Ahn Cheol-soo: "With COVID-19 Resurgence and M-Fox... Medical Crisis Could Escalate into Catastrophe"

"Ruling Party Should Also Be Able to Criticize the Government"

Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, emphasized, "COVID-19 has begun to resurge, and Mpox, which is spreading mainly in Africa, could enter and spread in Korea," adding, "We must resolve the medical crisis issue."

On the 21st, Ahn said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "By this fall, local medical centers will start to go bankrupt one after another, and local medical school professors will resign and move to Seoul," warning, "If we do not solve the medical crisis, it will truly lead to a catastrophe."

Ahn Cheol-soo, member of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

He pointed out the shortage of essential medical care and local healthcare as the most critical issues in medical reform. Ahn stated, "The government seems to think that simply increasing medical school quotas will automatically lead personnel to go to local and essential medical fields, but the opposite is happening," and added, "I said last February that if the medical school quota increased by 2,000, in 10 years, 2,000 dermatology clinics would open annually in Seoul, and now it is heading that way."

Ahn noted, "Since the residents began their strike last February, they have not returned," and said, "If the fourth-year medical students do not take the medical licensing exam this year, no doctors will graduate next year, and then interns, public health doctors, and military doctors will all be zero." He added, "If there are no doctors for a year, the entire hospital system collapses."

He also said, "Hospitals and local medical centers have been maintained so far because residents worked for very low wages," and warned, "If these people disappear and essential medical doctors resign, local clinics will go bankrupt first, and even the last bastion, medical school professors, may resign and get jobs in Seoul." He expressed concern, "In conclusion, contrary to our goals, essential medical care will deteriorate, local healthcare will collapse, and the Korean medical system built over the past several decades will completely fall to the bottom."

Ahn criticized fellow party members, saying, "They think that because they are the ruling party, they must unconditionally support government policies," and warned, "If we do not persuade the government as much as possible to solve this problem, it will lead to a catastrophe." He added, "Even ruling party members should point out problems and propose better alternatives when the government presents wrong policies, as this will increase approval ratings and gain public support in the long term."