Failing Medical School in South Korea? What to Do Before Expulsion (2026)
02.10.2026
Short answer
Failing medical school in Korea? Held back again or facing expulsion: what happens now and which schools abroad lead back to the Korean national examination.
Failed years
In short: Korean medical schools teach in fixed year groups. A student who fails a subject or falls below the required average is held back and repeats the whole year, including subjects already passed. The decision is made once a year.
Expulsion
In short: Each school sets in its regulations how many failed years lead to expulsion. Common limits are two failed years in the same grade or three in the whole programme. Read the article on expulsion in your school's regulations, because the count differs.
The dispute over medical school places in 2024 and 2025 has left many students with a lost year on their record. Check with your school how that year is counted before the next promotion decision.
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One failed year from expulsion? Check your options now
We transfer you to English-taught medical schools abroad and check for each of them whether Korea recognises it. In a free consultation we plan your route back to Korea.
Book a free transfer consultationWhy students get stuck
In short: Medical students in Korea who struggle rarely lack ability, they were at the very top of their school year. The usual reasons are exhaustion after years of exam preparation, weekly block exams, depression or anxiety, military service planning and family expectations.
None of this means you chose the wrong profession. I started dental medicine in Sofia in 2015, at 24, years after most of my classmates, and graduated in 2021. A slower start says nothing about the doctor you will become.
Transfer abroad
In short: A transfer from a Korean medical school to an English-taught medical school abroad is possible, and Medschool Experts organises it. The receiving university assesses your transcript and syllabi in English translation. Which universities fit you, and which year you can enter, depends on your profile.
A study transfer is a complicated undertaking. Every university checks hours, content and syllabi in its own way, and the documents have to arrive in exactly the right form. Our experts have almost ten years of experience with study transfers, and we regularly achieve placements into higher years, at times Year 4 or Year 5.
Free transfer consultation
Transfer abroad, return to Korea: check your options
Send us your transcript. We tell you which recognised universities accept your years, where you can enter and how your route back to Korea looks. Free and without obligation.
Check my transfer optionsReturning to Korea
In short: Yes, you can come back, in four steps. You graduate from a foreign medical school recognised by the Minister of Health and Welfare, you obtain the doctor's licence of that country, you pass the Korean preliminary examination, and you pass the national examination for physicians.
- Recognised schools: by the count published in 2024, the Minister recognised 159 medical schools in 38 countries. Recognition is valid for a limited period, so the status must be checked for the year you graduate.
- Local licence: a degree alone is not enough. Plan the licensing exam or internship of the country where you study.
- Preliminary examination: introduced in 2005, with a written and a practical part. From 2005 to 2023, 235 of 424 candidates passed, which is 55.4%.
- National examination: 41.4% of foreign graduates who started this route received a Korean licence. In recent years graduates of Hungarian medical schools were the largest group among them.
The figures show that the route works and that it has to be prepared. We choose your university from the recognised schools and tell you what the local licence requires.
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Plan your way back to Korea from day one
Only a recognised school and a local licence open the preliminary examination. We check both with you before you enrol abroad.
Book a free transfer consultationCosts
In short: Tuition at European medical schools starts at about €3,500 a year, and living costs in many Central and Eastern European cities are €5,000 to €8,000 a year. Tuition at a private medical school in Korea is in a similar range or above.
How we help
Medschool Experts reviews your transcript in a free transfer consultation, finds medical schools among our more than 25 partner universities that fit your profile, prepares the application and the visa file, and plans your route back to Korea. More than 500 students have been placed so far. The first step is always a free transfer consultation.
The author's view
When I began dental medicine in Sofia in 2015, I was 24, years older than most of my classmates. I graduated in 2021. For Korean students the question I ask first is never the price or the city. It is whether the school is on the Minister's list in the year of graduation. With that settled, everything else can be planned.
Summary
In Korea a failed year is repeated in full, and school rules expel students after a set number of failed years. Another Korean medical school is almost never an option.
A transfer abroad is possible. The return requires a recognised school, the local licence, the preliminary examination and the national examination. We choose the university with you on that basis.
Conclusion
Do not enrol abroad before the school's recognition is checked. Book your free transfer consultation first.
Failing medical school in Korea: 5 questions and answers
When am I expelled?
When you reach the number of failed years in your school's rules, counted in total or in a row.
Can I move to another Korean medical school?
Hardly. Transfer admission is very limited and competitive.
Can I transfer to a medical school abroad?
Yes. Medschool Experts organises transfers to English-taught medical schools abroad. The year of entry depends on your profile.
Can I become a doctor in Korea with a degree from abroad?
Yes, if the school is recognised by the Minister of Health and Welfare, you hold that country's licence, and you pass the preliminary and the national examination.
Does the consultation cost anything?
No. It is free and without obligation.
What students say about Medschool Experts
Over 500 placements at 25+ partner universities across 10+ countries. See how our students experienced their path into medical school abroad in our student stories.
About the author
Marcel Kloos
Founder and owner of Medschool Experts, federally recognised dentist
Marcel Kloos is the founder and owner of Medschool Experts, a placement agency for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy degrees abroad. Since 2021 the team has secured more than 500 study places at 25+ partner universities in Europe and worldwide.
Study medicine abroad: Marcel's own path
Born in Stuttgart, Marcel started his degree late: at 24 he enrolled at the Medical University of Sofia, Faculty of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 2021 from the English-language programme. He went through the same steps his clients face today — nostrification of school certificates, entrance interviews, finding a flat in Sofia and later the recognition of a foreign degree. He is a federally recognised dentist.
What Marcel does at Medschool Experts
Today Marcel lives in Bern and runs Medschool Experts full-time. He visits every partner university in person, negotiates placement agreements directly with faculties and deans, and leads the free consultations in which applicants learn at which university they can start next semester. His YouTube channel on studying medicine abroad has helped thousands of applicants compare universities, costs and recognition.
Topics Marcel writes about
- Study medicine abroad independent of your high school diploma grades: universities, costs and admission
- Study dentistry, veterinary medicine or pharmacy in Europe in English
- Tuition fees and living costs at medical schools in Europe and worldwide
- Recognition of foreign medical degrees in the EU, Switzerland, the UK and the US
- Transferring between medical schools and returning home into a higher semester
All articles by Marcel Kloos are based on first-hand visits to the universities and conversations with current students. Book a free consultation to discuss your own path.
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