Choi Dae-jip: "President Moon's behavior like a fascist leader... Telling doctors what to do and what not to do"

"The President and Government Are Responsible for Doctors Being Forced onto the Streets"

On the morning of the 26th, when the total strike of residents began, Choi Dae-jip, the president of the Korea Medical Association, is making a statement regarding the strike at the Korea Medical Association studio in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Choi Dae-jip, president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), criticized President Moon Jae-in on the 27th, saying he "showed the behavior of a fascist leader."

On the same day, President Choi posted an article titled "President Moon Jae-in's Fascist Behavior" on his Facebook.

He said, "President Moon said today, 'In the COVID-19 crisis situation, medical personnel leaving the medical field is like soldiers deserting the battlefield during wartime.' This was said while condemning the doctors' general strike," and added, "Because of whom have doctors been forced to leave the medical field now? The doctors' general strike is caused by the government pushing forward the four evils medical policies during the COVID-19 crisis, which drove doctors out of the medical field and onto the streets. The cause and responsibility lie with the president and the government."

He continued, "If the four evils policies are repealed immediately, doctors will stop the strike at once and return to the medical field," and criticized, "President Moon himself is like someone shooting at friendly soldiers from behind during wartime by arbitrarily enforcing the four evils medical policies in the COVID crisis."

President Choi also raised his voice against President Moon’s analogy of the current COVID-19 situation as a "wartime situation" and medical personnel as "soldiers," saying, "In January and February, at the early stage of the COVID crisis, President Moon did not ban entry from China and left the gates wide open, which is like opening the gates to the enemy during wartime and telling friendly soldiers to defend the position."

He added, "Thanks to that, our 130,000 Korean doctors experienced a surge of COVID patients from mid-February and literally 'put their bodies on the line' to barely manage the situation."

Regarding the doctors' collective suspension of work, he said, "On the 26th, President Moon instructed to 'strongly respond through principled law enforcement,' issuing so-called work commencement orders to young residents who had only recently obtained their medical licenses, sending Ministry of Health officials to hospitals to search the sites thoroughly, and even today, some residents were about to face criminal charges," and reported, "The KMA is currently under on-site investigation by the Fair Trade Commission for the second day, and according to reports, a prosecution investigation into me, President Choi Dae-jip, has begun."

In particular, President Choi emphasized to President Moon, "Please listen carefully. Most Korean doctors are not public officials. They are free individuals working in the private sector, not entities to be ordered and controlled by the president or government officials."

He demanded, "Please stop the unconstitutional laws oppressing doctors and the statements denying doctors' basic rights and freedoms that they should naturally enjoy as citizens immediately."

Finally, he concluded by saying, "President Moon’s current behavior, claiming to uphold democracy, is completely denying liberal democracy and is exactly the behavior of a fascist leader who ruled Europe in the early to mid-20th century."

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