Vietnam's Critical Effort to Recruit Overseas Medical Staff
Bin Group Offers Exceptional Terms to Secure Korean Doctors
There is growing interest in claims that some doctors, who have turned their backs on Korea in protest against the government's medical school expansion policy, may leave for 'Vietnam.'
According to the 'Chosun Ilbo' on the 17th, more than 30 Korean doctors are reportedly registered to take the 'English exam for foreign doctors' scheduled to be held at Ho Chi Minh Medical University in Vietnam on the 2nd of next month. They are said to have already visited Ho Chi Minh City at the end of last month and undergone the mandatory physical examination required before the test.
According to data from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Vietnam is known to require only notarized documents such as local licenses from doctors originating from countries with advanced medical technology. However, passing a local physical examination and a medical English test is mandatory. This qualification process was suspended for about three years during the COVID-19 pandemic but has recently resumed. Vietnam, especially with popular tourist destinations like Da Nang, has become so popular among Korean tourists that the phrase 'Gyeonggi-do Danang City' has become a hot topic.
Vietnam suffers from a chronic shortage of doctors. As of 2020, the number of doctors per 1,000 people was 0.99, less than half of Korea's 2.5. Against this backdrop, Vietnam is actively attracting overseas talent. For this reason, opportunities for Korean doctors to enter the Vietnamese market appear to be expanding.
Meanwhile, the treatment of doctors proposed by 'Vingroup Healthcare System,' the medical affiliate of Vingroup, a sprawling conglomerate nicknamed the 'Samsung Electronics of Vietnam,' is also drawing attention.
From May to June, the company launched a large-scale recruitment drive targeting Korean specialists in internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. They are recruiting Korean doctors to work at a state-of-the-art 4,000㎡ hospital located in Hanoi, Vietnam, offering conditions such as a 44-hour workweek, a monthly salary of 30 million KRW, and housing support of 800 USD (approximately 1.08 million KRW). Although this amount is considerably lower compared to domestic standards, it is known to be a groundbreaking salary package in Vietnam, where the cost of living is much cheaper than in Korea.
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