Han Jeong-ae: "Surrendering to the People and Sick Patients, Not the Medical Association"

Some in Political Circles Criticize as 'Surrender,' but "Do Not Agree"

Han Jeong-ae, Chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party (right), and Choi Dae-jip, President of the Korea Medical Association, are seen fist-bumping after signing a policy agreement implementation document on the morning of the 4th at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, which includes reviewing the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Han Jeong-ae, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea who led negotiations with the Korean Medical Association (KMA) regarding government policies such as the establishment of public medical schools and the expansion of medical school quotas, said on the 5th, "I do not agree with the phrase 'white flag surrender.'"

On the same day, Han posted on her Facebook, "However, if it is a white flag surrender to the people and sick patients, then that is correct," she said.

She added, "We have not given up. We will persistently communicate and negotiate while adhering to the principles of resolving regional imbalances in medical services, strengthening essential medical care, and expanding public healthcare."

She continued, "We will also do our best to improve policies and systems to implement the policy agreement with the KMA."

On the previous day (the 4th), after overnight negotiations, KMA President Choi Dae-jip and Chair Han reached a final agreement centered on "reconsidering the expansion of public healthcare policies from the starting point."

The agreement reportedly includes the content that "after the stabilization of the COVID-19 situation, the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools will be reconsidered from the starting point."

In response, voices of criticism arose in the political sphere, accusing the Democratic Party of Korea of stepping back from the policies they were pursuing and "surrendering."

Democratic Party proportional representative lawmaker Lee Su-jin criticized on her Facebook, "When illegal collective actions are taken by holding the irreplaceable lives of the people hostage, what should politics do and where should it stand?"

She added, "This agreement merely exchanged the expansion of medical school quotas, the establishment of public medical schools, and the introduction of a regional doctor system for doctors' return to practice," emphasizing, "We must create measures to strengthen medical publicness for all citizens, not for the interests of a small power group."

Kim Jong-chul, senior spokesperson of the Justice Party, also criticized in a statement the previous day, saying, "When faced with the doctors' selfish collective actions on a crucial national agenda, they backed down. It is very regrettable."

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