[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A petition demanding disciplinary action against Dr. Lee (resident of Daegu), who posted on social media (SNS) an article labeling Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung’s statement about his disability caused by an accident during his youth as a "political lie," has been submitted to the Central Ethics Committee of the Korean Medical Association.
The complainant, Mr. A, who identified himself as a "sincere citizen wishing for the development of Korean politics and a desirable internet culture," stated on the 16th that he submitted a disciplinary petition to the Central Ethics Committee of the Korean Medical Association on the 14th, saying, "I want to file a disciplinary petition for violation of the medical ethics guidelines," and "Dr. Lee violated Articles 6 and 24 of the medical ethics guidelines by attaching photos of the victim (Governor Lee Jae-myung) on his SNS and expressing arbitrary opinions on his physical condition and making personal evaluations."
In the petition, Mr. A argued, "Maintaining medical professionalism means that each medical professional observes and diagnoses the patient’s condition accurately based on specialized knowledge and skills in their respective fields and performs treatment accordingly," and added, "Dr. Lee’s arbitrary diagnostic opinion published on SNS not only violates social norms but clearly undermines medical professionalism."
As grounds for this claim, Mr. A cited the following points: ▲ Dr. Lee is a proctology specialist, not an orthopedic surgeon, yet he gave a diagnostic opinion on the condition of Governor Lee’s left arm bones; ▲ He made a presumptive and inaccurate diagnosis based on a single photo posted on SNS rather than an X-ray image that allows detailed diagnosis; ▲ He publicly declared the "politician’s lie" based on this presumptive diagnosis; ▲ He induced the impression that Governor Lee lied by re-evaluating the military doctor’s diagnosis at the time of the military enlistment physical examination, which was based on the medical standards of that time, from a current perspective.
Mr. A also added that revealing private medical opinions to an unspecified number of people via SNS constitutes a violation of Article 24 of the "Medical Ethics Guidelines" and is an act that undermines the ethics and social responsibility of doctors, thus justifying disciplinary action.
Earlier, on the 8th, Dr. Lee posted on his SNS a promotional poster titled "Lee Jae-myung’s Crooked Arm" along with a post titled "A Society Numb to Politicians’ Lies." After controversy arose, he deleted the post.
In the post, Dr. Lee stated, "Any doctor would have tilted their head in doubt or given a wry smile," and added, "The moment I saw the poster, I felt a sense of shame at how much the current Korean political circles disregard medical experts to openly produce something like this," thereby posting content that categorically labeled Governor Lee’s claim of having a disability caused by being pressed by a press during his youth as a political lie.
Dr. Lee argued that Governor Lee’s arm is similar to a "varus deformity photo," which occurs when a fracture in a growing arm is not properly treated, and thus it is not due to press injury.
After the controversy, Dr. Lee reportedly stated that "since I only wrote my opinion and raised suspicions on SNS, it is not a matter that warrants legal defamation or referral to the ethics committee."
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