Unlicensed Foreign Doctors Face Legal Ban in Korea, Dermatologist Warns Amid Park Narae Controversy

Ham Ik-byung, a prominent dermatologist, has raised concerns about potential violations of Korea's Medical Service Act in connection with comedian Park Narae's so-called "injection aunt" controversy. He argued that even if the person in question is a doctor from Inner Mongolia, China, as Park's side claims, administering treatments or prescriptions in Korea is clearly illegal.

"Even someone who obtained a medical license overseas cannot legally perform medical procedures in Korea," Ham said during a CBS Radio interview on the "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on Friday. "When we have difficult patient cases, specialists from abroad may come for consultations. But they cannot write prescriptions."

When the host asked whether even a Nobel Prize-winning doctor would be prohibited from practicing medicine in Korea, Ham replied firmly, "That's correct. They can only provide advisory opinions."

Ham also flagged concerns about Park's claim that she received injections at home. "Medical treatment is supposed to take place at hospitals, and house calls are only made by attending physicians in unavoidable circumstances," he said. "You cannot generalize exceptions and say, 'I'm busy, so I'll get injections at home.' That's not allowed."

The dermatologist raised the possibility that the injections Park received may have been psychotropic drugs. "The facts need to be verified first," Ham said. "But the mention of 'collecting two months' worth' suggests obtaining prescriptions from hospitals, which indicates these are likely psychotropic medications that cannot be purchased without a prescription."

He added, "If psychotropic drugs were prescribed by proxy and distributed, the penalties would be severe."

Regarding Park's potential legal liability, Ham said, "Basically, for medical law violations, the person who performed the illegal procedure is punished, not the person who received it. There are few cases of patients being penalized." However, he noted, "If Park knowingly continued to contact and meet with this 'injection aunt' for unlicensed medical procedures, she could face some legal entanglement."

Meanwhile, Ham also announced his intention to run as the Reform Party's candidate for Seoul mayor in next June's local elections. This confirms remarks made last month by Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok, who had mentioned the possibility during a radio broadcast. Ham served as co-chairman of the Reform Party's joint election committee during the June 3 presidential election, supporting Lee's candidacy.

"If the Reform Party fails to field appropriate candidates in a major election like the local elections, it will naturally face an existential crisis," Ham said. "When young incumbent lawmakers like Representative Lee and Representative Cheon Ha-ram say they will give up their seats and run in local elections for the party, I am willing to make that sacrifice as well when called upon."

Asked about the possibility of Lee Jun-seok running for Gyeonggi Province governor, Ham said it was "100 percent certain." He added, "All three of us need to run in the local elections. Of course, the chances of winning are slim, but after going through this election, we can win the next one."