Ruling Party: "Hard to Rescue Medical Students"... Korean Medical Association Warns "Will Withdraw Agreement if Backstabbed Again"

On the 8th, medical staff were seen moving at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as residents who had been on an indefinite collective strike began returning to work. The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) announced that, following an online meeting held on the 7th with all residents, they decided to end the strike and return to the hospital. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Korean Medical Association (KMA) criticized on the 8th the remarks made by Kim Seong-ju, the ruling party whip of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said it would be difficult to come up with relief measures for medical students, calling it "an incomprehensible and shocking statement." The KMA warned that if the government and ruling party continue to deny the agreement with the medical community, they will withdraw from the agreement and resume their struggle.

On the same day, the KMA issued a statement titled "Does the government and ruling party really have the will to implement the agreement?" saying, "Kim's remarks deny the agreement between the government, ruling party, and the medical community."

Earlier, Kim stated on CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ in the morning, "Medical students are now adults and must take responsibility for their actions," effectively saying it is difficult to provide relief measures for medical students who have refused to take the national medical licensing exam.

Regarding the medical community’s view that "reconsidering from scratch" is equivalent to withdrawal, Kim said, "That is the claim of the KMA president," and clarified, "If a policy has been announced and submitted through legislation, then reconsidering from scratch means discussing it again based on the bill. If there are issues with the bill, revised opinions should be submitted focusing on the bill’s content, and if both sides agree, it will be passed."

The KMA responded by calling this "an answer that seems to completely forget the agreement with the medical community." They emphasized, "If the government and ruling party continue to make statements or take actions that deny the agreement, we will have no choice but to reconsider or withdraw the agreement reached on the 4th and consider resuming the struggle."

The medical community urged the government and ruling party to apologize and approach consultations with a sincere attitude. The KMA stated, "If the repeated acts of bad faith and betrayal continue, it will ignite an uncontrollable greater fire in the hearts of doctors," and "We sternly demand that inappropriate remarks and actions that undermine trust cease immediately and that the agreement be faithfully implemented."

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