Citizen Groups Accuse Uijeonhyeop and Daejeonhyeop... Including Residents from Big 5 Hospitals

Police Chief: "No Government-Level Complaints Yet"

The police have launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a civic group regarding the collective actions of medical residents resigning en masse. However, it is understood that no government-level complaint has been filed yet.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated at a joint briefing with related government departments held at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, at 3 p.m. on the 21st, "A complaint from a civic group has been received against the Medical Graduate School Association (Uijeonhyeop) and the Korean Intern and Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop) emergency executive committee and its chairman, who are leading the collective actions."

The civic group, the Committee for the Protection of the Common People's Livelihood (Seominwi), filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency this morning against Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the Korean Medical Association emergency committee, the executive members, and Park Dan, president of Daejeonhyeop, on eight charges including violation of the Medical Service Act, intimidation, and coercion. Residents from the 'Big 5 hospitals,' including Seoul National University Hospital, who submitted resignation letters and stopped providing medical services, were also included in the complaint.

On the 21st, amid growing concerns over a medical crisis due to the collective departure of residents, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is answering reporters' questions regarding the medical community's collective action at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The joint briefing was attended by Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Park Sung-jae, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Shin Ja-yong, Deputy Prosecutor General. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Seominwi pointed out in the complaint, "The most important duty of the accused is to protect the lives and health of the people," adding, "They abandoned this responsibility and submitted resignation letters and left their workplaces in a struggle under a flimsy pretext, thereby undermining the foundation of the liberal democratic system and the rule of law."

They further stated, "After the first emergency committee meeting on the 17th, the Korean Medical Association emergency committee made an inappropriate statement warning strongly that 'if disadvantages related to medical licenses are imposed, they may resort to actions that are difficult to handle,' thereby intimidating and coercing the residents to go on strike."

However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has not yet filed a complaint against the three residents who violated the order to commence work. Commissioner Yoon explained, "Although no official complaint has been received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, I understand that they plan to file a complaint once the procedures for legal action are sufficiently prepared."

The police take strong measures such as applying for arrest warrants and conducting detention investigations when medical personnel are reported to investigative agencies. In particular, regarding this incident, the principle of detention investigation has been established for the leaders and behind-the-scenes forces of the collective actions.

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