Park Dan, President of Daejeon Medical Association, "I Understand Patient Inconvenience... Will Return if Demands Are Met"

"No Way to Raise Voice, Running Out of Hospital Situation"

Park Dan, the emergency response committee chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeon Association), conveyed the anger of medical staff who are leaving hospitals and stated, "If the government accepts the demands to some extent, we are willing to return to the hospitals at any time."

On the 22nd, Chairman Park appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "They were ordinary doctors working in hospitals and trainees undergoing training, but suddenly the government announced these policies," adding, "Since there was no way to raise their voices, everyone is angry and frustrated, leading them to leave the hospitals."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also expressed regret over the 'collective resignation of residents,' saying, "We fully understand and feel heartbroken that patients may be experiencing inconvenience right now." However, he emphasized opposition to the government's plan to increase the number of medical students, stating that simply increasing the number of doctors cannot solve essential and regional medical issues.

He argued, "Policies that enable choosing emergency medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology should be prioritized, but simply increasing the number of doctors and assuming someone will go there involves high social costs and low efficiency." Chairman Park also pointed out that the government's announced 'Essential Medical Policy Package' lacks specifics. He said, "Although each item could bring significant disruption capable of changing the medical environment, the details are very insufficient," adding, "Moreover, in medical policy, financial issues are the most important, but there is almost no mention of funding."

Furthermore, Chairman Park criticized the government's plan to increase medical school admissions as possibly being 'for the general election.' He said, "When the number of increased medical school admissions was first announced in October, it was after the by-election, and now there is a parliamentary election on April 10. It seems that medical policy is being used too politically," adding, "It is not a gradual increase, but an increase of 2,000 at once before April. I question whether there is any other reason to accelerate at this pace."