South Korea’s newly established independent advisory body mandated to determine the country's doctor supply held its first meeting Tuesday to begin discussions on the size of the 2027 medical school quota and long-term forecasts for doctor demand and supply.

The independent advisory body, composed of 15 members from medical associations, labor groups, and academic institutions, elected Kim Tae-hyun, head of the Korean Association of Health Economics and Policy, as its chair.

Kim pledged to ensure the projections are “scientific and objective,” urging members to approach the issue from a professional rather than institutional standpoint.

The committee will meet biweekly to develop forecasting models, methods, assumptions and variables, with its findings to be reviewed by the Health and Medical Policy Deliberative Committee before the health minister sets the quota in consultation with the education minister.

The launch comes as the 2026 quota reverts to the pre-expansion level of 3,058 students, making the 2027 figure a key policy decision point.

The health ministry said the committee’s work will form the basis for post-2027 medical workforce policy and pledged to make all meeting records public.