In South Korea, the medical community, represented by organizations such as the Korean Medical Association, is advocating for a reduction in medical school admissions amid plans to increase student admissions by an average of 668 annually over the next five years. The call for reduced admissions is driven by concerns over the quality of medical education, arguing that the increase will dilute the standard of training. Critics within the sector argue that such pressures come without a valid justification, as the decision-making process around admissions has already considered educational conditions.

Key figures within the medical field, including university professors and resident associations, have voiced their opposition, suggesting that the quality of medical training must be validated through operational capabilities rather than arbitrary increases in the number of students. The recent statements from these groups emphasize the need for the Ministry of Education to conduct thorough evaluations of medical curriculums of individual universities, with an urgent request for preemptive adjustments to the student admission numbers to minimize the increase planned for 2027.

The South Korean government, however, has remained steadfast in its position, asserting that adjustments to admission numbers will not occur, as the planned increase was determined by the relevant health policy committee, factoring in the existing educational conditions. The committee determined that the total medical school admissions would increase by 490 from the current figure, albeit still less than the originally averaged annual increase, demonstrating a complex interplay between governmental health strategies and the concerns of the medical education sector.