Im Hyuntaek, New President of KMA, "I Will Resolve Issues Well So That Citizens and Patients Need Not Worry"

Leaving a Post on SNS Today, the Official Inauguration Day

Im Hyun-taek, the newly appointed president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), stated on the official inauguration day, the 1st, "I will do my best to untangle the complicated knots so that the public and patients do not worry too much."

On the same day, President Im posted on his Facebook, "From today, my term as the 42nd president of the KMA begins." His term is three years.

Im Hyun-taek, the new president of the Korean Medical Association (KMA)
[Photo by Yonhap News]

President Im said, "Residents who have left the medical field losing hope for the future and pride in saving lives, medical students who have left their academic grounds in the face of injustice, professors who have taught them well and devoted themselves to saving patients' lives, private practitioners, public health doctors, military doctors who are enthusiastically supporting them, concerned parents, and the public and patients who wish for a swift resolution of this situation?I will do my utmost to untangle the complicated knots so that they do not worry too much."

Before his election, President Im had argued that "due to low birth rates, the quota should be reduced by 500 to 1,000." Immediately after his election, he maintained a tough stance by setting conditions for dialogue, including a presidential apology and the dismissal of the Minister of Health and Welfare.

At the KMA regular delegates' meeting held on the 28th of last month, he expressed his resolute will, saying, "I will respond with determination and strength, like a frontline soldier fighting a desperate battle," and "Even if a knife is at my throat, I will raise the right voice against wrong policies, and I will block policies that drive healthcare into a dead end with a resolve to die."

President Im recently finalized the new executive team. To strengthen legal services for members to the level of a law firm, he increased the number of lawyer-appointed legal directors from the usual two to four. This is interpreted as preparation to respond to legal issues, as the government has been conducting various legal reviews regarding doctors' collective actions.

The KMA's new executive team will hold its first standing committee meeting on the 2nd and officially begin its duties. They plan to form a pan-medical community consultative body involving medical school professors, residents, and medical students to prepare for dialogue with the government. The KMA stated, "The medical community is reviewing response plans based on various scenarios regarding the current urgent situation," and "Immediately after the launch of the 42nd KMA executive team, we will activate the pan-medical community consultative body to closely respond to changes in the situation."