Korea will produce only 269 new doctors this year due to a 10 percent drop in candidates for the Korean Medical Licensing Examination and a reduced pass rate of 70 percent.

The Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI) announced on Wednesday that 382 candidates sat for the 89th National Medical Licensing Examination in 2025, with 269 passing, resulting in a pass rate of 70.4 percent.

This year's pass rate is the second-lowest since 2021 when it plummeted to 12.8 percent as most medical students boycotted the exam in response to collective action by doctors in 2020. In contrast, the passers doubled in 2022, with 5,786 medical students taking the exam, including those who had skipped it the previous year.

The top scorer for this year's exam was not disclosed, but according to KHPLEI, he or she achieved 301 out of 320 points, equivalent to 94.1 points on a 100-point scale.

The written examination, which the successful candidates took, was held from January 9 to 10.

In the end, the number of new doctors this year is only 9 percent of last year's total. In previous years, approximately 3,000 new doctors graduated annually, with 3,181 in 2023 and 3,045 in 2024. However, after increasing medical school seats by 2,000, the number of new doctors has dropped by 91 percent, representing only 67 percent of the previous year's total.

On the same day, KHPLEI also announced the successful candidates of the 26th national exam for oriental medical license. A total of 133 candidates took the exam, and 120, or 90.2 percent, passed.