South Korea announced Friday that it was considering renegotiating the 2026 medical school admissions hike and would lift the regulation barring medical residents who resigned from returning to their training hospitals following their mass resignation, in hopes of alleviating the ongoing medical standoff.
Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from work since they resigned en masse last February, as the medical community continues to demand a reconsideration of the proposed increase in medical school quotas.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho said in a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul that the government is willing to engage in flexible discussions with the medical community regarding the expansion of medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year.
"If the government and the medical community engage in collaborative discussions, the scale of medical school enrollment expansion for the 2026 academic year could be flexibly negotiated from scratch," Lee said.
This would take into account projections for medical workforce demand, the fact that most students were unable to attend classes in 2024, and the educational conditions at each university, he added.
Lee expressed regret over the prolonged conflict following last year’s announcement of expanded medical school admissions, acknowledging the hardships faced by the public.
"We sincerely apologize for the concerns and inconveniences caused by the prolonged absence of medical residents," Lee stated.
Lee also proposed special measures that would allow medical trainees who resigned from their positions to resume training at their previous hospitals, and in the same specialties, without the usual one-year restriction.
Additionally, medical residents who have not yet performed their mandatory military service will now be permitted to complete their training before serving as military doctors or in other military medical roles.
Medical residents who resigned in February last year had their resignations officially processed by July, rendering them ineligible to return this March under the current rules. The exemption would enable them to participate in the upcoming recruitment cycle and return to their original hospitals.
Addressing their military service obligations, the government plans to coordinate with relevant agencies to defer enlistment for medical residents who return to their programs. Without this measure, those facing military conscription would be unable to resume their medical training.
This decision follows formal requests from six major medical associations to implement special measures for training and military service deferral. Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok also directed relevant ministries to explore ways to facilitate the reinstatement of medical residents.
Also before the decision, the ruling People Power Party called on the government to actively consider implementing training exemptions and military service deferrals to facilitate the swift return of trainee doctors who left their hospitals amid the ongoing standoff.
People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong specifically proposed suspending the regulation that prohibits training doctors who resigned in June last year from reapplying to the same department and hospital within a year.
Meanwhile, the government on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to investing in medical education, outlining plans to inject approximately 5 trillion won ($3.4 billion) into the sector by 2030.
For 2025, the government has allocated 606.2 billion won to recruit additional faculty, upgrade facilities, and support educational innovation in medical schools.
Earlier, the government announced plans to increase medical school admissions by 1,500 students for 2025, as part of a broader initiative to raise the total by approximately 10,000 over the next five years to address a shortage of doctors.
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