The number of applicants for the doctor’s national examination has recovered to half the level of pr..
More Candidates to Return to Medical School Expected to Increase the Number of New Doctors Next Year
![This year, the number of applicants for the doctor's national examination increased 3.8 times compared to last year. [Photo = Yonhap News]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202507/29/news-p.v1.20250729.8f3d5f65c6ef4b39a920e3c0ebdc5940_P1.png)
A total of 1450 people took the medical examination…half the level of previous years
The number of applicants for the doctor’s national examination has recovered to half the level of previous years.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Institute of Health and Medical Personnel (Kook Si-won) on the 29th, a total of 1,450 people applied for the 90th practical examination of doctors, which ended on the 25th. To obtain a doctor’s license, one must pass both the practical test held from September to November every year and the written test in January of the following year, and the national examination is eligible for medical school graduates or those who are expected to graduate within six months.
Usually, about 3,200 people have applied for medical school, including about 3,000 fourth-year medical students, those who failed the previous year, and foreign medical school graduates who passed preliminary exams. The number of applicants for this practical skill is about 45% compared to previous years.
Last year, only 382 people took the state exam as a large number of medical students left the hospital in protest of the government’s policy to expand the number of medical students. Of these, 269 passed practical and written tests and finally passed, which was only 8.8% of the previous year’s 3,045 successful applicants.
The number of applicants from foreign medical schools is also increasing
The 3.8-fold increase in the number of applicants this time compared to last year is attributed to the return of medical students to the fourth grade of the main course in the first half of this year. The number of foreign medical school graduates who passed the preliminary examination also reached 172, up from last year (55).
As a result, the number of new doctors to be released early next year is expected to increase from this year. The written test, which will be held following the practical test, will be conducted for two days from January 8-9 next year after receiving applications from September 24 to October 1.
The government plans to conduct another parliamentary session next year. On the 25th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will allow about 8,000 medical students who have been paid for refusing classes to return to school, and that additional state exams will be implemented for students in the 3rd and 4th grades in 2025 and August 2026.
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