"Establishment of Nursing Workforce Support Centers by Metropolitan Cities and Provinces"…Dangjeong's Mediation Proposal for the 'Nurse Treatment Act'

'Medical Issues Meeting Among People, Party, and Government Held on the 11th'
Doctor License Revocation Limited to Sexual Crimes, Violent Crimes, etc.

The People Power Party and the government presented a mediation proposal on the Nursing Act bill and the Medical Service Act amendment on the 11th. With the Democratic Party of Korea announcing plans to forcibly pass the two bills in the National Assembly plenary session on the 13th, they plan to enter negotiations based on the mediation proposal.

Park Dae-chul, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, said in a briefing after the 'Civil-Party-Government Meeting on Medical Issues' held at the National Assembly that day, "Each organization may have different positions on issues with conflicting interests, but if each side insists on their stance, it could lead to a result where no one gains anything," adding, "I requested that each side make concessions to some extent and seek a solution in a desirable direction."

Park Dae-chul, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is giving a greeting at the meeting on medical issues between civilians, the party, and the government held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Attending the meeting were Policy Committee Chair Park, Kang Ki-yoon, the People Power Party secretary of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, Park Min-soo, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, Lee Pil-soo, President of the Korean Medical Association, Kim Young-kyung, President of the Korean Nurses Association, Jang In-ho, President of the Korean Clinical Pathologists Association, and Kwak Ji-yeon, President of the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association.

Regarding the Nursing Act bill, a revised proposal was presented to rename it as the 'Act on the Treatment of Nurses, etc.' Park explained, "We proposed deleting the phrase 'community' from Article 1, the purpose of the existing bill," and "included a provision to change the educational requirement for licensed practical nurses to specialized high school or above."

Park further stated, "Matters related to nurses' duties and licensed practical nurses' duties remain in the existing Medical Service Act, covering nursing judgment and nursing care assistance, public health activities, and licensed practical nurses' duties," adding, "Education-dedicated nurses and integrated caregiving services are to be stipulated under the existing Medical Service Act."

He also proposed establishing a comprehensive nursing plan and creating regulations for the Nursing Policy Deliberation Committee. Park said, "We made it mandatory for the government to establish a systematic and comprehensive plan for nursing support," and "included provisions to allow the Nursing Workforce Support Centers, currently operated as central regional centers, to be established in each metropolitan city and province."

The Nursing Act bill separates nursing-related content from the current Medical Service Act. It precisely specifies the duties of nurses, specialized nurses, and licensed practical nurses, mainly addressing the improvement of working conditions and treatment for nurses and others.

Regarding the Medical Service Act amendment, a proposal was made to change the grounds for revoking a doctor's license from "when sentenced to imprisonment or higher for any crime" to "when sentenced to imprisonment or higher for medical-related crimes, sex crimes, or violent crimes."

Park said, "Article 16-2 of the current Administrative Procedures Act stipulates disqualifications for granting qualifications," and "Clause 3 requires substantial relevance to the qualification, so expanding license revocation to include general criminal records conflicts with this provision."

The mediation proposal also changes the conditions and prohibition period for license reissuance from the existing 10 years to "if a person whose license was revoked due to imprisonment or higher for medical-related crimes, sex crimes, or violent crimes receives reissuance but is again sentenced to imprisonment for the same crime and has their license revoked, reissuance is prohibited for 5 years."

The Medical Association reportedly expressed a stance of "positive consideration," and the Licensed Practical Nurses Association indicated willingness to "accept the mediation proposal."

However, the Nurses Association expressed a "non-acceptance" position and left the meeting midway. Park explained, "We requested the Nurses Association to gather more opinions from their members and clarify their stance," adding, "If there are points to supplement or demands from the Nurses Association, we will coordinate and make improvements through future party-government discussions."

They plan to negotiate with the People Power Party and the Democratic Party based on the mediation proposal prepared that day. Regarding the plenary session vote scheduled for the 13th, Park said, "We will gather opinions based on this content, continue inter-party consultations, and seek a consensus."

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