[2024 National Audit] Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Acknowledge Responsibility for Medical Crisis but Remain Silent on Resignation (Comprehensive)

"Medical Privatization Is a Misunderstanding" Strong Rebuttal
Patient Groups Appeal to "End the Medical Crisis"

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong and Second Vice Minister Park Min-su expressed a sense of responsibility regarding the ongoing medical crisis following the mass resignation of residents, but avoided giving a direct answer to opposition lawmakers' calls for their resignation. While the government is urging the medical community to engage in dialogue, skepticism remains about the residents' return to medical practice, and patients are appealing for a swift resolution to the medical service gap.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit held on the 8th, Vice Minister Park was asked by Seo Young-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, "Someone must take responsibility for the medical crisis. What do you think?" Park responded, "As the responsible vice minister, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility," but refrained from commenting on his position.

Vice Minister Park said, "I believe that as a public official, one must do their best in their duties once assigned," and added, "As long as I hold this position, I will do my best." Despite Seo’s repeated demands for a clear resignation, Park maintained a cautious stance, stating, "I have nothing to say regarding personnel matters."

Earlier, during the audit the previous day, Minister Cho also faced calls for resignation but responded, "Given the urgent situation in the medical field, I do not think it is appropriate to announce my position myself," and stated, "I will do my best to minimize the medical service gap with a responsible attitude."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare claimed that despite the prolonged medical crisis, there has been no major confusion on the ground. Minister Cho explained, "It is true that the number of medical personnel has decreased due to the departure of residents, leading to an overall reduction in medical services, but the treatment capacity is being concentrated on severe patients," and added, "There is no major confusion as much as feared." He further stated, "Thanks to the dedication of frontline medical staff and the cooperation of the public, services are being maintained well, but fundamentally, residents must return to resolve the issue."

In response to questions about whether the government's medical reform is a step toward medical privatization, Minister Cho actively denied it, saying, "What we are trying to do now is to expand essential and regional medical services." He added, "The abolition of the mandatory designation system for health insurance, allowing hospitals to engage in profit-making activities, or expanding private insurance by increasing the scale of indemnity insurance, which are cited as grounds for medical privatization, have nothing to do with medical reform," and said, "I hope there is no misunderstanding. Legal amendments would be necessary to establish such grounds, but we have no plans to pursue them."

Witnesses who appeared at the audit that day urged for dialogue between the medical and government sectors, citing serious patient harm caused by conflicts over medical school enrollment increases and residents’ resignations. Ahn Ki-jong, president of the Korea Patient Organization Federation, said, "Patients have felt over the past eight months that our lives are trivial enough to be sacrificed due to conflicts between the medical and government sectors, which is a heartbreaking sentiment," and called for, "Discussion of the 2026 enrollment quota based on scientific evidence and transparent procedures within the ruling-opposition government consultation body or the special committee on medical reform."

Regarding the government’s plan to increase medical school enrollment, Kwon Jeong-hyun, a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), who proposed a gradual increase, advised, "We need to persuade doctors to come to the discussion table by thoroughly discussing how much more medical personnel will be needed through the structural reforms the government is pursuing."

However, Im Jin-su, planning director of the Korean Medical Association and a resident who resigned, criticized, "The government is blocking attempts to engage in dialogue with the medical community internally, and the only measure they have presented is to shorten the medical school curriculum to five years," adding, "Looking at how things are going, I am skeptical. It is an insult to medical professionalism."

Separately from the medical-government conflict, the controversy over preferential helicopter transport for Lee Jae-myung continued. The People Power Party attacked the helicopter transfer of Lee, who was stabbed in Busan in January, to Seoul National University Hospital as excessive preferential treatment, while the Democratic Party of Korea countered that Lee was being demonized.