President Moon: "It's time to reconsider the term 'dementia'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in recently stated during a tea time meeting with his aides that "it is time to reconsider the term 'dementia'." This appears to be in response to the fact that half of the public feels discomfort with the term 'dementia.'

Park Soo-hyun, the Blue House Chief of Public Communication, revealed on Facebook on the 26th that "Recently, during a tea time meeting with aides, President Moon showed a deep philosophical understanding regarding dementia by saying, 'It is now time to reconsider the term dementia.'

According to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for the first time in seven years, 43.8% of the public responded that they feel discomfort with the term dementia. While there is fear of the disease, many also felt that the term carries a sense of belittling the patients.

Accordingly, President Moon seems to have implied the need to change the term dementia.

Park also revealed that the person who coined the name of the policy called the 'National Responsibility System for Dementia,' which is considered one of the representative achievements of the Moon administration, is President Moon Jae-in himself.

Park explained that in early October 2016, when Moon was the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, he coined the term 'National Responsibility System for Dementia' during his keynote speech at the founding symposium of the 'Policy Space for National Growth.'

Park emphasized, "In the final speech manuscript, the part about 'strengthening national support for dementia patients' was underlined, and in pencil handwriting, the term 'National Responsibility System for Dementia' was written," calling it "the moment when the term 'National Responsibility System for Dementia' first appeared."

Park stated, "Although there are still challenges ahead for the 'National Responsibility System for Dementia,' the achievements made so far are based on President Moon Jae-in's firm philosophy and will," and emphasized, "President Moon's determination can be seen in the fact that he himself coined the term 'National Responsibility System for Dementia.'"