KMA "Welfare and Education Ministers Refuse to Attend, Demanding Confidentiality"
Democratic Party "Both Ministers Lack Public Office Qualifications... Resign"
The National Assembly and the medical community hastily attempted to hold a public forum to find solutions to the medical crisis, led by the opposition party, but it was canceled. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) Emergency Response Committee and the Democratic Party of Korea blamed the government for the forum's cancellation and raised their voices in criticism.
According to the medical community and the National Assembly on the 23rd, the National Assembly planned to hold a public forum on the 24th afternoon to discuss solutions such as increasing medical school admissions, but the plan was ultimately canceled. The forum was urgently pushed forward after both sides reached a consensus on the need for a breakthrough to resolve the prolonged medical crisis during a closed-door meeting between medical organizations and the chairs of the National Assembly’s Education and Health and Welfare Committees held at the KMA headquarters on the 19th.
The medical organizations and the National Assembly mentioned attendees for the forum, including the KMA Emergency Response Committee, medical school professors, residents, medical students, members of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee and Education Committee, and senior officials from related government ministries. In particular, the National Assembly believed that Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, who are the key officials responsible for the policy on increasing medical school admissions, should attend.
However, the attendance of the two ministers was canceled, and the ruling party, the People Power Party, proposed to hold a consultative body among the ruling and opposition parties, medical community, and government after the new leadership of the KMA is elected early next year, also refusing to attend the forum.
In response, the KMA Emergency Response Committee held a press conference at the KMA headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon, stating, "The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare refused the public forum, insisting on a closed session except for opening remarks," and criticized, "People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong proposed another time-wasting consultative body without any reflection on the disastrous failure of the previous 'Ruling-Opposition-Medical-Government' consultative body." They added, "The responsibility for the current collapse of medical education and the medical field lies with the government and the ruling party," and "The government and the ruling party have only been stalling without any measures," further stating, "Minister of Education, Minister of Health and Welfare, and Floor Leader Kwon are afraid to reveal the truth to the public that the medical education field is dysfunctional," and urged, "The government and the ruling party should urgently present measures to address the collapse of medical education."
Kim Young-ho, chair of the National Assembly Education Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, and Park Ju-min, chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee and also a Democratic Party member, criticized the government’s decision not to participate and demanded the resignation of the two ministers. Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly in the afternoon, saying, "The reason for the refusal by the two ministers is very simple," and "They cannot openly disclose the series of medical crisis processes to the public with integrity." Park stated, "The two ministers, who have not even shown the minimum will to resolve conflicts in the medical field, are no longer qualified to hold public office," and "We demand their immediate resignation."
Meanwhile, separately, the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Health and Medical Care plans to hold a forum on the 24th at 2 p.m. titled "Overcoming Internal Strife, Normalizing Medical Education for National Stability" with some members of the medical community. Professor Oh Joo-hwan of Seoul National University College of Medicine will present the "Health and Medical Workforce Projection Study Results," and discussants will include Kang Hee-kyung, chair of the Emergency Response Committee at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital, and Kim Seong-geun, spokesperson for the National Council of Medical School Professors.
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