South Korea plans to increase medical school admissions by more than 3,340 students from 2027 to 2031 to address concerns about physician shortages in one of the fastest-aging countries in the world, the government said Tuesday.
The plan was announced months after officials defused a prolonged doctors’ strike by backing away from a more ambitious increase pursued by Seoul’s former conservative government. The discussions about a scaled-down hike had nonetheless drawn criticism from doctors’ groups, which threatened renewed walkouts ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.
