The government's survey, demanding adjustments to the medical school enrollment quotas of 40 universities with medical programs, is scheduled to conclude at midnight on Thursday.

Against this backdrop, university presidents and medical professors at some universities clash with each other over this controversial issue.

The Ministry of Education has said that it will finish handling the applications in time to allocate the increased medical school admissions for next year's freshman recruitment syllabus, saying the process must be completed by April at the latest, and university presidents are busy keeping a close watch on each other, thinking this is their last chance to increase medical school admissions.

These university heads are committed to increasing the number of medical school students on this occasion but are facing opposition from medical professors, who are concerned that an increase beyond their teaching capacity could lead to a decline in the quality of education.

For instance, Kyungpook National University President Hong Won-hwa recently said in a media interview that the university would increase the number of medical students from 110 to 250 to 300, but encountered resistance from the medical faculty.

At Ajou University College of Medicine, medical professors have tried to dissuade the university president from expanding the number of medical students from 110 to 150. Aju University has reportedly submitted a proposal to increase the current 40-student enrollment to 110-150 students in the government's first demand survey.

Medical professors at Ajou University said that expanding the number of seats to 110-150 is "absurd."

“Please postpone resubmitting the recruitment demand survey data, which led to medical residents’ resignation and medical students’ class boycotts, without consulting the medical professors," the medical faculty representatives said.

Emphasizing that they have confirmed that the size of the expansion submitted by the university president to the Ministry of Education (in the first demand survey) is exaggerated with no reasonable basis, professors said they agreed that the government's claims that this data is the basis for expanding the medical school is completely wrong.

"Please clarify why you did not collect the opinions of medical professors on such an important matter and apologize," they said.

Sun Chun Hyang University’s council of medical professors sent a letter to the university president, saying, "We demand answers on how many medical students will be enrolled in the medical school that will be submitted on Monday and the basis for it, what measures will be taken when medical students’ unauthorized absence is prolonged, and whether the university is prepared to improve the poor medical education conditions in line with the enrollment increase."

Professors at Chungbuk National University College of Medicine also met with the university president and repeatedly tried to persuade him but "to little avail."

"The medical school originally asked the university president not to submit (the expansion plan), but since the president is the final decision-maker, it seems like he will write it as he pleases," said an official at Chungbuk National University School of Medicine. "The president has his reasons. He seems to think if he can't expand now, he won’t be able to expand it later. Besides, there is an atmosphere of competition among university presidents, so he is unlikely to accept (the medical school's request)."

The official went on to say, "If they think they could increase the number of medical school students next year, they are wrong. We are not ready at all. The physical part is one thing, but I don't understand how they will train students if they increase by 60 percent."

However, the government has made it clear that it will allocate quotas only to those schools that apply within the deadline, according to the medical school expansion demand survey.

"Since each school's situation is different, we will know how many students we will allocate by the deadline today," Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said during a regular briefing on Monday. "There will be no allocation if a school does not request it."

Vice Minister Park said he is confident that increasing the number of medical school seats by 2,000 would not reduce the quality of medical education.

"The government confirmed last year through demand surveys and on-site inspections of medical schools that the 2,000-student capacity can be accommodated," Park said.

Park noted that establishing new medical schools should be reviewed.

"The 2,000 students for the 2025 academic year is an expansion of existing schools," he said. "I think it is necessary to review and discuss whether to establish additional (medical) schools."