The Next Chairman of the Korean Medical Association: "The Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare and Elected Kim Yoon Are Obstacles to Resolving the Situation"

"To Resolve the Situation, It Must Be 'Cleared Away' as Soon as Possible"

Im Hyun-taek, the president-elect of the Korean Medical Association, stated that the dismissal of the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare is necessary to promptly resolve the medical-government conflict.

[Image source=SNS capture]

On the 23rd, Im posted on his social media (SNS), "The main culprits of this situation, Park Min-su, Cho Gyu-hong, and Kim Yoon, are still acting like annoying parrots on TV screens as if they bear no responsibility, which is an obstacle to resolving the issue," adding, "If we want to resolve this situation quickly, these people must be removed immediately."

He also raised criticism against Kim Yoon, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, who was elected as a proportional representative for the Democratic United Party in this general election. The day before, he posted on SNS, "If Kim Yoon resigns from his parliamentary seat, I would consider dialogue with the government."

Kim, who is also a doctor, supports increasing the number of medical students and has been in conflict with the medical community. Im claimed, "Kim Yoon is very likely to be assigned to the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, and if such a person becomes a lawmaker, our country's healthcare will quickly collapse."

Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, took charge of briefings at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH) during the medical-government conflict that began in February, advocating the necessity of medical reform and thus drawing the ire of the medical community.

On the 15th, which was Vice Minister Park’s birthday, 1,360 medical residents collectively filed a lawsuit against Vice Minister Park and Minister Cho Gyu-hong for abuse of authority and obstruction of rights, and held a press conference to announce this.

At that time, Jeong Geun-young, former representative of residents at Bundang CHA Hospital, said, "Vice Minister Park constantly gave doctors a sense of humiliation with thorny language whenever he had the chance," and added, "Until Park Min-su is dismissed, there will be no return to hospitals."