The South Korean government is considering a concession to freeze the number of medical school enrolments next year

Comprehensive information from the South Korean government and the medical sector, the South Korean government has decided to shelve the expansion plan of medical colleges and universities, freezing the medical enrollment quota at 3,058 people in the 2026 academic year.

Kwon Sung-dong, the whip of the People's Power Party, said after party-government consultations with Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Thursday (March 6) that from a practical point of view, the medical school's request to freeze the enrollment quota at 3,058 students for the 2026 academic year is more reasonable. That means the government has decided to back down and shelve plans to expand enrollment for now.

Deputy Prime Minister and Strategy and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, acting president, also held a meeting with Minister Lee Ju-ho and other ministers on the same day to discuss the expansion of medical students. The Education Ministry is expected to announce the 2026 enrollment plan when it unveils a plan to deepen medical education on Friday.

The medical community welcomed the move, saying it would be a beginning to resolve the conflict between medical and political affairs. However, civic groups such as the Korea Federation of Severe Diseases criticized the government for raising a white flag to the medical community.

Some analysts believe that even if the urgent need is solved at the moment, the discussion on the expansion of doctor enrollment in the 2027 school year will once again trigger a confrontation between the medical administration.

The government announced last year that it would increase the number of medical school students from 3,058 by 2,000 from the 2025 academic year and maintain the number for more than five years. However, the expansion plan triggered strong opposition from doctors and triggered a wave of large-scale strikes.