Criticism of Medical School Quotas as a 'Political Show' Is a "Harmful Conspiracy Theory"
Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party's nomination process as a "nominal system nomination" amid controversies such as the 'exclusion of non-faction members in public opinion polls' and the departure of Kim Young-joo, the National Assembly Deputy Speaker, from the party.
He stated, "Yesterday, it was reported through the media that among the 31 incumbent Democratic Party lawmakers evaluated as the bottom 20%, 28 were non-faction members," adding, "The fact that a staggering 90% of the lowest-ranked members were minority non-faction members within the party is unsettling no matter how you explain it."
Furthermore, he said, "There was also an incident where Deputy Speaker Kim, who has earned the trust of many lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties through outstanding legislative activities, felt humiliated by the incomprehensible notification of being in the bottom 20% and subsequently left the party," and added, "Ultimately, the public will reveal through voting which party's nomination process was conducted rationally and fairly, beyond political interests."
Yoon also criticized the Democratic Party for calling the government's and ruling party's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000 students a "political show." He emphasized, "The scale of the increase announced by the government was carefully determined considering the rising medical demand due to aging and the gaps in local and essential medical services," and added, "This conspiracy theory is very harmful as it divides doctors and the government and obstructs the expansion of medical school quotas and medical reform, thereby threatening the lives and health of the people."
Yu Eui-dong, chairman of the People Power Party's Policy Committee, also said at the meeting that day, "Who were the people running around hospital rooms to alleviate patients' pain and reduce the suffering caused by diseases?" He continued, "They were residents who did not hesitate to work over 80 hours a week, constantly exposed to the risk of death from overwork, always putting critical patients first."
He added, "We should seriously reconsider what it means for such people to engage in collective action while neglecting sick patients," and stressed, "I hope they stop the collective action opposing the quota increase unconditionally, even now."
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