Park Jumin "Nurses May Consider Vaccination... Medical Law Revision Is Inevitable"

Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seated at the Gwangju-Jeonnam regional broadcast debate held at KBC Gwangju Broadcasting on August 7 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 24th, Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said that the claim that nurses should be temporarily allowed to perform medical acts such as administering vaccine injections is "one of the methods that can be considered."

On the same day, on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Boseon's Start of a New Morning,' Park said regarding the possibility of temporary medical acts by nurses for COVID-19 vaccination, "When various difficult situations arise, and it becomes difficult to get cooperation from doctors, vaccines must still be administered," adding, "If such a situation really occurs, it could be one of the methods to consider."

Earlier, on the 23rd, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, in a post on his Facebook in preparation for the doctors' association strike, stated, "I propose an exception to the doctors' exclusive right to medical treatment," and urged, "Along with the promotion of doctor license maintenance, please allow nurses and other qualified personnel to temporarily perform minor medical acts such as vaccinations or specimen collection."

Regarding the amendment to the Medical Service Act, Park said, "The public has high expectations for doctors, especially demanding high ethical standards and responsibility," and added, "Before 2000, doctors, like other professionals, were disqualified if sentenced to imprisonment or higher. So, I think this is a natural legislation, and it will rather greatly help increase public trust in doctors."

Furthermore, in response to claims that the amendment to the Medical Service Act has political intentions, Park rebutted, "This discussion is not new; it was present during the 20th National Assembly and has been proposed for a long time even in the 21st National Assembly," adding, "If there were political intentions, opposition lawmakers would not agree. However, it passed the Health and Welfare Committee with bipartisan consensus, so the claim of political intention does not seem reasonable."

The Korean Medical Association issued a statement on the 20th, the day after the Medical Service Act amendment, which cancels the licenses of doctors sentenced to imprisonment or higher, passed the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, declaring that they would go on a general strike if the amendment passes the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The photo was taken in front of the temporary building of the Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News.

Earlier, on the 19th, the amendment to the Medical Service Act passed the National Assembly's standing committee. The amendment focuses on revoking the medical licenses of doctors sentenced to imprisonment or higher for serious crimes such as murder and sexual violence.

The Korean Medical Association opposed this, arguing that if the scope of application is uniformly applied as it is now, innocent victims may occur, and there is also concern about imposing double punishment on those who have already taken criminal responsibility.

Additionally, on the 20th, the Medical Association issued a statement saying, "We are concerned that unfair cases may occur where licenses are revoked even if a suspended sentence is received for imprisonment regardless of the type of crime," and warned, "If this bill is passed by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, we will launch a full-scale struggle including a nationwide doctors' strike."