The ministry explained that the amendment to the regulations implementing the Medical Law took place given that the country is experiencing significant interruptions in service due to the doctors’ strike, which has already lasted for several months.
Those who have a medical license issued abroad will be allowed to legally practice their profession in South Korea in case the government declares a high-level alert, the ministry said in a statement.
The sector’s protests began after the central administration announced that it would increase by two thousand places starting next year the current quota for admissions to medical schools, which is currently 3,058 places.
After trainee doctors went on strike on February 20, the government raised the national medical disaster alert to the highest level starting February 23, and activated an emergency response mode.
More than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 practicing doctors suspended their work and medical professors, who work as specialists in hospitals, submitted their resignations to support the doctors and urge the administration to find significant progress in This process.
mem/nvo
