Democratic Party Rep. Kim Hangyu's Father Passed Away on the 13th
Seoul National University Medical Graduate Specialist...Died Without Hospitalization
"Government Should Form a Consultative Body and Actively Discuss"
Kim Han-gyu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed on the 13th that his father passed away after being unable to receive treatment while being sent around emergency rooms. On the 27th, Kim appeared on YTN's "News On" and, during a discussion with Kim Yong-tae of the People Power Party about resolving the "medical-government conflict," he said, "My father was taken to the emergency room, but there were no available beds, so he was sent around multiple emergency rooms and passed away last week." Kim's father was an otolaryngology specialist who graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and had been running a hospital in Jeju City for many years.
Kim said, "After going through this situation, I am extremely angry at the government for neglecting the medical-government conflict," adding, "It seems the government is stubbornly refusing to cooperate. They need to form a consultative body including the resident doctors currently on strike and actively engage in discussions. If this situation continues, the entire medical school system could collapse."
Earlier, Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, shared in a CBS radio interview on the 22nd that he fell early in the morning and severely injured his forehead but was rejected by 22 emergency rooms. He pointed out, "Due to the issue of increasing medical school quotas, a medical crisis has arisen, and there is a concern that our country's medical system could suffer significant damage. If this collapses, it will be difficult to maintain the current administration itself."
Since February, the medical-government conflict has entered its sixth month following the collective resignation of resident doctors in protest against the increase in medical school admission quotas. In particular, there are reports from the field that the emergency medical system is on the verge of collapse. There are growing concerns that during the upcoming Chuseok holiday, as general hospitals close and even mild patients flock to emergency rooms, a medical crisis could occur.
However, the presidential office stated, "Since there is a possibility that more patients will come to emergency rooms during Chuseok, we are preparing with the expectation that more emergency patients will arrive than usual," adding, "We have prepared special measures to increase the number of on-duty medical institutions as much as possible so that emergency rooms can quickly treat only patients who truly need emergency care." Additionally, the government designated the Chuseok holiday as an 'Emergency Response Week' and decided to support emergency medical care by raising emergency room specialists' consultation fees by up to 250%.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
