The government is set to announce the increase in the quota for medical students for the 2025 academic year as early as February 1.

The quota is expected to expand by around two-thousand, the first increase in 19 years since the number of accepted students was capped at three-thousand-58 in 2006.

While the move is facing massive opposition from medical groups like the Korean Medical Association, the government is prepared to respond resolutely to collective action by the medical community.

The government is also preparing a policy package encouraging doctors to pursue practicing essential and provincial medical services, with plans to announce the measures at the same time as the new quota is released.