[Reporter’s Notebook] The Ministry of Health and Welfare Stands By Amid Nursing Law Conflict

‘6 minutes 12 seconds’.

Regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's exercise of the nursing law reconsideration request (veto), a briefing was held at 2:30 p.m. on the 16th at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Minister Cho Kyu-hong, who was explaining the future direction of health and medical policy for about 4 minutes, left the venue about 6 minutes after the start, after answering two pre-submitted questions. The briefing was then conducted by Im In-taek, the head of the Health and Medical Policy Office, who is responsible for practical matters. Since the entire briefing lasted about 28 minutes, the proportion of time Minister Cho attended in person was only about 20%.

At 4 p.m. that day, Minister Cho met with PA (Physician Assistant) nurses at Korea University Anam Hospital to listen to their difficulties. It is understandable that he hurried due to the nursing law-related activities. However, it makes a significant difference in weight when the minister in charge directly explains and answers important issues. As the government and ruling party have consistently emphasized, the nursing law has caused intense conflicts among health and medical professions. President Yoon's exercise of the veto attracted national attention. Therefore, this briefing should have been an opportunity to present messages and specific response directions to heal the divided health and medical community.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong is briefing on the results of the Cabinet meeting resolution regarding the Nursing Act at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In explaining the policy direction, Minister Cho prioritized the establishment of a new medical, nursing, and care system and strengthening essential medical services first. The improvement of nurses' treatment, which the state pledged to take responsibility for, was mentioned third. The minister leaving early and placing nurses' treatment improvement third even after the veto exercise clearly reveals the Ministry of Health and Welfare's perspective on the nursing community. Considering that the nursing law proceeded as the opposition party's ‘legislative dominance’ and that the nursing community refused mediation by the ruling party and government, the ministry in charge should have continued dialogue and persuasion efforts with nurses as policy partners.

The ‘Comprehensive Support Measures for Nursing Workforce’ prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been criticized for lacking substance. The core of treatment improvement lies in reducing the number of patients per nurse. This requires hospitals to hire more nurses accordingly, but specific plans or financial support measures were omitted. There are also criticisms that if this is the case, it should have been named a ‘declaration’ or ‘plan’ rather than a comprehensive measure. Minister Cho's remarks, "We will faithfully implement the measures" and "Nurses who have stood by patients for 100 years will continue to do so," are why the nursing community feels disheartened. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has been criticized for failing to show mediation ability during the nursing law crisis and contributing to the expansion of professional conflicts. Can the Ministry of Health and Welfare truly heal the divided health and medical community? At present, skepticism arises first.

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