Five KMA Resident Executives, Including Vice President Dan Park, Resign En Masse

Resignation Announced on Personal Social Media on the 25th

Dan Park, former emergency response committee chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), has officially announced his resignation from the position of vice president of the Korean Medical Association (KMA). Four other resident executive members, who served in the KMA leadership alongside Park, are also stepping down.

Dan Park, former emergency response committee chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association. Yonhap News

On June 25, Park posted on his personal social media account, "Dan Park, vice president of the Korean Medical Association; Minsoo Kim, policy director; Yooyoung Kim, planning director; Myungjun Park, planning director; and Hyejoo Lee, international director. The above five are resigning from their executive positions at the Korean Medical Association."

Previously, these individuals also served in the executive team when Dan Park led KIRA. Myungjun Park was vice president, Minsoo Kim served as director of external cooperation, and Hyejoo Lee was policy director. Yooyoung Kim, who is the representative of residents at Samsung Medical Center, also served as an emergency response committee member at KIRA.

Dan Park was elected president of KIRA in August 2023 and has served as emergency response committee chairman since KIRA transitioned to an emergency response system following the government's announcement of an increase in medical school admissions in February last year. He also joined the executive team of KMA president Taekwoo Kim, which was launched in January this year, serving concurrently as vice president.

However, amid the prolonged conflict between the government and the medical community, and as representatives of residents at major general hospitals recently expressed their intention to return to work, internal discord has arisen. In response, Park announced the previous day that he "intends to step down from all positions."

Meanwhile, the collective resignation of the executives is expected to inevitably cause confusion within the KMA. The KMA had initially announced a regular briefing for June 26, but later changed the plan and stated that the briefing would be replaced with a written statement in the afternoon.