[Asia Exclusive] "Continuing the Fight for Doctors' Legitimate Rights"

Daegaejip, President of the Korean Medical Association...

Leading Medical Community's Collective Strike
Maintains Hardline Stance in Third Year of Tenure

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] "We will continue to fight to secure the rightful rights and interests of doctors."

Choi Dae-jip, president of the Korean Medical Association, has maintained a hardline stance for two years and seven months since his inauguration, as he stated in his victory speech in May 2018. Fasting, shaving his head, rallies in Gwanghwamun, one-person protests. These are not just keywords for opposition lawmakers. President Choi has imprinted an image of struggle through actions that rival those of seasoned politicians.

Graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine, President Choi worked as an employed doctor and private practitioner. As a general practitioner, he challenged the presidency of the Medical Association, believing that without active struggle, it is difficult to improve the current situation. The election of Choi, once called the "Trump of the medical community," reflected the medical community's sense of crisis. He also held leadership positions in conservative groups opposing the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and filed a representative complaint against Kang Jeong-gu, a former Dongguk University professor who caused controversy with a guestbook message saying "Let us inherit the Mangyongdae spirit and achieve the cause of unification," on charges of violating the National Security Law.

Choi first gained recognition by clashing several times with former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. During the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, he reported Mayor Park to the prosecution for spreading false information after Park disclosed the movements of the 35th patient, a doctor at Samsung Seoul Hospital. He also raised suspicions that Park’s son, Joo-shin, who was granted public service worker status, had falsified medical records submitted to the Military Manpower Administration.

In his third year in office, President Choi led a collective medical strike in August in protest against the government’s healthcare policies, and in September, he succeeded in reaching an agreement to "re-discuss from the beginning" the introduction of public medical schools and the regional doctor system, which had triggered the crisis. Additionally, after the outbreak of COVID-19, he organized an emergency response headquarters within the association and proposed measures to resolve the situation, including demands to raise social distancing levels.

◆ President Choi Dae-jip’s Biography

Born in 1972, Mokpo, Jeollanam-do

Graduated from Mokpo High School in 1991

Graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1999

2009: Director of Organization, National Doctors’ Coalition

2015: Co-representative, Medical Innovation Struggle Committee

2016: Standing Representative, National Doctors’ Coalition

2017: Vice Chairman and Struggle Committee Chairman, Korean Medical Association National Health Protection Emergency Committee

May 2018 ~ Present: 40th President of the Korean Medical Association

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