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Attendees review materials during a special information session on the introduction of the regional doctor system and changes to medical school and college admissions for elementary, middle, and high school students, held at the 600th Anniversary Memorial Hall of Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on April 12. / Yonhap News

Medical, dental, Korean medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary schools located outside the capital area will recruit more than six out of 10 new students through the regional talent admissions track for the 2027 academic year. With the expansion of regional talent quotas and the inaugural introduction of the regional doctor system this year, opportunities for regional students to enter medical and pharmaceutical programs are expected to broaden significantly.

According to an analysis of recruitment plans for 74 regional medical, dental, Korean medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary schools nationwide released by Jongro Academy on the 30th, the number of students selected through regional talent admissions stood at 2,982, accounting for 61.3% of the total 4,862 admissions quota. Compared to 1,446 students (33.4%) in the 2022 academic year, the recruitment headcount expanded 2.1-fold, with the proportion rising by 27.9 percentage points.

By field, medical schools recruited the largest share at 1,729 students, followed by pharmacy schools with 508, dental schools with 296, Korean medicine schools with 294, and veterinary schools with 155. Compared to the 2022 academic year, regional talent intake for medical schools jumped 125.7% from 766 to 1,729, while dental and Korean medicine programs expanded by 120.9% and 116.2%, respectively.

In particular, the regional talent selection ratio for regional medical schools leaped from 38.0% in the 2022 academic year to 69.4% in 2027. This means that nearly seven out of 10 incoming regional medical school freshmen will be local talent. Over the same period, the ratio rose from 23.2% to 50.1% for Korean medicine schools and from 23.0% to 40.1% for veterinary colleges.

The expansion of regional talent recruitment was driven by mandatory quotas under the Act on Nurturing Local Universities. Current law mandates that regional universities allocate at least 40% of their medical and pharmaceutical admissions quotas to local talent, a requirement that became legally binding starting with the 2023 college admissions cycle. By region, the Honam area posted the largest regional talent quota at 956 students, followed by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam with 633; the Chungcheong region with 574; Daegu and Gyeongbuk with 532; Gangwon with 206; and Jeju with 81.

The regional doctor system, introduced for the first time this year, is also considered a major admissions variable. Analysts suggest that any shifts in medical school cutoff scores resulting from the regional doctor system could trigger a chain reaction across regional dental, Korean medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary schools.

Lim Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy, said, "Regional students can take advantage of regional tracks while simultaneously applying to universities in the capital area, broadening their options across medical, dental, Korean medicine, veterinary, and pharmacy programs," adding, "In particular, as top regional students concentrate heavily on these fields, it could also affect the admissions cutoff scores for general natural sciences departments at top universities in Seoul."

                                                                                                        Kim Nam-hyung