The entire nation is buzzing about the expansion of the medical school enrollment quota.

No one knows how many medical school students will be added or how they will be allocated. Still, private academies are stepping up their "medical school marketing," and localities have joined the race to secure more enrollment quota. Calls are also mounting for newly increased quota to new medical schools.

At a regular meeting with journalists on Wednesday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the government would push to expand medical school students by talking to the medical community.

"There may be some side effects or worries about the policy, but most people seem to support it (increasing the number of medical school students)," Han said. “The government will talk with all parties involved and create a clear consensus from the public. We must talk more with the medical community to ensure it is well received."

Han added that the specific size of the increase has yet to be determined.

The "Region-Complete Essential Medical Care Innovation Strategy," released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday, will also likely stop at mentioning the need to increase the number of doctors.

However, a "medical school craze" has already hit the country.

Reps. Kim Won-i and So Byeong-chul of the Democratic Party of Korea shaved their heads on Wednesday, calling for establishing a medical school in South Jeolla Province. The two lawmakers representing the province held a news conference and called for establishing a national university medical school.

Mokpo and Mokpo National University issued a joint recommendation for the central government to establish a national medical school and a university hospital in South Jeolla Province.

There have also been clashes between the governor and provincial universities over the yet-to-be-decided quota increase in North Chungcheong Province, which demanded an increase of 221 medical students.

On Tuesday, North Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Young-hwan announced that he would propose to the government to allocate 221 medical school students to his province. He plans to increase the number of students at Chungbuk National University of Medicine by 49 from 101 to 150, allocating 50 seats to a medical graduate school to be built by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and an additional 70 seats to the National Dental University.

The plan excluded Konkuk University's Global Campus in Cheongju, the province's capital, claiming that it aims to fill the medical vacuum in the province instead of a Seoul university. Konkuk University College of Medicine is situated within the Seoul-headquartered university’s Global Campus in North Chungcheong Province but has been criticized for providing most of its education in Seoul.

Then Konkuk University fired back.

"Konkuk University is committed to fostering regional talents," the university said on Wednesday. “We must increase the number of medical students at the Global Campus to improve the medical environment in North Chungcheong Province."

Chungju Mayor Cho Gil-hyung also said at a press conference that Konkuk University needs to increase the number of medical students.

Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, is going all out to establish a “research-centered medical school' at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). Last Sunday, it held a meeting to call for establishing a research-centered medical school. On Tuesday, it also held an emergency meeting to discuss measures. They are also considering ways to cooperate with KAIST.