South Korea to expand medical school admission quotas

Seoul

South Korea will increase the admission quotas at medical schools and establish a new public medical school in a bid to broaden the reach of health care services, lawmakers and government officials said Thursday.

The decision was confirmed earlier in the day during a policy coordination meeting between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government. Under the decision aimed at ramping up medical services, the government plans to expand the admission quotas at medical schools by 4,000 over the next 10 years, starting in 2022.

This will increase the number of students admitted annually to medical schools to 3,458 in the 2022-2031 period, from the current 3,058, according to officials. Some 3,000 of the additional 4,000 students to be admitted for medical degrees will be required to practice in provincial areas in fields dealing with severe diseases.