[비즈한국] As the medical crisis stretches into another year, the "military-sponsored transfer" program for medical schools proceeded as scheduled this year. For over a decade, the medical community has called for a re-examination of this system, arguing that it is being abused as a loophole for gaining admission to medical school rather than as a means to train long-term military doctors. In the midst of this, the Ministry of National Defense sparked controversy last May by announcing that it is considering the establishment of a "National Defense Medical School" to strengthen public healthcare.
The Ministry of National Defense and the military operate a "military-sponsored medical education system" to train long-term military doctors, allowing active-duty officers to transfer into private medical schools to obtain specialist qualifications. Eligibility requires a recommendation from the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of Education, along with English proficiency scores, among other criteria, and candidates are selected through a separate quota involving major-specific exams and interviews. These individuals not only receive their regular military salaries but also have their full tuition covered by the state. For the 2025 academic year, applications opened early this month, and written exams and interviews are currently underway. Final results are expected to be announced in early February.
According to university admissions offices, the number of applicants for the 2025 "military-sponsored transfer" program at SKY universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University) totaled 27. However, Seoul National University does not disclose its application rates, making verification impossible. Of the 27 applicants, 18 applied to the "Department of Medicine," all of whom applied to Yonsei University. At Yonsei University, approximately 70% of the 26 total applicants were vying for medical school spots. Korea University had one applicant, who applied to the Department of English Language and Literature. Looking at the last five years, Korea University had one applicant in 2023, while Yonsei University saw 11 in 2024, 10 in 2023, 10 in 2022, and 8 in 2021 applying to medicine. Notably, about 70% of military-sponsored transfer applicants at Yonsei University have consistently targeted the medical department each year.
The effectiveness of the military-sponsored medical education system returned to the spotlight last May when the Ministry of National Defense mentioned it was considering the establishment of a National Defense Medical School. At a regular briefing, a ministry spokesperson addressed related questions, stating, "The establishment of a National Defense Medical School is currently being reviewed as part of measures to secure long-term military doctors. No policy decisions or implementation directions have been finalized," adding, "Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik also expressed his view during a recent broadcast that active efforts must be made to secure long-term military doctors and improve the military medical system."
Previously, Minister Shin Won-sik appeared on a current affairs program and remarked, "In the case of the United States, there is a Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences that trains its own (military doctors) and provides scholarships to regular medical schools to ensure they serve in the military for a certain period. I believe we should actively pursue that path as well." This suggests the government concluded that previous measures—such as allowing short-term military doctors to extend their service in one-year increments after their mandatory three-year service, and raising allowances for military medical personnel like doctors and nursing officers—as announced in the "23-27 Military Health and Medical Development Plan," have inherent limitations.
The number of "long-term military doctors," who are subject to 10 years of mandatory service, has consistently fallen short. According to the Ministry of National Defense, as of July last year, long-term military doctors accounted for only 7.7% of the approximately 2,400 total military doctors. In the last decade, the number of military doctors applying for long-term service has remained in the single digits, and was "zero" last year. With a lack of experienced long-term military doctors, distrust regarding the competence of military medical staff has been growing. This concern was fueled, in particular, by the assessment that military doctors deployed to emergency rooms during the medical crisis provided little practical help.
According to data submitted to Representative Choo Mi-ae by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of National Defense at the time, 64 out of 250 deployed military doctors (25.6%) expressed a desire to return to their original posts, citing reasons such as having no prior experience working in emergency rooms. Of these, only 8 were emergency medicine specialists, 99 were from other specialties, 39 were orthopedic surgeons, and 38 were general practitioners without specialist certifications. In particular, it was reported that none of the initial 15 deployed personnel had emergency medicine experience, leading all but two to request to be returned.
Various discussions on this matter have taken place in the National Assembly. In 2009, Representative Park Jin proposed the "National Defense Medical Academy Establishment Act," which was scrapped due to opposition from the medical community. Early this year, Representative Sung Il-jong proposed the "Military Medical Academy Establishment Act," which expired at the end of the term. Representative Sung has re-introduced the bill in the 22nd National Assembly. In response, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) pointed out, "The 15-year mandatory service period is significantly longer than other paths like military-sponsored education or public health scholarship programs, which will likely lead to high attrition rates," adding, "Infrastructure improvements, such as upgrading the medical system and working conditions for military officers, must come first."
The avoidance of long-term service by military doctors is an issue that must be addressed before discussing the establishment of a National Defense Medical School. The medical community argues that unless military medical personnel are prevented from practicing medicine in non-military environments, even a National Defense Medical School would fail to achieve its basic purpose. A recent statement from a KMA presidential candidate emphasized, "You can see the problem by looking at the current military-sponsored medical students. Many of these students flock to popular specialties that have little to do with the development of military medicine, while avoiding fields actually needed in the military, such as trauma surgery or emergency medicine." He stressed, "The military-sponsored medical student system has lost its purpose of training long-term military doctors and is being abused as a loophole for medical school admission."
In fact, the Board of Audit and Inspection released a special audit of the military health and medical system in 2018, revealing that since 2011, six military-sponsored medical students and long-term military doctors currently serving were discharged early due to physical or mental disabilities, after which they changed careers to become doctors at private hospitals. For example, an Army officer identified as 'A,' who was selected as a military-sponsored medical student in 2013 and transferred into a medical department, submitted a "Certificate of Injury on Duty" in early 2016, was deemed injured, did not return their tuition, and secured a job at a private hospital the day after their early discharge.