“Foreign doctors, instead of filling the medical gap, may harm public health”

The medical community has reiterated its opposition to the government’s policy of allowing foreign doctors to practice in the country, saying it could seriously threaten public health.

At its regular briefing on Wednesday, the Korea Medical Association (KMA) said the association would convey its opposition to the proposed amendment to the Executive Order of the Medical Service Law to introduce foreign doctors to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, after consulting with affiliated organizations.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare announced earlier in the day that it had completed collecting opinions on the proposed amendment and would proceed to further procedures, including deliberations at the Ministry of Government Legislation.

However, the KMA saw that the introduction of foreign doctors would threaten public health.

“The proposed amendment is highly inappropriate because it allows foreign doctors to treat patients uniformly without imposing any qualification restrictions or conditions,” the association said. “Even if foreign doctors are allowed to practice in Korea, it should be subject to a rigorous pre-approval process and thorough verification of their qualifications, as well as recognition of their domestic licenses.”

The KMA also noted that the proposed amendment does not specify the scope or duration of practice of a foreign doctor.

“There is no mention of conditions, including a prohibition on independent medical practice or prior approval of the scope of medical practice. There is also no indication of the moment at which medical practice is limited, suspended or terminated, apart from the degree of severity of the crisis alert,” the association said.

It continued: “Therefore, even if it is intended to address the gap in medical services in the event of a health care disaster crisis, the indiscriminate treatment of patients by foreign doctors poses a deadly risk to public health. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare should withdraw the proposed amendment.”