The Medical Association Presidential Transition Committee: "The President-Elect Should Serve as Emergency Committee Chair"

Transition Team "Single Window Needed to Resolve Confusion"
President-Elect "Several Instances Against My Will"

Im Hyun-taek, the president-elect of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), recently criticized opinions within the medical community that contradict his own and is showing signs of taking on the role of chairman of the KMA Emergency Response Committee.

Im Hyun-taek, President-elect of the Korean Medical Association. / Photo by Choi Tae-won peaceful1@

The KMA Presidential Transition Committee sent an official letter on the 8th requesting the KMA Emergency Response Committee and the General Assembly to cooperate in allowing Im to serve as chairman of the Emergency Response Committee.

The KMA switched to an emergency response committee system after the government announced its policy to increase medical school admissions in February. The chairman of the Emergency Response Committee was Kangwon Medical Association President Kim Taek-woo.

Im expressed his intention to jointly serve as co-chairman of the Emergency Response Committee with Chairman Kim shortly after his election last month, but this was not accepted.

In the official letter, the Presidential Transition Committee stated, "Contrary to intentions, several decisions and external statements made during the operation of the Emergency Response Committee conflicted with the president-elect’s views, causing severe internal and external confusion," and argued for the necessity of Im’s role as chairman by saying, "To resolve this confusion, the diversified channels should be unified under the KMA to reorganize the organization."

This is interpreted as criticism of movements within the medical community seeking compromise with the government. In a recent media interview, Im said, "At this critical time, I expected opinions aligned with mine to be expressed, but there have been several instances contrary to my intentions," adding, "It is difficult to list them all, but proposals such as a 'one-year postponement' regarding the increase in medical school admissions by the Emergency Response Committee are absurd."

Earlier, Kim Sung-geun, the KMA Emergency Response Committee’s media and public relations officer, appeared on a radio show and suggested, "Let’s postpone the increase in medical school admissions by one year and form a committee to thoroughly review it, then follow the conclusion reached by that committee."

Im insists that a unified voice is needed in the medical community and that the KMA should take the lead. He said, "I will establish a loyalist system to completely reorganize the Emergency Response Committee and produce a single voice," adding, "There will no longer be any scattered voices."

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