Medical Community Including Korean Medical Association President Candidate Urges President Yoon to Step Down

Medical Community Urges Consecutive Calls for President's Resignation and Impeachment

Professors from medical schools and candidates for the Korean Medical Association (KMA) presidential by-election called for the resignation of President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Kang Hee-kyung, candidate for the Korean Medical Association presidential by-election, is delivering a political statement at 2 p.m. on the 6th in front of Seoul National University College of Medicine in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Emergency Response Committee of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital Professors

The Emergency Response Committee of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital issued a declaration at 2 p.m. on the 6th in front of Seoul National University College of Medicine in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "The president who punishes the people must step down immediately."

The committee added, "Medical professionals were targeted for 'punishment' in this martial law proclamation because they did not comply with the president's wrongful orders over the past 10 months," and said, "How can medical professionals obediently follow incorrect prescriptions?"

The National Emergency Response Committee of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi) also released an appeal to the public on the same day, requesting the National Assembly to "remove the instigator of rebellion Yoon Seok-yeol and his subordinates in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, including ministers and vice ministers, from their positions and hold them accountable."

They appealed to university presidents and deans of medical schools to "reconsider the medical school quota expansion, which was carried out under the intimidation of the instigator of rebellion Yoon Seok-yeol and his subordinates," and to examinees and parents, they warned, "Trying to benefit from the medical school quota expansion is a case of losing the forest for the trees."

Other KMA presidential candidates also called for President Yoon's resignation. Candidate Choi Anna declared on the day, "We demand the immediate impeachment of the president who has manipulated the medical sector," and stated, "A regime that turns the medical community, responsible for the lives of the people, into an enemy has no value to be maintained regardless of political orientation."

Candidate Kim Taek-woo issued a statement the day before, saying, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must apologize to the people for the declaration of martial law and resign immediately," and warned sternly against the government's act of shifting responsibility for the medical manipulation it initiated onto residents, expressing shock at the 'punishment of residents' clause in the proclamation.

Candidate Joo Soo-ho also stated on the same day, "Doctors, including residents, have been living under martial law since February, deprived of their freedom and basic rights due to various unconstitutional orders from the government," and demanded, "The president must resign immediately."

Candidate Lee Dong-wook plans to continue the "Saturday rally condemning medical martial law to stop medical manipulation" with the Gyeonggi-do Medical Association in front of Seoul City Hall on the 7th.

The Korea Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools (KAMC), which participated in and then withdrew from the ruling and opposition parliamentary consultation body, also voiced criticism. They expressed anger at the description of residents as targets for punishment and strongly demanded a practical reduction in medical school quotas, including the suspension of next year's admissions.