March 10, 2025
SEOUL – South Korea’s recent proposal to conditionally roll back its planned hike and cap next year’s medical school enrollment at 3,058 — the quota it was before and has been for the last nearly three decades — has fueled frustration among high school seniors, Suneung test takers and their parents.
In February last year, the government announced they would suddenly hike the 2025 medical school enrollment quota up to 5,058 students. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s flagship policy aimed to increase the quota for annual medical student admissions in one year by 2,000 as its plan to tackle what it argued was an overall shortage of doctors.
However, with strong backlash from the medical community persisting for over a year, the Ministry of Education reversed its plan Friday, saying it would go back to 3,058 seats only if students on leave return to their studies, with the possible implication that the final number could hinge on whether medical students currently on leave decide to return.
As a result, students preparing for medical school now face an unpredictable admissions landscape, with quotas potentially fluctuating between 3,058 and 5,058 spots, depending on the outcome of the standoff between the government and medical students.
The shifting enrollment numbers have left some of the country’s top-performing students uncertain about their academic futures. Given the high demand for medical school spots, a reduction in the quota could lead to a sharp increase in competition, affecting admissions trends not only in medical schools but also in top-tier engineering and science programs.
A 20-year-old Kim, who gave up his admissions spot for 2025 and decided to take the Suneung once again, said, “The whole situation is absurd.”
“I decided to take the Suneung again this year, believing the admissions quota would be the same. I feel like the test takers are the innocent bystanders getting hurt in a fight. This is unfair,” he told The Korea Herald.
The impact of fluctuating medical school admissions is already being felt. According to data analyzed by Jongno Academy, the number of unfilled seats at the top three universities in the country — Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University — reached 42 in 2024, nearly double the figure from the previous year.
Of these vacancies, 71.4 percent were in natural sciences programs, as many top students prioritized medical school admissions, often securing multiple acceptances before choosing their final destination.
Experts warn that the sudden policy shift could create a bottleneck in medical school admissions. “Many students have adjusted their study plans according to the 2025 admissions plan. If the 2026 quota is significantly reduced, competition will intensify, with more students vying for fewer spots,” a private academy official told The Korea Herald.
The uncertainty has been particularly unsettling for students in provinces outside the capital who had anticipated an expansion of local medical school opportunities.
Universities such as Chungbuk National University and Gyeongsang National University had planned to increase their medical school student intakes significantly, with Chungbuk expecting to grow from 49 to 200 students and Gyeongsang National from 76 to 200. Additionally, universities in Gyeonggi Province, including Ajou University and Sungkyunkwan University’s Natural Sciences Campus, had anticipated tripling their quotas.
The ripple effects extend beyond high school students. Some families had even relocated to rural areas in anticipation of the regional talent selection process, which prioritizes students from underprivileged regions. Reports indicate that some elementary and middle school students had moved to rural schools to become eligible for special admissions tracks aimed at alleviating the shortage of medical professionals outside major cities.
Education experts argue that policy uncertainty undermines students’ ability to plan long term. “With medical school admissions shaping the broader university admissions landscape, any abrupt changes create significant disruption. As the April 30 deadline for finalizing university admissions quotas approaches, prospective students remain in limbo,” the official said.