Only 1% of medical students from low-income backgrounds

Seoul National University's College of Medicine campus in Jongno-gu, central Seoul (Park Jun-hee/The Korea Herald)

Of all first-year students at medical schools in Korea, only one percent came from lower-income families and applied for state scholarships over the decade, government data showed Tuesday.

Medical schools here received a total of 31,883 freshmen between 2013 and 2024, but only 469, or 1.43 percent, received the country's national scholarship program aimed at supporting students in near-poverty brackets and basic livelihood, according to data submitted by the Education Ministry, the Korea Student Aid Foundation and each medical school to Rep. Cho Jung-hun of the ruling People Power Party.

In particular, five medical schools had no first-year students from lower-income families who applied for the national scholarship. The five schools are Gachon University Global Campus, the Catholic University of Korea Songeui Campus, Konkuk University Glocal Campus, the University of Ulsan and Inje University's Gimhae Campus.

While the cost of public and private medical schools differs, the average cost is 9.84 million won ($7,370), the latest ministry's information on universities showed in April. The tuition is the highest among other majors, and 3 million won more than the humanities and social sciences departments. Yonsei University's College of Medicine, one of the top medical schools here known for its expensive school fees, charges a tuition of around 12.2 million won.

Rep. Cho pointed out that medicine may have become accessible to students with specific backgrounds, typically wealthier social classes, suggesting that high medical school-related expenses pose obstacles for low-income students aspiring to get accepted into medical colleges.

"There is a need for reform in the structure of education to address income inequality in admissions to medical schools and strengthen the selection of students from low-income families," Rep. Cho said.