"Medical Evil Law That Created Monster Doctor Group, Revision Urged" Blue House Petition Surpasses 250,000

85% Resident Doctor Absence Rate as of the 2nd

A petition titled "Request to Amend the 2000 Medical Malpractice Law That Created a Monster Out of the Medical Community" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 31st of last month. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Amid ongoing opposition from the medical community regarding government policies such as the establishment of public medical schools, a petition calling for the re-amendment of the Medical Service Act revised in 2000 has garnered the support of over 250,000 people.

On the 31st of last month, a petition titled "We petition to amend the 2000 Medical Evil Law that turned the medical community into monsters" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. As of 3 PM on the 3rd, the petition had surpassed 254,313 participants.

The petitioner stated, "Even during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis when citizens were dying, doctors could refuse treatment because of the Medical Evil Law revised in 2000," and raised their voice by saying, "Under the Medical Evil Law revised at that time, medical professionals retain their licenses even if they commit murder, robbery, or sexual assault."

He added, "The current medical community can maintain their licenses even if they commit crimes outside the Medical Service Act, so a public authority penalty of about three years imprisonment or a 30 million won fine is nothing to fear, making them an omnipotent monster," and claimed, "Since then, a total of 19 bills were proposed to amend this evil law until November 2018, but none passed due to doctors' opposition."

He urged, "Please amend this Medical Evil Law to the level of advanced countries to strengthen citizens' safety and national order."

The "Medical Evil Law" mentioned by the petitioner refers to the amendment of the Medical Service Act, which stipulates that license revocation is only possible if medical professionals violate laws related to medical service or health care. This amendment was primarily proposed by Kim Chan-woo, a doctor and then-chairman of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee from the Grand National Party (currently the People Power Party) in 2000.

Meanwhile, residents and fellows have been continuing a collective strike for 14 days since the 21st of last month, demanding the withdrawal of four major medical policies: expansion of medical school quotas, establishment of public medical schools, pilot project for insurance coverage of Korean herbal medicine prescriptions, and promotion of non-face-to-face medical treatment.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 2nd, among 200 training hospitals nationwide, work status was confirmed at 152 hospitals, revealing that out of 8,700 residents, 7,431 (85.4%) were on strike.

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