"Daejeon 80s Death Case Not Due to Emergency Room Roundabout"
"North Korea Is the Representative Country Restricting Basic Rights for Public Interest".
The medical community urged the government to engage in dialogue with an open attitude rather than oppressive punishment. They also claimed that the government is spreading fake news, exacerbating public anxiety.
Joo Suho, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee Public Relations Committee of the Korean Medical Association. / Photo by Choi Taewon peaceful1@
The Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Medical Association held a regular briefing at 2 p.m. on the 27th at the KMA headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and made these remarks. Joo Suho, the committee’s media and public relations officer, said, "With March 1st approaching, when contracts for new residents and fellows begin, the situation where many are giving up their contracts is expected to further intensify confusion in the medical field." He added, "The government is urging residents to return to hospitals by the 29th with promises that no punishment will be imposed, but telling residents to continue their medical careers without addressing the reasons they gave up their futures is not encouragement but violence."
He also argued that the government is responsible for the situation. He said, "We sincerely apologize to the public, but please understand that it is the government that is driving the previously problem-free medical field into a crisis." He continued, "If the government first nullifies the forcibly pushed medical school quota increase and essential medical policy package, the medical community will be willing to engage in dialogue with an open mind."
There was also a claim that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) of the doctors’ collective action is spreading fake news. Earlier that day, Park Minsoo, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at the CDSCH briefing at 11 a.m., "Yesterday, there was a report that an elderly person in their 80s who was wandering around emergency rooms in Daejeon died," and said an investigation was underway.
In response, Committee Member Joo explained, "The case involved a terminal cancer patient receiving home hospice care who experienced consciousness impairment and presumed cardiac arrest. The patient’s family had already expressed that they did not want aggressive life-sustaining treatment such as CPR. The patient was being transported under the guidance of an emergency medical director who withheld CPR in the ambulance."
He added, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare also confirmed that this was not a case of patient harm caused by so-called 'emergency room shuttling.' Yet, the government’s absurd countermeasures, such as promising on-site investigations for confirmed facts, are only increasing public anxiety."
He also argued that the government is infringing on doctors’ constitutional fundamental rights under the pretext of public interest. He said, "The Vice Minister of Health and Welfare stated that if it is for the public interest, even the constitutional right to choose one’s profession can be restricted and that legal review has been completed." He added, "A representative country that restricts citizens’ fundamental rights for public interest without violating the constitution is North Korea."
Furthermore, he said, "If the government’s official stance is that the freedom to choose one’s profession can be restricted for public interest, then the liberal democracy of the Republic of Korea, achieved through the April 19 Revolution and the 1987 democratization movement, will completely disappear." He criticized, "Through this announcement, the government is declaring to the public that such measures can be applied not only to the medical profession but to any citizen, effectively admitting that the government’s desired direction is no different from communist totalitarianism."
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