Foreign doctors can treat patients if they get a doctor’s license in Korea, which isn’t applied to doctors from all countries. They have to graduate from medical colleges the Ministry of Health and Welfare admits and to get the doctor’s license in their countries. Then, they are qualified to take the Korea Medical Licensing Examination(KMLE) in Korea.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare selects medical colleges by evaluating school systems, curriculums, and academic affairs etc. Currently, it approves 96 foreign medical colleges from 26 countries.

The USA is the country to have the largest number of medical collages the ministry admits. It has 13 medical colleges such as Albany Medical College in the USA etc. followed by Germany(12), England(11), Japan(8), Russia(7), Australia(5), Philippine(3), Chinese Taipei(3), Hungary(3), the Argentine Republic(3), Uzbekistan(3), Canada(2), Ukraine(2), Mongolia(2), Paraguay(2), the Republic of South Africa(1), Netherlands(1), the Republic of Bolivia(1), Swiss(1), Ethiopia(1), Austria(1), Kazakhstan(1), Poland(1), New Zealand(1), and Kyrgyzstan(1)

After getting the requirements mentioned above, if foreign doctors want to obtain the doctor’s license in Korea, they have to go through the two tests of the Preliminary Test and the KMLE.

They have to pass the preliminary test held in July or August every year in order to take the KMLE and submit the certificate of TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) level 5 or higher. The preliminary test is divided into a written and a practical test.

And if foreign doctors pass the preliminary test, they have to take the KMLE with Korean students “in Korean”. The practical test is held from September to November and the written test is held in January.

From 2014 to 2015, the number of foreign doctors who got the doctor’s license in Korea is 12 (6 in 2014 and 6 in 2015).

For more information, please visit the web site

<The names of medical colleges the Ministry of Health and Welfare admits >