SEOUL — Amidst an ongoing strike by South Korean doctors and trainee doctors protesting a government proposal to increase medical school quotas, the number of foreign medical doctors practicing in South Korea has risen significantly, recent data reveals.
According to Yonhap News Agency, there were 546 foreign doctors working in South Korea as of June, marking a 20.8 percent increase from 452 in 2019. The numbers have steadily grown each year from 472 in 2020, to 485 in 2021, reaching 500 in 2022, and 521 the following year.
Foreign doctors seeking to practice in South Korea must pass the national certification exam and hold a medical license from their home country after graduating from an accredited medical school abroad. However, the Health Ministry has indicated that it might allow foreign doctors to practice without a local license under certain conditions, especially when facing a "serious" health and medical situation.
This development comes as the government confronts a potential critical shortage of medical professionals, exacerbated by the mass resignation of doctors and trainee doctors since February. The resignations were triggered by the government's decision to permanently raise the medical school admission quota by 2,000, a move that has been widely opposed within the medical community.
Local hospitals, struggling to fill vacancies, reported that only 104 trainee doctors applied for over 7,600 available positions in upcoming training programs. In response to the crisis, hospitals have issued new recruitment notices this week, though many in the sector remain skeptical about the return of doctors to the hospitals under the current conditions.