Starting with the 2027 academic year, students admitted to medical schools under the regional doctor track must serve for 10 years at regional public or emergency medical institutions after obtaining a medical license.
Residents may choose from 26 departments for training, but only the required departments—such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and adolescents, emergency medicine, and family medicine—count toward the mandatory service period. Training periods in nonrequired departments, such as dermatology or plastic surgery, are not recognized as service time.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that, following the enforcement of the Act on the Fostering and Support of Regional Doctors (Regional Doctor Act), it prepared a draft notice reflecting these details and will pre-announce legislation from the 26th through Apr. 6.
The regional doctor system was introduced to resolve imbalances in the supply of medical personnel and disparities in health care among regions. Accordingly, from next year, 32 medical schools outside Seoul will select a certain percentage of their admissions quota through the regional doctor track. Eligible applicants are students who graduated from middle and high schools in the medical school's location or an adjacent area and resided in that region.
To prevent concentration in certain areas, 70% will be selected by care service area and 30% by broader regional area. Mandatory service institutions are limited to public health care providers, including public health care institutions, public specialized treatment centers, and responsible medical institutions, as well as regional health care institutions and emergency medical institutions (limited to emergency room–dedicated physicians).
The mandatory service period is calculated based on actual working time. Typically, physicians become specialists after one year as an intern and three to four years as a resident following graduation from medical school. When a regional doctor in service unavoidably changes the work location, interprovincial coordination is required, and if there is no training-capable medical institution, a separate service area may be designated.
Selected students will receive support for tuition, textbook costs, and housing expenses, and in return must complete 10 years of mandatory service in the designated region after obtaining their license.
Each medical school must select the increased "additional quota," based on the 2024 academic year admissions quota before the expansion, through the regional doctor system.
This notice clearly defines the selection ratio for the regional doctor system as "the proportion of the increased quota compared with the 2024 academic year within the admissions quota for the given year."
For example, the Chungbuk National University College of Medicine has an admissions quota of 88 for the 2027 academic year, an increase of 39 from 49 in the 2024 academic year, so about 44.3% must be selected through the regional doctor track. In effect, the structure centers on selecting regional doctors from the expanded headcount.
The ministry plans to gather opinions related to the pre-announcement period through Apr. 6.