Medical Association Emergency Committee Executive Apologizes Repeatedly for Drunk Driving Fatal Accident History, Says "Stopped Driving After the Accident"

Joo Suho, Emergency Committee Public Relations Chair, Past Drunk Driving Accident
Drank and Drove, Collided with Motorcycle... Suspended Prison Sentence
Opposes Medical Law 'License Cancellation for Imprisonment or Higher'
"Admits Fault, Seeks Forgiveness... Position Remains Unchanged"

Joo Suho, the Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee's Public Relations Committee of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), admitted and apologized for a past drunk driving fatal accident. Chairman Joo is a figure who has been at the forefront of opposing the government over medical school quota increases and is currently running in the upcoming KMA presidential election. On the 13th, Sunday Newspaper reported, "Chairman Joo caused an accident on March 13, 2016, in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where he was driving under the influence and collided with a motorcycle, resulting in the death of a man in his 50s."

Chairman Joo Su-ho attending the police on the 8th for forensic observation.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Joo was prosecuted for violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling and the Road Traffic Act and was sentenced in August 2016 to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation. At the time of the accident, his blood alcohol concentration was 0.078%, which is the level for license suspension. It was also found that he had been fined once before for drunk driving. Despite this criminal record, he currently maintains his medical license and has entered the KMA presidential election scheduled for the 20th. Regarding the fatal drunk driving accident, Chairman Joo told Sunday Newspaper, "I do not want to make excuses. I admit my fault and have been forgiven by the bereaved family," adding, "I have not driven since then to atone for my sin."

'Strengthening Medical License Revocation' Met with "Excessive and Double Punishment... Absolutely Opposed"

On the 6th, when the police began the first summons investigation into the suspicions of collective resignation conspiracy among current and former executives of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), Joo Su-ho, the KMA Emergency Response Committee's Public Relations Committee Chairman, appeared at the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to state his position. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

As this fact became known, attention was drawn to Chairman Joo's past opposition to the amended Medical Service Act, which cancels medical licenses for those sentenced to imprisonment or higher. According to the amended Medical Service Act passed in November last year, the disqualification criteria for medical personnel expanded from "violations of medical-related laws" to "all crimes resulting in imprisonment or higher (including suspended sentences and probation, excluding unintentional medical accidents causing professional negligence resulting in injury or death)." In other words, until then, he was not subject to license revocation.

Regarding the strengthening of medical license revocation, Chairman Joo stated in February last year via social media (SNS), "Revoking a medical license for crimes committed as a natural person unrelated to medical practice is excessive punishment and double punishment, which is 100% likely unconstitutional, and I am absolutely opposed." However, on this day, Chairman Joo told Yonhap News Agency, "My position on the post has not changed. I do not understand why that post is so important at this point in time."

'Regret and Atonement'... "Running for President to Contribute to Medicine"

On the same day afternoon, Chairman Joo expressed his position through a post titled "Statement of Regret and Atonement" on SNS. He said, "The reason I, who should live quietly, have once again come before the members of the KMA is that I believe contributing to the members and Korean medicine is the proper way to atone rather than spending the rest of my life in regret and guilt," adding, "I sincerely apologize once again to the deceased and their families who lost their lives due to my unforgivable mistake, and I bow my head in sincere apology to the members who care for and support me."

Chairman Joo, who is accused of conspiring a collective resignation of residents, is scheduled to appear before the police on the 14th to observe a forensic examination of his mobile phone. He was summoned by the police on the 6th and was investigated for about 10 hours, and on the 8th, he also appeared to observe the forensic examination of his mobile phone.