Lee Jae-myung on 18th Day of Hunger Strike Refuses Hospital Transfer... Ambulance Withdraws

Lee Jae-myung Rejects Leadership's Demand for Hospital Transfer

The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea attempted to transfer Representative Lee Jae-myung, whose health deteriorated due to fasting, to a hospital on the 17th, but Representative Lee refused.

On the 18th day of Representative Lee's fast, at around 3:15 PM, the leadership called an ambulance to the front of the National Assembly main building. This was a measure taken based on the judgment of the attending medical staff that "he must be hospitalized promptly."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on the 16th day of his hunger strike, is meeting with senior figures from religious groups and civil society organizations in the party leader's office at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The leadership tried to persuade Representative Lee for nearly an hour but failed, and the ambulance dispatched to the scene eventually withdrew.

Spokesperson Park Seong-jun later told reporters, "Representative Lee expressed a strong will to continue fasting," adding, "Since the ambulance cannot wait for a long time, it was sent back for now, and the leadership will continue to persuade him (to be hospitalized)."

Earlier, senior advisors Kim Won-ki, Moon Hee-sang, and Im Chae-jung visited Representative Lee in the morning and then demanded the party leadership take "forced hospitalization" measures.

After the meeting, Advisor Im Chae-jung told reporters, "(Representative Lee) was unable to respond at all," and stated, "The party also bears responsibility for Representative Lee's health, so I strongly urged that he be forcibly hospitalized."