The presidential office reaffirmed its intent to expand the number of medical school students starting from 2025 while stating that the scale has not yet been set.

According to a high-ranking official at the top office on Thursday, there are no specific numbers to be released so far, but the government has expressed its commitment to increasing the quota as mentioned by the health minister earlier this week.

The official stressed, however, that it is necessary to first carefully examine the extent of the current doctor shortage and determine how to increase the number of doctors in order to overcome the gap in essential medical services nationwide.

With regards to the timing of the announcement on the quota increase, the official said the government must first assess the new student distribution by university and further collect opinions from experts with whom consultations will occur.

However, the official did say that in order for the change to be implemented by 2025, the quota must be finalized by the first half of 2024.