United Future Party: "Ruling Party Sending Medical Staff to North Korea... Treating Medical Staff Like Objects"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The United Future Party criticized the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Shin Hyun-young's bill, the "Act on the Promotion of Inter-Korean Health and Medical Exchange and Cooperation," which centers on dispatching our medical personnel to North Korea, questioning, "Where are the government and ruling party's policy priorities?"

Hwang Gyu-hwan, deputy spokesperson of the United Future Party, said in a statement on the 31st, "Even in this national crisis where the entire nation is suffering due to COVID-19, the government and ruling party are solely focused on North Korea and have even started treating medical personnel like commodities."

He added, "The Ministry of Unification attempted to provide flood relief but was rejected by North Korea, and despite pushing for barter trade with sanctioned companies, it has not changed its stance. Going further, the ruling party plans to conscript medical personnel like 'goods' during disasters and even dispatch our medical staff to North Korea," criticizing the move.

This refers to the provision in the Inter-Korean Health and Medical Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Act, proposed by lawmaker Shin on the 2nd of last month, which states that "the government should strive to enable joint response and emergency support of health and medical personnel, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals when disasters requiring health and medical support occur in South or North Korea."

He also criticized the amendment to the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management, proposed by the same party's lawmaker Hwang Un-ha on the 24th of last month, which includes "personnel" as disaster management resources, saying, "It treats medical personnel like materials and facilities, expressing them as objects of stockpiling designation and management."

Deputy spokesperson Hwang said, "Not only unilateral courting and unreasonable barter trade, but also treating medical personnel who led the fight against COVID-19 as goods and mobilizing them forcibly to dispatch to North Korea is implied. At this point, one cannot help but ask who this government serves and what the current government and ruling party's policy priorities are."

He added, "If the Ministry of Unification and the ruling party are so concerned about North Korea, they should first proceed with the recommendation process for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation directors, which has been stalled for four years due to the Democratic Party not recommending directors," criticizing, "The government and ruling party ignore the suffering of our people, provoke conflict during medical strikes, and continuously court North Korea."

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