Over the years, various South Korean administrations have attempted to expand medical school enrollments to address essential healthcare needs, yet each initiative has met with intense opposition from the medical community, leading to its failure. Most recently, during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, a sudden announcement to increase medical school admissions from 3,058 to 5,058 faced immediate backlash, resulting in severe disruptions in healthcare service, where medical students and residents protested by leaving their institutions, jeopardizing patient care. This ongoing conflict persisted for a year and a half before coming to a conclusion in July of the following year when the Lee Jae-myung administration took over.

In the aftermath of the conflict, an agreement was reached to increase the 2025 enrollment to 5,058; however, the actual number of recruits was significantly reduced to 1,509, indicating underlying tensions between the government and medical professionals. The following year, the government sought to pacify the medical field by adhering to a previous recruitment number of 3,058, rather than the newly established cap of 5,058, reflecting a continued struggle for a balance between healthcare needs and the integrity of the medical profession.

Efforts during the Moon Jae-in administration to expand medical school enrollments also met with failure, as proposed measures led to strong protests from physicians, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The government ultimately retreated under pressure, leading to a truce via the ‘9-4 Agreement’ with the medical community. Despite starting with a targeted admissions increase in 1948, the medical school enrollment number has fluctuated over time, showing a pattern of persistent conflict and negotiation that highlights the challenges of addressing critical healthcare issues in South Korea.