"Want to Practice Medicine in Korea"... Half of Foreign Medical Graduates Fail Preliminary Exam

Jeon Jin-suk "Foreign Medical License Holder Introduction Plan Must Be Reconsidered"

This year, the pass rate for the preliminary medical licensing exam for graduates of foreign medical schools in Korea remained in the 50% range. The preliminary medical licensing exam is a test that graduates of foreign medical schools must take to become doctors in Korea, and they must subsequently pass the national licensing exam to obtain their license.

According to data received on the 24th by Jeon Jin-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, 101 candidates from 16 countries took the second practical exam of the preliminary medical licensing exam held in July. Among them, 55 passed, resulting in an overall pass rate of 54.5%.

The country with the most examinees was Hungary, with 67 medical school graduates taking the exam. This was followed by Uzbekistan with 6, and the United States and Russia with 5 each.

Looking at the pass rates by country: ▲Hungary 61.2%, ▲Russia 40.0%, ▲United States 20.0%, ▲Uzbekistan 16.7%, among others. Japan, Taiwan, Belarus, and Grenada each had one applicant, but all failed.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and others, since the preliminary exam was implemented in 2005 until last year, the pass rate for foreign medical school graduates has been only 55.4%. Over 19 years, 424 candidates took the exam, with only 235 passing. The rate of foreign medical school graduates who passed both the preliminary exam and the national medical licensing exam to obtain a domestic medical license was 41.4%.

In May, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a legislative notice for partial amendments to the Medical Service Act Enforcement Rules concerning the allowance of medical practice in Korea by holders of foreign medical licenses. Originally, foreign doctors wishing to practice in Korea had to graduate from a medical school recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, obtain a medical license in their home country, then take and pass the Korean national medical licensing exam to obtain a license. However, the main point of this amendment is to allow those who have obtained a medical license abroad to practice medicine domestically when the health crisis alert level reaches the highest 'severe' stage.

Representative Jeon expressed concern, saying, "If the government amends the Medical Service Act Enforcement Rules, there is a possibility that graduates of foreign medical schools could enter without taking the preliminary exam and the national exam, but the pass rate for the preliminary exam is currently low." She added, "Since patient characteristics and common diseases differ by country, the educational curricula also vary. For the health and safety of the public, the plan to introduce foreign medical license holders should be reconsidered from the beginning."