Choi Dae-jip, President of the Korean Medical Association, "Will Resort to Extreme Struggle if Telemedicine is Forced"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Choi Dae-jip, president of the Korean Medical Association, stated on the 14th that he "absolutely cannot accept the unilateral enforcement of telemedicine" as the ruling party moves forward with promoting telemedicine.

On the same day, President Choi said on Facebook, "The government is using the COVID-19 emergency situation to push for telemedicine, which the Korean Medical Association has consistently opposed."

He emphasized, "Since the purpose of patient care is to provide the best benefit to the patient, face-to-face treatment should be the principle," adding, "Except for places where face-to-face treatment is impossible, such as deep-sea fishing vessels, telemedicine should not be evaluated for convenience or economic reasons."

Regarding Kim Yeon-myeong, the Blue House senior secretary for social affairs, stating the day before that telemedicine introduction is being positively considered, President Choi questioned, "Which government in the world enforces a policy that most doctors risking their lives to treat COVID-19 oppose?" He added, "Considering the government's and ruling party's oppression and disparagement of medical personnel and institutions from late January to mid this month, such behavior is not surprising."

The Korean Medical Association warned that it would engage in "extreme struggle" if the government forcibly introduces telemedicine. President Choi stressed, "If the government pushes telemedicine during the COVID-19 turmoil, the Korean Medical Association and I, President Choi Dae-jip, firmly and resolutely declare that we will risk everything and engage in extreme struggle."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.