Launch of the Institute for Graduate Medical Education: a new horizon for competency-based postgraduate medical education in Korea

Purpose: This article outlines the significance and strategic directions of the newly launched Institute for Graduate Medical Education (iGME) under the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences in the context of global reforms in postgraduate medical education.Current concepts: Competency-based medical education has become the dominant framework for postgraduate medical education worldwide. International frameworks, including CanMEDS and the Milestones framework of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, demonstrate the importance of explicitly defining physician competencies and linking programmatic assessment to patient safety outcomes. In Korea, residency training has historically been managed by individual specialty societies and training hospitals without a centralized coordinating body, resulting in inconsistent educational quality and limited institutional continuity. The mandatory reduction in resident working hours has further increased the need for a structured, competency-based training model to replace the traditional apprenticeship approach.Discussion and conclusion: The iGME was established to address these systemic gaps through five core functions: developing competency-based curricula across 26 specialties and the internship program; establishing workplace-based assessment systems integrated with e-portfolios for longitudinal tracking; strengthening faculty development through a Train-the-Trainer framework; expanding simulation-based skills training; and systematically assessing the quality of training institutions. Sustained collaboration among specialty societies, training hospitals, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be essential for the institute’s success. The establishment of the iGME represents a milestone in Korean postgraduate medical education and is expected to serve as a central hub for building a sustainable, evidence-based residency training system that supports patient safety and public health outcomes.