Sangmin Lee: "Residents Who Do Not Return by Today Must Strictly Be Dismissed"

KBS 'Sunday Diagnosis Live' Appearance
"Maximum Leniency for Returning Residents Until Today"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min stated on the 3rd, "The government plans to show maximum leniency toward the residents returning by today," adding, "If they do not return by today, we will have no choice but to take strict action according to the law and principles."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

On the same day, Minister Lee appeared on KBS's current affairs program 'Sunday Diagnosis Live' and conveyed the government's stance regarding the collective action of residents, emphasizing, "We plan to proceed with various administrative measures and, if necessary, judicial punishment according to the law and principles."

He continued, "Regarding the scale of the increase, the government did not arbitrarily decide on 2,000 as if waving a magic wand; rather, it was the result of in-depth discussions held over 130 times with the medical community, various civic groups, and all social sectors," explaining, "There were 28 rounds of close negotiations with the Korean Medical Association, deans of medical schools, and university presidents, which led to the figure of 2,000."

Minister Lee pointed out, "The future growth engines of our era are AI, semiconductors, and bio," adding, "Our country is quite advanced in AI and semiconductors, but the bio sector is evaluated much less favorably compared to the other two."

He further stated, "If many doctors are produced, medical students will not only become hospital doctors but also actively invest in the promising future growth sector of the bio industry, which should become a driving force for our country's growth. Considering all these factors in policy terms, even 2,000 is not actually a large number," he said.