Kwon Young-se Meets with Korean Medical Association to Discuss Medical School Quotas and More: "I Intend to Play a Role in Resolving Conflicts"

KMA Vice Chairman:
"A Session to Convey and Communicate the Situation of the Medical Community"

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, stated on the 10th after meeting with the leadership of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), "I intend to play a role in resolving the medical-policy conflict."

It appears that Chairman Kwon aims to act as a mediator between the government, which recently set a conditional restoration of the number of recruits to include all returning leave-of-absence students (previously 3,058), and the medical community, which still expresses opposition.

After a private meeting at the National Assembly with KMA Vice Chairman Hwang Gyu-seok and others, Chairman Kwon told reporters, "It was mainly a listening session. There are currently divided opinions within the medical community, and since different groups are presenting various views, it seems necessary to listen to those differing opinions."

Chairman Kwon expressed his intention to hear the differing positions among medical community members such as private practitioners, residents, the KMA, and professors, emphasizing, "Those who are somewhat detached are also important. For example, the Seoul Medical Association might have a perspective different from that of the entire KMA."

Regarding the issue of medical school quotas, he refrained from commenting on specific discussions, saying, "It does not seem appropriate at this time to discuss what the problems are with each issue, what the solutions might be, or what their claims are."

Vice Chairman Hwang also told reporters as he left the National Assembly after the meeting, "We conveyed the situation of the medical community as it is, and it was a communication session," adding, "I hope there will be more opportunities to give hope to the public."

Hwang Gyu-seok, Vice President of the Korean Medical Association and President of the Seoul Medical Association (left), met with Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, at the National Assembly on the 10th, arranged by In Yo-han, a member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yonhap News