"Unable to Understand," "No Future"... Doctors' Harsh Criticism of 'Dialogue with the President'

President Yoon Holds 140-Minute Private Meeting with Daejeon Association
"No Matter How Much We Teach, They Don't Understand" Medical Association's Complaints
Chairman Park Dan Also Says "There Is No Future for Healthcare"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Park Dan, chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), held a private meeting on the 4th, amid which the Korean Medical Association (KMA) expressed displeasure.

President Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and Park Dan, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Association of Resident Doctors [Image source=Yonhap News]

Lim Hyun-taek, the president-elect of the KMA, posted on his social media at around 8:47 p.m. on the 4th, saying, "What should we do if no matter how much we teach, they do not understand?" This post was made after the meeting between President Yoon and Chairman Park ended. Comments on the post speculated that Lim was criticizing President Yoon's attitude.

The meeting reportedly lasted about 140 minutes starting from 2 p.m. that day. Chairman Park met with President Yoon alone, and Lim and other KMA members were not present. Since it was a private meeting, the specific details of the conversation were not disclosed.

After the meeting, Im Hyun-taek, the president-elect of the Korean Medical Association, and Park Dan, the committee chair, each gave a brief one-line comment. [Image source=Facebook]

Immediately after the meeting, the presidential office released a brief statement saying, "Chairman Park explained in detail the poor treatment and working conditions of interns and residents, and the president listened attentively." On the other hand, Chairman Park gave a brief one-line comment, "There is no future for Korean healthcare." Although no detailed remarks were made, it is interpreted as expressing disappointment with the meeting process.

Some in the medical community also voiced dissatisfaction with the meeting itself. Ryu Ok-ha-da, an intern who resigned from Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital in protest against the government's policy to increase medical school quotas, commented on her Facebook, "I regret that it seems to have given justification to the president and the ruling party ahead of the general election." She had previously criticized the meeting between President Yoon and Chairman Park as "an autocratic, closed-door decision by the Emergency Response Committee and 11 members without gathering young doctors' opinions."

However, the Emergency Response Committee emphasized in materials sent to members before the meeting that "we decided to reiterate the statement draft prepared on February 20," and stressed, "Any negotiation deviating from this draft does not reflect the opinions of interns and residents, which is the committee's position."

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