Kim Jong-in: "Government and Medical Association Must Make Concessions to Overcome COVID-19" (Comprehensive)

Second Disaster Relief Fund: "Not the Time to Talk About Fiscal Soundness... The Effect of Universal Payment Needs to Be Evaluated"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is attending the Emergency Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, urged on the 26th regarding the conflict between the government and the Medical Association over the establishment of the Public Health Medical University (Public Medical School), saying, "There is no issue more important than overcoming the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)," and called for "taking a step back and focusing all efforts on overcoming COVID-19."

Chairman Kim said at the Emergency Committee Chairman-Senior Lawmakers meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, "How to quickly overcome the COVID-19 crisis is a very important moment."

He said, "It seems that the government and doctors are currently unable to find a compromise, and the increase in medical school admissions and the establishment of the public medical school have become grounds for debate, leading to the unfortunate event of doctors going on strike." He added, "The establishment of the public medical school itself is not an urgent task," emphasizing to the government, "You must abandon the idea that it can be enforced solely with power and will."

Chairman Kim said, "I understand that the government is devising various measures against the second wave of COVID-19, but overcoming COVID-19 quickly is the most important task," and urged, "The most important people in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis are the medical professionals, doctors, and nurses. They must work passionately, and each citizen must comply with the various guidelines presented by the government."

He added, "It is a reality that the economy inevitably suffers severe damage due to COVID-19, but if we fail to overcome COVID-19, which is related to human life, economic recovery in the long term will also be impossible," and requested, "For now, the government should put all efforts into overcoming COVID-19."

After the meeting, Chairman Kim also expressed concerns to reporters, saying, "The government cannot succeed in its policies with power and will alone," and "It is doubtful whether overcoming is possible when medical staff, who should be fully committed to overcoming COVID-19, are in opposition to the government."

Regarding criticism about the deterioration of fiscal soundness related to the second disaster relief payment, he said, "It is certain that the economy is being hit by COVID-19. Among them, there are groups that are most affected," and emphasized, "Since livelihood measures must be provided by the government, now is not the time to talk about fiscal soundness."

However, on the issue of universal versus selective payments, he stated, "The government should judge whether providing payments to all citizens is effective in overcoming the crisis," and added, "In my view, it is not right to provide disaster relief funds to the entire population."

Regarding distancing from the far-right, he said, "I do not listen to the nonsense from those who make unnecessary remarks about the COVID-19 situation," and emphasized, "No matter what anyone says, I believe all citizens must comply with the guidelines issued by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency." On plans to replace former and current lawmakers who participated in the Liberation Day rally as party committee chairs or to take disciplinary action at the party level, he said, "We can just ignore them," adding, "I think there is no need to deal with such people."

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