South Korea Eases Residency Rule for Regional Doctor Selection

President Lee Jae-myung signed Presidential Decree No. 36642, a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Training and Support of Regional Doctors, published in the Republic of Korea Official Gazette (Issue No. 21315) on 4 September 2026. The decree relaxes the residency requirement for the medical-service-area (진료권) track of the regional doctor selection scheme, widening access for high school graduates in areas where school districts and medical service areas do not coincide. The amendment takes effect on the day of promulgation.

The decree was countersigned by Prime Minister Han Sung-sook and Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyung, and was deliberated by the State Council before promulgation. It amends Annex 2, Item 2, sub-item (a) of the Enforcement Decree by adding a new note (비고) that governs how the residency requirement is assessed.

What the amendment changes

Under the previous rules, a candidate for the medical-service-area track had to have enrolled in and graduated from a high school located in the relevant medical service area and to have resided in that area throughout their enrollment. The new note relaxes this for regions where the school district (학교군) spans two or more medical service areas.

For such regions, designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare in consultation with the Minister of Education, a graduate — or a student expected to graduate — who entered the high school through the superintendent’s admission process and continuously resided in the school district during enrollment is deemed to satisfy the residency requirement of Article 4(2)(2) of the Act, even if they did not reside in the medical service area itself.

Why the rule is being relaxed

The amendment responds to a structural mismatch in areas such as innovation cities (혁신도시), where the school districts assigned by the education superintendent do not always align with the boundaries of medical service areas. This mismatch could otherwise exclude otherwise-qualified local students from the regional doctor track.

The key conditions for the relaxed treatment are:

• The high school must be located in a region designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare in consultation with the Minister of Education, where the school district spans two or more medical service areas.
• The student must have entered the school through the admission process conducted by the education superintendent.
• The student must have graduated, or be expected to graduate, from that high school.
• The student must have continuously resided in the school district to which the high school belongs during the enrollment period.

Impact on regional medical staffing

The measure is aimed at strengthening the pipeline of doctors serving underserved regions, a core objective of the regional doctor training scheme. By removing a residency barrier that penalised students in innovation cities and similar districts, the decree is expected to broaden the pool of eligible applicants for the medical-service-area track.

For prospective medical students in affected regions, the change means that living in the school district — rather than strictly within the medical service area — is now sufficient to qualify. The decree is part of a broader policy effort to expand and retain medical personnel in non-metropolitan areas, and it directly affects both local residents and medical school applicants.

Source: Republic of Korea Official Gazette (대한민국 관보), Issue No. 21315, 4 September 2026, Section I (Presidential Decrees), p. 4 (official reference: Presidential Decree No. 36642).