College applicants for medical school regular admissions surpassed 10,000

[Anchor]

The number of applicants for medical schools in the 2025 college admissions has surpassed 10,000.

This is an increase of about 30% compared to last year, and as many applicants are concentrating on medical schools, the number of applicants in the natural sciences has decreased.

Reporter Jeong Hae-joo reports.

[Report]

The 2025 college admissions, which closed on the 3rd, saw a total of 10,519 applicants for 39 medical schools nationwide.

This figure shows an increase of about 30% from last year, marking the first time in six years that the number has exceeded 10,000.

The increase is due to the expansion of the medical school admission quota by about 1,500, particularly concentrated in non-capital region medical schools.

Significant increases were seen in regions such as Chungcheong and Gangwon Provinces, with all areas outside the capital region showing an increase of over 20% compared to last year.

As the number of unfilled spots from the early admissions was carried over to the regular admissions, the number of regular admissions for medical schools increased by nearly 400 compared to last year, resulting in a slight decrease in overall competition rates.

As a result of the concentration on medical schools, the number of applicants in the natural sciences at top universities such as Seoul National University and Yonsei University has decreased.

[Lim Seong-ho/Representative of Jongno Academy: "High-scoring students in the college entrance exam have concentrated their applications on medical schools rather than general science and engineering departments, which could lead to a lower acceptance threshold for science and engineering."]

With the regular admissions now closed, the cancellation of the medical school expansion for the 2025 academic year, as claimed by the medical community, has become impossible.

Now, attention turns to the medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year.

The election for the president of the Korean Medical Association, who will lead negotiations with the government, has narrowed down to two candidates, with the winner to be decided on the evening of the 8th.

Both Kim Taek-woo, former chair of the Korean Medical Association's emergency committee, and Joo Soo-ho, former president of the Korean Medical Association, are classified as hardliners, raising expectations that resolving conflicts between the medical community and the government will not be easy in the new year.

This is Jeong Hae-joo from KBS News.