The Ministry of Health and Welfare has recognized Korean students graduating from 159 overseas medical schools in 38 countries as eligible to take the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE), data by a lawmaker showed. Graduates of these foreign medical schools still need to take and pass a separate preliminary examination, even if they obtained a medical license in that country, to take the KMLE.

Rep. Jung Choun-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea said she analyzed data on the status of overseas medical schools and graduates taking the KMLE, recognized by the Minister of Welfare and Health, between 2019 and 2023. 

According to Jung, the U.S. had 26 medical schools recognized by the Korean government.

This was followed by 18 in the Philippines, 15 in Germany, 15 in Japan, 14 in the U.K., 11 in Russia, six in Australia, four in Argentina, four in Uzbekistan, four in Hungary, three in South Africa, three in Poland, three in France, two in New Zealand, two in Ireland, two in Kazakhstan, two in Canada, two in Paraguay, one in Grenada, one in the Netherlands, one in Norway, one in Nicaragua, one in Dominica, one in Rwanda, one in Mongolia, one in Myanmar, one in Belarus, one in Bolivia, one in Brazil, one in Switzerland, one in Spain, one in Ethiopia, one in Austria, one in Ukraine, one in Italy, one in the Czech Republic, and one in Kyrgyzstan.

Among Koreans who graduated from a foreign medical school and obtained a license to practice medicine in that country, the highest number of those who took and passed the KLME from 2019 to 2023 were from Hungarian medical schools. 

During this period, 86 graduates from Hungarian medical schools took the KLME and 73 of them passed.

Among the graduates from the 159 foreign medical schools, 137 obtained Korean medical licenses in the past five years.

Of the 27 foreign medical graduates who passed the KLME this year, 14 were from Hungarian medical schools, followed by three from Uzbekistan, two from Germany, two from the U.K., and one each from New Zealand, Russia, Rwanda, Paraguay, Poland, and Australia.