SEOUL: South Korea will allow foreign doctors to work in its hospitals after a rigorous vetting process, the prime minister said on Friday (May 10), as a months-long strike by junior medics shows no sign of resolution.
Thousands stopped working on Feb 20 to protest government plans to train more doctors, causing chaos in hospitals.
The government, which has already offered some concessions in a bid to end the standoff, said this week that doctors with foreign medical licenses would be allowed to practice in the country, in a bid to ease service disruptions.
After the move was announced, the head of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), Lim Hyun-taek, shared a screenshot of a news report on newly graduated Somali doctors with the comment: “Coming Soon.”
The post, which was later removed, prompted widespread online criticism and was highly inappropriate as well as “clearly racist”, Kim Jae-heon, the secretary-general of a non-governmental organisation advocating free medical care, told AFP.
The post “exploited Islamophobia and stereotyping against developing countries”, he said.
