Daejeon Association "Some Reports on Strike Continuation Decision Process Are Inaccurate"

Statement on the Decision-Making Process and Reasons for Continuing the Strike

On the 30th, the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association decided to continue the collective strike, and information about the medical staff strike was posted in front of the emergency room at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), which is currently conducting an indefinite strike opposing the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools, has detailed the reasons for deciding to continue the strike amid internal disagreements among residents. They also refuted some media reports as inaccurate during the decision-making process to continue the strike.

The KIRA Emergency Response Committee announced on the 31st its position on the resolution results of the nationwide training hospital resident representatives' emergency response meeting and requested corrections regarding inaccurate reports and false reporting.

The Emergency Response Committee explained, "The meeting held on the 29th was not about the agreement proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare after the previous general assembly of resident representatives," adding, "It was urgently convened to provide detailed explanations on two additional matters?the agreement from the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee and the agreement from the medical education and training hospital consultative body?and to gather opinions on future plans to suspend the strike."

The committee stated, "Before the meeting, all KIRA members were notified via text message about the emergency response meeting, and the scope of the agenda was also communicated. Before the meeting started, attending representatives were informed that the entire meeting would be recorded and that the voting results would be made public."

In particular, the committee refuted claims that the first vote agenda of the emergency response meeting was about whether to 'continue' collective action, as reported by the government or some media outlets. The committee said, "The first vote agenda was to submit the adoption of the agreement and the temporary suspension of collective action to the Special Committee for the Fight Against the Four Major Evils in the Medical Community (Special Committee)," and "the vote resulted in 49 in favor, 48 abstentions, and 96 against." According to KIRA bylaws, the agenda was discarded as it did not receive majority approval.

Furthermore, "The agenda was discarded because neither support nor opposition to suspending collective action exceeded the majority, and the government's claim that the agenda was forcibly put to a re-vote despite failing to reach half approval for continuing the strike is untrue," the committee said, emphasizing, "We strongly reaffirm that there were no procedural issues during the resolution process."

The committee added, "Subsequently, based on the results of the KIRA Emergency Response Committee general meeting, an agenda to adopt the agreement and suspend collective action was submitted," and "the result was 39 in favor, 134 against, and 13 abstentions, with opposition to suspending collective action forming a clear majority, so the agenda was passed."

The committee emphasized, "The residents' goal has been consistent from the beginning to the end," stating, "It is to negotiate with the government for the 'withdrawal' of policies regarding the expansion of medical school quotas, legislation related to regional mandatory service, and the establishment of public medical schools, aiming for a 're-discussion from the starting point'." They continued, "The 16,000 residents earnestly request the government's sincere attitude and dialogue so that residents and medical students can return to hospitals and their mentors as soon as possible," and added, "We also request the cessation of the spread of false information and distorted reporting through the media."

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