The government announced it will increase the annual number of new medical school students by 2,000 starting in 2025 to achieve 10,000 additional doctors by 2035. Therefore, the number of first-year medical school students nationwide will increase from 3,058 to 5,058. This will be the first expansion in 19 years since 2006.
According to a survey at Jongro Academy in December 2023, 47.7% of students taking the exam in 2025 responded that ‘expanding the number of medical school students will be advantageous for retaking the exam.’ 40.4% responded, ‘I will reapply when medical school quotas expand.’ This raises concerns about the possibility that talented people in cutting-edge fields may move into the medical. In other words, a talent shortage is expected in high-tech fields. So why do so many students want to go to medical school? First of all, it is because of the high salary and security of the doctor profession. The starting salary at a large company was recorded at 100 million won, and the pay doctor’s second-year salary was recorded at 300 million won.
However, recent hit-and-run incidents involving ambulances have been occruing one after another. Last year, 373 cases were retransferred due to difficulties in selecting a transfer hospital. The most common reason for retransfer was the absence of a specialist (42.4%), followed by equipment failure and lack of hospital beds.
Another reason is the open run of pediatrics. As soon as the pediatrician opened, waiting for an hour became standard. This is because the number of pediatric and adolescent clinics that specialize in treating children has decreased significantly. As a result, patients experienced inconvenience. I believe that expanding the number of medical schools would help alleviate these situations.
