Gov't turns to foreign doctors to fill void from prolonged strike

Cornered by the protracted doctors’ strike, the government is lowering hurdles to bringing foreign doctors. At the same time, it is also confronting an unexpected setback while finalizing the admissions quota hike in medical schools.

A medical professional stands in front of a vertical signboard indicating the direction to the emergency room at a general hospital in downtown Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Cornered by the protracted doctors’ strike, the government is lowering hurdles to bringing foreign doctors to practice medicine in the country.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday said it is set to legislate a provision allowing doctors holding foreign medical licenses to treat patients in domestic hospitals upon the health minister’s approval. The ministry aims to expand the utilizable labor pool in preparation for a long-term medical void.

The new measure appears to consider foreign-trained doctors as replacements that can fill the vacuum left by doctors who have resigned or are willing to do so.

The ministry said the measure is “to save people’s lives and protect public health” by allowing foreign doctors to serve in hospitals when the country is in a “medical crisis caused by health care staffing shortages.”

Foreign-trained doctors will be eligible to treat patients when a medical crisis reaches the topmost “serious” level, as is currently the case. Their servicing scope will be limited to fields where the ministry deems their support needed.

The government adjusted the crisis level on its four-tier system, moving from its third highest level, “alert,” to the highest level, “serious,” on Feb 23.

The ministry's amendment request will be filed with the National Assembly by May 20.

The country’s largest doctors’ group, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), condemned the government’s plan to source foreign-trained doctors as “insane,” claiming it “places Korean patients on a test bed as experimental subjects.”

Lim Hyun-taek, president of the KMA, told Yonhap News Agency that the government "has destroyed the Korean medical industry and system within approximately 80 days."

Lim also noted that bringing in foreign-trained doctors could undermine the quality of medical services in Korea, which he said used to have the world’s best health care services.

Medical students attending Pusan National University's School of Medicine picket at the main hall of the university in Busan on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The government is also confronting an unexpected setback in the final stage of finalizing the admissions quota hike in medical schools.

State-run universities that received the largest seat additions are rejecting or abstaining from taking administrative actions, such as revising their academic code to reflect the quota expansion.

Pusan National University and Jeju National University voted down a motion to amend their academic code to reflect added seats in their medical schools’ enrollment.

The faculty of Pusan National University’s academic board said that “profound social discourse should come before confirming how many seats to increase enrollment."

On Wednesday, Kangwon National University canceled revising its academic code before it was brought up for discussion. The university's actions to accept the quota hike have now been halted.

Despite the backlash at schools, the government says it can issue a correction order to disobeying universities to push its medical reform.

On Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed the pressing need for medical reform as the country will experience a surge in medical service demand. He said the medical reform, including the quota expansion in medical schools, "can no longer wait."

The Education Ministry, a day earlier on Wednesday, warned Pusan National University about its recent decision, saying the “government’s administrative penalty” could prevent them from accepting students for the upcoming academic year.

According to the Higher Education Act, any school that fails to comply with governmental orders can be called to close its academic department or stop accepting new students. Its detailed enforcement decree also stipulates that medical schools should follow the education minister’s decision on admission size.

Yet, medical professors and doctors are welcoming the schools' decisions.

The Medical Professors Association of Korea — a professorial organization in which the country’s 40 medical schools participate — issued a statement praising the Pusan National University’s decision as “righteous as it respects the sense of law and principle" and urging the government to respect the school boards' decisions.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]