Anchor: The nation’s quota on medical school enrollment is set to jump over 65 percent next year with the first hike in 19 years. The government announced the final figure of five-thousand-58 as a means of plugging regional service gaps and preparing for increased demand. The country’s doctors’ association, meanwhile, continues to fiercely oppose the decision and instead has called for better resource allocation.
Tom McCarthy has more.

Report: The quota for medical school admissions will expand by two-thousand, or 65-point-four percent of this year's quota, for the 2025 academic year.

The health ministry announced the decision to expand the quota to five-thousand-58 for the first time since 2006, when it was set at three-thousand-58, after a session of its policy review committee on Tuesday.

The ministry said the expansion will be centered around medical schools outside the capital region and that the supply and demand of doctors in the country will be managed through a regular review and adjustment of the workforce.

The government has cited the nation's shortage of doctors as a key factor contributing to medical care depletion outside the capital region as well as in essential medicine.

In 2021, there were two-point-six clinical doctors for every one-thousand people in the country, the second lowest after Mexico among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which had an average of three-point-seven.

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, President Yoon Suk Yeol said an estimated 15-thousand more doctors will be needed by 2035 amid the rapidly aging society, stressing that increasing the medical workforce is a pressing task that can no longer be delayed.

With the announcement, health minister Cho Kyoo-hong warned of a stern response to any opposition acted upon by relevant parties, with the Korean Medical Association vehemently against the move since it was proposed.

The doctors’ federation has contended that there are already enough doctors in the country while also voicing concerns that larger classes will compromise the quality of education and services, calling instead for a better allocation of professional and financial resources across the nation.
Tom McCarthy, KBS WORLD Radio News.