Korean doctors conduct medical mission for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - Several Korean doctors and medical practitioners provided free medical services to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Asian country, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday. In a statement, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the one-day medical mission held last Sunday at the Seoul City Hall Plaza was specifically dedicated to OFWs. This, he said, was because the mission was part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Philippine-Korean relations. The free medical services were provided by a medical team from Korea’s prestigious Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), said Labor Attaché Delmer R. Cruz, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Seoul. The SNUH team, headed by its vice president Byung Hee Oh, put up three booths equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities. They also provided a medical laboratory bus. Roque hailed the one-day free medical services in Seoul as “a joint humanitarian and life-giving endeavor," which benefited both OFWs and the labor bilateral relations between Korea and the Philippines. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas reported that there were about 80, 715 Filipinos in South Korea in 2007. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV