"What Would Tes-hyung Have Said If He Saw the Doctors?" Another 'Tes-hyung' Summoned at the National Audit

Jeong Cheong-rae "Medical Community Should Revisit the Hippocratic Oath" Criticizes

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, mentioned 'Tes-hyung' during the National Assembly audit targeting hospital directors. However, the 'Tes-hyung' referred to is not the philosopher Socrates mentioned in singer Na Hoon-a's song 'Tes-hyung,' but the contemporary Greek physician Hippocrates.

On the 20th, during the National Assembly Education Committee's audit of Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeju National University Hospital, and others held at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, Rep. Jeong referred to the physician Hippocrates. This was in criticism of the hospital directors' collective medical strike and their demand for retaking the national medical licensing exam.

Rep. Jeong addressed the hospital directors present at the audit, saying, "Do you know Na Hoon-a's song 'Tes-hyung'?" He added, "It talks about Socrates, but there was another Tes in the same era. That was Hippocrates."

He continued, "If we had asked this Tes-hyung about the current doctors' refusal to provide medical care, what would he have answered? Probably, 'Are you really doctors?'" He pointed out, "There are excellent doctors in Korea like the late Father Lee Tae-seok and the late Dr. Jang Gi-ryeo, but at least the Hippocratic Oath and the spirit of such great doctors are very different from this collective medical strike by doctors."

Rep. Jeong also strongly criticized the medical community's demand to retake the national exam. He said, "In the case of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), if you are even one minute late, you cannot take the exam. You have to wait a year." He then questioned, "When the state asked to take the national exam twice, where were the directors of Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonbuk National University Hospital, and Jeju National University Hospital?"

He added, "Now, proposing to give special treatment only to medical students means that a national institution is asking to commit illegal or fraudulent acts. Tes-hyung would be extremely angry."

Rep. Jeong said, "In the previous administration, increasing the number of doctors was the position of doctors at Seoul National University Hospital. The proposal to create public medical schools is because hospitals cannot fulfill that role, and sufficient medical services must be provided in areas where they are absolutely necessary." He concluded, "I hope we truly consider the patient's life as the most important and read the Hippocratic Oath once again."