KMA Emergency Committee: "Not a Strike but Giving Up... Please Give Us Strength to Not Give Up"

"No basis for increase or arbitrary distortion"
"Let's clarify through debates watched by the people"

As the submission of resignation letters by medical residents continues and chaos in the medical field becomes apparent, the Korean Medical Association Emergency Response Committee appealed, asking for support so that doctors do not "give up."

Kim Taek-woo, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Medical Association, is announcing the results of the 1st Emergency Response Committee meeting around 8 p.m. on the 17th. Photo by Choi Tae-won peaceful1@

On the afternoon of the 19th, the KMA Emergency Response Committee issued a public appeal stating, "Doctors are not striking; they are giving up," and explained, "They have tried to create a proper medical environment, but due to the government's unilateral enforcement of policies without dialogue and pressure, there is no longer any hope, leading doctors to abandon their roles."

The committee also argued that the grounds for expanding medical school quotas are insufficient. They stated, "The government claims to have consulted with the medical community in advance, but this is not true at all," adding, "The government asserts there is academic evidence supporting the increase in medical school quotas, but it has neither clearly presented this evidence nor avoided errors and arbitrary distortions in the evidence provided." They further added, "The essential medical policy package, which is said to have been created to revive essential medical services, is a policy that suppresses medical costs and restricts the public's free choice of medical care."

They then appealed to the public, saying, "Doctors will not give up if the government's wrong policies are stopped. We earnestly ask for your support so that doctors can remain by your side without giving up," and "Please believe in doctors' conviction that only by stopping these wrong policies, which deprive doctors of their basic rights and will ruin the Republic of Korea's medical system, can public health be protected."

They also addressed the government, requesting, "Please show us a forum for open debate where everyone can watch, and where those responsible for the policies can fiercely debate whose claims are right or wrong," and "We hope you will closely discuss and prepare scientific and rational measures with the medical community that anyone can acknowledge."