The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 10th that they would flexibly negotiate the extent of the medical school enrollment expansion for next year from scratch. This means there's a possibility that the enrollment expansion for the 2026 academic year could be '0'.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho held a briefing that afternoon and said, "If the government and the medical community work together and discuss, the extent of the medical school enrollment expansion for the 2026 academic year can be flexibly negotiated from zero base, considering the supply and demand forecast of medical personnel, the fact that the majority of students could not attend classes in 2024, and the educational conditions at each school." He also described it as a 'grand decision.'
Earlier that day, Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as Minister of Strategy and Finance, instructed relevant ministries including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to actively consider measures to allow residents and medical students to return to the field.
In response to the question, 'Does this mean that the enrollment expansion for the 2026 academic year could be 0?', Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Gyu-hong replied, 'Currently, there are no plans to negotiate with a specific number in mind.' Minister Cho added, 'Until now, we primarily aimed to balance the supply and demand of physicians until 2035, but since educational conditions and each school's circumstances have emerged as very important variables, we will fully consider these factors in our negotiations.'
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education have a policy to ensure that residents who resigned can return to their training hospitals without disruption. The current regulations limit return to within one year after resignation; however, through special measures, if residents return to the hospital and specialty they trained in prior to resignation, there will be no restrictions. The government plans to allow resigned medical officer candidates to return to training and enlist as medical officers after completing their training.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, 'We will actively support the smooth education of medical students in the 2025 academic year.' He stated that 'currently, each university is in the process of conducting hiring procedures, including interviews, which are expected to be completed by February,' adding, 'Educational facilities are progressing according to plans for remodeling classrooms and preparing designs for building construction.'
The Deputy Prime Minister noted, 'Although it is a challenging situation with over 7,500 new students from 2024 and 2025 attending classes simultaneously, the government will actively support them to ensure that if students return, we can utilize all university resources in cooperation with the universities and provide administrative and financial support to allow them to have normal classes.'
This year, a dedicated organization within the Ministry of Education was established to support medical education. A total of 606.2 billion won will be invested to improve medical education conditions, including increasing faculty and expanding facilities and equipment, as well as supporting medical education innovation. The Deputy Prime Minister stated, 'The government plans to establish a mid- to long-term investment plan to dramatically improve university education conditions and enhance medical education capabilities, with an investment of about 5 trillion won by 2030.'
He said, 'The contents of the martial law declaration regarding residents and the medical community are entirely different from the government's policy,' and expressed 'sincere regrets and condolences' to residents and medical staff who were hurt by the declaration. He elaborated that since the basic policy of government departments such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare is to communicate and negotiate with the medical community, the martial law declaration by President Yoon Suk-yeol containing statements like 'punishment for medical personnel' contradicts the government's policy.