Posted Photo of Somali Medical Student with "Coming Soon"... Medical Association President Quickly Deleted

Seeming Aware of Controversy Over 'Racism' and Derogatory Remarks About Developing Countries

The government has announced a policy to allow foreign doctors with medical licenses to perform medical activities such as treatment and surgery in South Korea amid the prolonged medical crisis. In response, 임현택 (Im Hyun-taek), president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), who posted a photo of a Somali medical student with the caption "coming soon," deleted the post after racial discrimination controversies arose.

[Photo by Im Hyuntaek, President of the Korean Medical Association, Facebook]

Earlier, on the 9th, President Im shared a photo of an article titled "Somalia's first medical school graduation in 20 years" on his social media and left the comment "coming soon," implying "they are coming soon."

The article shared by President Im was written in December 2008 and showed Benadir University medical students holding their diplomas and posing for a commemorative photo at the Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

At that time, foreign media citing this photo reported, "Twenty medical students are holding diplomas in Mogadishu, Somalia, one of the most violent cities in the world. The graduation ceremony was held inside a barricaded hotel damaged by gunfire in Somalia."

The president of Benadir University at the time also gave an interview stating, "Their graduation showed a possibility that students could still study despite violence and anarchy, which is hard to understand outside Somalia."

President Im's post was interpreted as a criticism of the government's plan to introduce "foreign licensed doctors." However, netizens who saw Im's post later pointed out that it was "a disparaging remark against a specific country" and "a racially discriminatory comment," sparking controversy. The post spread to online communities, increasing voices of criticism against President Im.

Im Hyun-taek, President of the Korean Medical Association.
Photo by Yonhap News

In a medical community, criticism continued with comments such as "Somali doctors are fellow doctors who have overcome adversity" and "We should evaluate the quality of medical education in that country rather than discriminate by race or disparage the country itself."

In response, President Im deleted the post and left a comment saying, "Instead of importing countless doctors from developing countries, it would be better to import just one Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare from Japan."

Previously, President Im had filed a complaint against Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong and Vice Minister Park Min-su for abuse of authority and obstruction of rights and demanded their dismissal.

The government has announced a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Medical Service Act, which would allow foreign doctors with medical licenses to perform medical activities domestically when the health and medical disaster alert reaches the highest level, "serious." The deadline for submitting opinions is until the 20th of this month, and the amendment is expected to be implemented as early as the end of this month.