The South Korean government has specified that applicants for regional physician admission tracks must have graduated from middle schools within the metropolitan area where the medical school is located. Starting with the 2027 academic year admissions, only students who graduated from middle schools in the same or adjacent metropolitan regions as the medical school will be eligible to apply for regional physician selection programs.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 27th that it has prepared a revised draft of the enforcement decree for the "Act on Training and Support for Regional Physicians" and will accept public comments through the 6th of next month. Unlike the previous draft, which broadly defined middle school locations as "non-metropolitan areas," the revision narrows the scope to the medical school's location and adjacent metropolitan regions.
For example, applicants to medical schools in Daejeon or South Chungcheong Province must have graduated from middle schools in Daejeon, Sejong, South Chungcheong, or North Chungcheong provinces, and from high schools in the corresponding mid-level medical service zone or the same metropolitan area. These requirements will take effect immediately for the 2027 academic year admissions.
The Ministry explained that it incorporated feedback during the legislative process stating that "the selection should align with the law's purpose of selecting students who grew up in the region to train physicians who will settle there long-term." The measure aims to prevent cases where students relocate to specific regions at the middle school level solely to gain admission to medical schools.
The enforcement decree also specifies regional physician selection ratios. A minimum threshold requires at least 10% of the total enrollment capacity of 32 medical schools nationwide, excluding Seoul, to be filled through regional physician admission tracks. These positions must be filled entirely by regional students who meet the middle and high school location requirements. The government plans to finalize the enforcement decree after collecting opinions during the re-legislation notice period and will establish detailed selection methods through a separate official notice.