'Chogangseong' Im Hyun-taek Medical Association likely to lose 'medical community representative' legitimacy due to aggressive struggle

New President Lim, a Leading Hardliner in the Medical Community
Reduction of Medical School Quotas and Dismissal of Health Minister Discussed
Resigning Residents Initially Did Not Follow KMA Instructions

Im Hyun-taek, the newly appointed president of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), has proposed a reduction of '500 to 1000' medical school quotas in response to the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, causing a deadlock in the medical crisis. Concerns are rising that the medical crisis will become even more difficult to resolve as the new KMA leadership is composed of hardliners.

According to the medical community, Im, elected as the 42nd president on the 26th, is classified as an 'ultra-hardliner' among the KMA leadership. In the final runoff vote, Im defeated candidate Joo Soo-ho by a double score margin. Im had also reached the runoff in the 41st KMA presidential election but lost to former president Lee Pil-soo. One reason cited for his recent victory is the medical community's dissatisfaction with former president Lee Pil-soo, who was relatively moderate. Lee's moderate approach failed to block the government's unilateral increase in medical school quotas.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to medical insiders, Im was the most likely candidate for the new president even before the launch of the KMA emergency committee. However, candidate Joo's tough stance as the emergency committee's media and public relations chair initially won praise from doctors and shifted the atmosphere. Joo's experience in resolving medical-government conflicts, including serving as spokesperson for the Medical Rights Struggle Committee during the 2000 total medical strike opposing the separation of drug prescribing and dispensing, was also influential. However, when Joo's fatal drunk driving accident in March 2016 became known, the medical community consensus is that Im regained the upper hand.

With the new president decided, there is a possibility that the medical community's struggle against the government will intensify. Dissatisfaction with the previously moderate president has manifested in voting behavior. Im is a hardliner who has strongly criticized the government with harsh language during medical-government conflicts. On the 20th, when the government announced the medical school quotas by university, he issued a statement sharply criticizing, saying, "Doctors will fight to the end to protect essential medical care from the fascist Yoon Seok-yeol government." Last month, on the 1st, at a medical reform and public welfare discussion hosted by President Yoon Seok-yeol at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Im was arrested by police for refusing to leave after a scuffle with presidential security officers.

Immediately after his election, he mentioned a 'general strike' and set unrealistic preconditions for dialogue that the government could never accept, such as "the president's apology and the dismissal of the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare." In particular, regarding medical school quotas, he argued that the quotas should be reduced by "500 to 1000," countering the government's plan to increase them by 2,000.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Min-soo, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, dismissed Im's call for reducing medical school quotas, saying, "Discussing reduction during a process of discussing increase seems to be a completely different direction." Officials within the Ministry of Health and Welfare also consider Im's claims absurd. A ministry official said, "It is questionable how many citizens would sympathize with this claim," calling it "an impossible idea." Im has also demanded the dismissal of the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare as a precondition for dialogue. The government is currently not responding individually, considering these demands unrealistic and extreme.

Questions remain as to whether 'Im Hyun-taek KMA' can serve as a single channel representing the diverse medical community. Despite Im's hardline stance, resident doctors who have resigned and professors who submitted resignation letters remain cautious. Initially, resident doctors and medical school professors did not consult or reach an agreement with the KMA before submitting their resignations. A professor at a Seoul medical school said, "Reactions to the new president Im seem to vary," adding, "Some had preferred candidates in the election, but others did not pay much attention to the election itself."

The impact on the resident doctors' resignation crisis is also expected to be limited. Whether the new KMA leadership pursues hardline struggles or negotiations, it is unlikely that resident doctors will be influenced and return. This is because resident doctors are outside the influence of other medical organizations. During the 2020 medical-government conflict, when the then KMA president agreed with the government to call off the strike, resident doctors strongly opposed it. Ryu Ok-ha-da, former representative of interns at the Catholic Central Medical Center, stated on the 24th after the Korean Intern and Resident Association met with Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chair of the People Power Party, "It is the resident doctors who resigned," and "The Korean Intern and Resident Association does not represent resident doctors." Regarding the new president Im, she said on the 27th, "It has not been long since he was elected, so I don't know much yet. He says he will strengthen communication with resident doctors, so I will have to see how things proceed before deciding on a position."

If the new president Im does not establish a reasonable stance representing the entire medical community, it will be difficult for him to gain recognition as a representative of the medical community from public opinion and the government. Vice Minister Park urged resident doctors the day before to form a representative group and engage in dialogue. This is interpreted as a willingness to engage in dialogue not only with the KMA but also with a new representative group that reflects the diverse voices of the medical community. He added, "If you look closely, the medical community is not a single entity. There are private clinics, university hospitals, and within university hospitals, there are professors and employed doctors such as resident doctors. Because there are various groups, a representative group that can adequately represent these diverse interests should be formed."