Democratic Party Advocates 'Equity Legislation'... Opposition Points Out 'Timing'
On the 26th, Yoon Ho-jung, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, struck the gavel during the full committee meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, to shelve the partial amendment bill of the Medical Service Act that expands the scope of medical license cancellations. (Photo by Yonhap News)
[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The 'Medical Service Act Amendment' that would revoke the licenses of doctors sentenced to imprisonment or higher did not pass the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and therefore did not reach the plenary session. Regarding this, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, criticized the People Power Party.
On the 27th, Governor Lee stated on Facebook, "People Power Party opposing the people."
He pointed out, "The People Power Party suddenly changed their position and opposed it, despite having clearly agreed during the standing committee. Not to mention lawyers, patent attorneys, and certified public accountants, even apartment building representatives lose their qualifications if sentenced to imprisonment or higher. Applying the same standards that apply to national public officials to doctors is 'excessive punishment' and infringes on 'freedom of occupational choice.' This logic is extremely narrow-minded."
Governor Lee continued to criticize the People Power Party, asking, "Why did you break the agreement and suddenly represent the Korean Medical Association's claims as they are?" and "Whose 'power' is the 'power' in the People Power Party's name for?"
According to the so-called 'Doctor License Revocation Act,' an amendment to the Medical Service Act, if a doctor is sentenced to imprisonment or higher and the sentence is executed, their medical license will be revoked for 5 years; if the sentence is suspended, the license will be revoked for 2 years. The license is revoked only during the suspension period of the sentence. However, considering the special nature of doctors' work, licenses will not be revoked for cases such as professional negligence resulting in death or injury.
The Korean Medical Association strongly opposed this amendment, calling it the 'license confiscation law' and even threatened a total strike. Chairman Choi Dae-jip appeared in a Korean Medical Association YouTube video stating, "We will risk everything to stop this license confiscation law." The association expressed that they cannot accept the amendment because it could create 'innocent victims.'
The ruling Democratic Party emphasized that this is a principle already applied to other professionals such as lawyers and called it 'equitable legislation.' The People Power Party pointed out the issue of 'timing' and showed that more time for communication is needed.
The Medical Service Act amendment was submitted to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day but was decided to be held in the plenary committee, so it did not reach the plenary session. The Democratic Party chose to discuss with the opposition rather than passing it unilaterally.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk said on Facebook the previous day, "Although the opposition's objections are somewhat reasonable, it is difficult to understand why only doctors are given such special treatment," and added, "In the next plenary session, we will take more time to have thorough discussions to narrow differences and ensure the Medical Service Act amendment passes."
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