Catholic Medical Center Resident Representative Appears Before Police... "Government's Unfair Intimidation"

Kim Tae-geun, the representative of residents at the Catholic Central Medical Center, appeared before the police on the 13th as a witness.

Kim Tae-geun, the representative resident physician of the Catholic Central Medical Center, is answering questions from reporters as he appears on the 13th at the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to undergo a witness investigation.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit summoned Representative Kim to the Metropolitan Investigation Division building in Mapo-gu, Seoul, for a witness investigation that morning.

Before his appearance, Representative Kim stated, "The current government's policies are unreasonable and place a great deal of responsibility on the younger generation," adding, "I believe that a liberal democratic country should respect the roles of experts, including doctors, and provide them with appropriate treatment." He also said, "I understand that other representatives from the 'Big 5' hospitals have undergone police investigations lasting over 10 hours. I hope that today will be the last of the government's unfair intimidation and shifting of responsibility."

Representative Kim was the last among the resident representatives from the Big 5 hospitals summoned by the police to respond to the investigation that day. In February, the Ministry of Health and Welfare filed complaints against former and current executives of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) for violations of the Medical Service Act, obstruction of business under the Criminal Act, and instigation or aiding and abetting. The police have recently been investigating the resident representatives as witnesses.

On the 21st of last month, Park Dan, the emergency committee chairperson of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), was summoned and investigated, and resident representatives from the Big 5 hospitals, including Park Jae-il from Seoul National University, also appeared before the police once. The police concluded their investigation targeting the KMA executive board in July and are now focusing on proving charges through witness investigations and other means.