Concerns are mounting that the government’s push to increase medical school enrollment quota could trigger “medical school craze” among office workers.

Some private educational institutions, called hagwon in Korean, and online lecturing firms are “encouraging” office workers to study and apply to medical schools.

For instance, Etoos, an online lecture company, recently launched a monthly lecture subscription event, promising to refund tuition fees if subscribers get into a medical school. It is a product that allows subscribers to choose the lectures they want by paying for a subscription.

The advertisements for the event included phrases -- such as "Congratulations on 2,000 more medical school student quota" and "It's easy to go to medical school! Why don’t you give it a try?” -- encouraging office workers to take the challenge of applying to medical schools. The company also posted a photo of a star lecturer wearing a top hat, saying, "Etoos employees are also preparing for medical school by taking courses!”

The event was launched in line with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's push to recruit 2,000 more medical students in 2025.

"To celebrate the expansion of medical school students, we're offering a university reimbursement subscription as a benefit option until November 11," Etoos said, adding that students admitted to medical or dental schools by March 2027 will get tuition refunds.

MegaStudy, another entrance examination company, is recruiting students for its nighttime medical school entrance examination program, also targeting working professionals.

The institute’s branch in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, said it would open the 2025 Special Nighttime All-In Class for Medical School on March 18. According to college admissions industry sources, this is the first time MegaStudy’s medical school division has opened a special night class.

According to the recruitment guide for the night class, it is recommended not only for high school students but also for students who are targeting SKY (Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University), students who have difficulty attending classes in the morning and afternoon, students pursuing medical and pharmaceutical schools, and students who have been admitted to “unsatisfactory” universities.

On Tuesday, the company also held a briefing session on the special night class.

The college entrance industry said it was unusual for some companies to use the word "working professionals" in their marketing.

"It's unusual for a private academy to use the word 'office worker' in its marketing," said an industry executive in a telephone interview with Korea Biomedical Review on Wednesday. "It's meaningful that the college admission industry can target office workers for marketing."

There may be some people who graduated from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and are working in companies or those who graduated from science schools and are working in companies who wanted to go to medical school but could not.

Because these office workers have solid science and math skills, they can challenge medical school if only they can master the Korean language, he added.

Other industry sources said that if working professionals become fervent about medical school, the entrance competition could become another “gosi” (state exam), like legal or administrative state exams.

"Currently, 2,000 students are selected for law school annually,” he said. “However, if the number of medical school students exceeds 5,000, it will be double the number of law school selections. It can be called 'medical gosi.’”