[Impeachment of Yoon Seok-yeol] Resident Representative Park Dan "Welcome Impeachment... Cannot Forget the Fear of Punishment"

"Yoon Destroyed the Future of Healthcare with Autocratic Policies"

Park Dan, vice president of the Korean Medical Association and representative of the residents who resigned in protest against the government's medical school expansion policy (emergency committee chairman of the Korean Resident Doctors Association), stated on the 4th, immediately after the Constitutional Court's ruling to dismiss former President Yoon Seok-yeol, "I sincerely welcome the impeachment of the president."

In a post on Facebook that day, Vice President Park said, "He (former President Yoon) has been judged by the people," and added, "He destroyed the future of South Korea's healthcare with his autocratic policy decisions."

Park Dan, Acting Chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) and Vice President of the Korean Medical Association. Photo by Jo Yongjun

He continued, "(Former President Yoon) declared martial law and caused chaos in state affairs," adding, "The fear of punishment will never be forgotten." Earlier, during the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3 last year, Article 1, Clause 5 of the martial law proclamation included the provision that "all medical personnel, including residents who are on strike or have left medical sites, must return within 48 hours and work diligently; violations will be punished under the Martial Law Act."

Vice President Park stated, "Today marks exactly one year since I visited the Presidential Office to meet former President Yoon to resolve the medical-government conflict," and asserted, "The exhausting and protracted time must now come to an end. It is now time for recovery. The current government must immediately halt all medical policies that were implemented under former President Yoon's autocratic rule."

He further emphasized, "The government should strive to restore trust with the medical community through a more flexible and responsible attitude," and added, "I hope a constructive dialogue for resolving the situation will open. I look forward to a new hope for South Korea's healthcare."

Meanwhile, Vice President Park held a 140-minute meeting with former President Yoon at the Yongsan Presidential Office on April 4 last year. However, immediately afterward, he posted a brief statement on his social media (SNS) saying, "There is no future for South Korea's healthcare."