in 2025 to deal with a scarcity of docs, significantly in rural areas and significant medical fields equivalent to pediatrics and surgical procedure. Nonetheless, docs protested, arguing that the problem was not in regards to the variety of docs, however quite the distribution, poor working circumstances and systemic issues throughout the well being care system, which led to strikes and disruptions.
Final month, the Korea Affiliation of Medical Schools formally requested that the federal government restore the admission quota to three,058 — the extent earlier than the current improve — stating that it’s going to guarantee college students on go away return. The affiliation of medical faculty presidents additionally endorsed this request.
In response, the federal government said that it could respect every medical faculty’s opinion in declining the 2026 admission quota, on the situation that every one college students who took a go away of absence return by the tip of March.
If college students fail to return by the deadline, the federal government made it clear that the adjustment in enrollment quotas proposed by medical colleges could be revoked, and the quota will stay at 5,058 college students, final yr’s elevated determine.
The training ministry additionally emphasised that circumstances are in place for college students to return, significantly these from the 2024 cohort and first-years.
The mass go away of absence by medical college students over the previous yr has considerably disrupted medical training. As of Jan. 9, a complete of two,996 college students from 2024, or 90 p.c of the cohort, stay on go away.
This has created the necessity for a brand new training plan to accommodate each returning college students and incoming college students for 2025. A complete of seven,623 college students will should be educated concurrently, greater than double the first-year consumption for 2024.
To deal with this, the federal government and universities have proposed a number of fashions, equivalent to concurrently instructing each college students from 2024 and first-years, or adjusting the curriculum timeline for 2024 college students.
The ministry said that particular person medical colleges can have the flexibleness to decide on the mannequin that most accurately fits their circumstances, quite than the federal government imposing a single strategy.
In the meantime, the federal government urged medical college students to return to highschool, however maintained a agency stance that there could be no additional adjustments to the educational calendar to accommodate their return, in contrast to final yr.
„Every college will strictly implement all rules, together with tutorial insurance policies,“ Lee stated. „If college students don’t return this yr, penalties equivalent to tutorial warnings, repeating the yr or expulsion shall be strictly utilized in accordance with faculty rules.“
