Choi Jae-ho, chairman of the Gyeongnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council, issued a statement on the 3rd at the newly opened press room, urging the prompt normalization of medical services while mentioning the conflict between the medical community and the government over the scale of medical school admissions.
Chairman Choi pointed out that the conflict between the medical community and the government has continued for more than seven weeks, with residents and others leaving medical sites in protest against the expansion of medical school admissions.
“Who is this struggle and confrontation for, and where can we find the sincerity to protect the people amidst this?” he criticized.
“The emergency medical system, sustained by the dedication of medical personnel filling the vacancies left by about 400 residents in the province and the hidden sacrifices of the residents who delay going to the hospital despite being seriously ill, is only a minimal measure,” he said. “The pain caused by medical tourism due to regional medical imbalance and the absence of essential medical services is borne by the local residents.”
Choi Jae-ho, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council, is issuing a statement calling for an end to the medical-policy conflict over the scale of medical school quotas and the normalization of medical services. [Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]
He said, “As someone who has experienced treatment delays due to the absence of essential medical services in the region, I welcome the establishment of medical schools and the increase in the number of doctors.”
He added, “No political logic should intervene, nor should this be used as a subject of political strife, in the face of the historic mission of resolving medical service imbalances through increasing medical school admissions centered on non-metropolitan areas and achieving national balanced development.”
“It is necessary to prepare and verify measures to resolve regional medical imbalances through follow-up actions such as solving the concentration in popular specialties, alleviating the risks associated with critical treatments, expanding essential medical services, and compensating regional medical fees, rather than simply increasing the number of admissions,” he emphasized.
Chairman Choi said, “Medical imbalance leads to the deterioration of living conditions, raising concerns about regional extinction,” and added, “The government and the medical community should show maturity by resolving difficult issues through dialogue and compromise, not through confrontations.”
He also appealed to the residents, saying, “Do not ignore the trust of those who have relied on medical staff, and please return to the patients quickly.”
To the government, he urged, “Listen to the anxieties and practical concerns of the medical community, and protect the public’s basic right to medical services through policy formulation, improvements, and dialogue.”
He said, “Do not betray the earnest wishes of the 1.8 million workers at about 30,000 business sites in the province who are striving with a sense of responsibility to create national economic growth and future growth engines by promoting export growth and revitalizing the domestic economy,” and called for “prompt normalization.”
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