“A general strike begins when at least one resident, medical student, or medical school professor is injured.”
“Medical school capacity should be reduced and the essential medical package should be scrapped.”
Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Socheong Medical Association, was elected with 65% of the votes in the election for the next president of the Korean Medical Association.
(Seoul = Larose.VIP) Reporter Kwon Ji-hyun = The new president-elect of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which is at odds with the government over the policy of increasing the number of medical school students, took a hard line, again mentioning the president’s apology and the dismissal of the Minister of Health and Welfare as “conditions for dialogue.” predicted.
The Korean Medical Association announced on the 26th that Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Association of Pediatrics, was elected as the 42nd president. The term of office is three years from May 1st.
President-elect Lim was confirmed elected by receiving 21,646 votes (65.43%) out of 33,084 valid votes in the electronic voting for the presidential election runoff that lasted from the previous day to 6 PM on this day.
Su-ho Joo, chairman of the Public Relations Committee of the Emergency Response Committee of the Medical Association, who was also a candidate in the runoff election, received 11,438 votes (34.57%).
President-elect Lim took first place in the first round of voting held from the 20th to the 22nd, receiving 12,031 votes (35.72%) out of 33,684 votes.
He also made it to the finals in the 41st presidential election in 2021, but lost his seat to former Chairman Lee Pil-soo by winning 47.46% of the total votes. After running again, he was elected to succeed former Chairman Lee, who resigned after taking responsibility for failing to stop the government’s push to increase the number of medical schools.
With candidate Lim Hyun-taek’s election, the level of struggle against the government over the current medical school expansion policy is expected to increase further.
President-elect Lim is classified as a ‘hardliner’ when it comes to the government’s push to increase the number of medical schools, and his position is that “rather, the number of students should be reduced by 500 to 1,000 due to low birth rates.”
On the 20th, when the government announced the number of medical students at each university, they issued a statement and raised their voices, saying, “Doctors will fight to the end to protect essential medical care from the fascist Yoon Seok-yeol government.”
On the 19th, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Gyu-hong and Vice Minister Park Min-soo were reported to the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights, and on the 1st of last month, they visited a people’s livelihood debate hosted by the president at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Seongnam and were asked to move. He was also sent to the prosecution on charges of failing to comply with the demands of the Presidential Security Service staff.
Lim Hyun-taek, the new president of the Korean Medical Association, holding his election certificate.
In a question-and-answer session with reporters following the vote count, President-elect Lim reaffirmed his hard-line stance, saying, “We will begin a general strike when even one resident, medical student, or professor preparing to leave the hospital is injured, such as a license suspension or civil or criminal lawsuit.” did.
They maintained their position that the number of medical school students should be reduced and the essential medical package should be scrapped.
Regarding the possibility of consultation with the government, he said, “If necessary, we will create a dialogue channel with the government by including enough representatives of majors and medical school professors.”
However, as conditions for dialogue, he said, “The dismissal of Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong and Vice Minister Park Min-soo, and the cancellation of the nomination of former Social Affairs Senior Secretary Ahn Sang-hoon, who was involved in the expansion of medical schools, must be accompanied by an apology from the president.” He added, “Holding the license suspension is not even at the level of a bargaining chip.” “Difficult times are expected in negotiations.
As the Korean Medical Association has declared an emergency response to prevent the expansion of medical schools, President-elect Lim is expected to discuss with the current Emergency Response Committee and begin work before his term begins in May.
President-elect Lim has served as president of the Association of Pediatricians for the fourth consecutive time since 2016. While serving as president, he led the ‘Declaration of Closure of Hospitals Due to Declining Income’ on behalf of children and adolescents and private practice doctors last year.
He is also the representative of the Doctors Thinking About the Future group, a medical group that provided legal advice to a resident who recently submitted a letter of resignation and left the hospital, and filed a complaint against the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare.
In this election, he made a pledge to restore doctors’ rights by making medical fees more realistic and revising the law on revocation of medical licenses and the law on installing CCTV in operating rooms.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has reported President-elect Lim to the police on charges of violation of business start order, obstruction of business under criminal law, and aiding and abetting, and an investigation is underway.
fat@yna.co.kr
Report to KakaoTalk okjebo
