Park Dan, Head of the Resident Doctors' Association, "No Agreement Reached for Joint Press Conference with the Korean Medical Association"

Park Dan, chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), drew a line regarding the joint press conference with the Korean Medical Association (KMA) scheduled shortly after the general election, stating, "There has been no agreement."

On the 8th, Chairman Park stated through social media (SNS), "I have been continuously communicating with Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the KMA Emergency Committee, and Kim Chang-soo, president of the National Council of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop), but there has been no agreement to hold a joint briefing."

This is a completely different stance from the previous day when the KMA announced plans to unify communication channels with the government by gathering various medical organizations.

The KMA stated, "Until now, the medical community has expressed various voices, but now we intend to gather around the KMA Emergency Committee to speak with one voice."

They also announced that Daejeonhyeop, KMA, Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop, the National Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi), and the Korean Medical School and Graduate School of Medicine Student Association (Uidae-hyeop) will hold a joint press conference on the 12th, shortly after the general election, to present a unified voice.

However, with Chairman Park expressing this position, it seems there will be setbacks in forming a "unified front" within the medical community.

Additionally, the KMA Emergency Committee is experiencing internal conflicts not only with Chairman Park but also due to differences with Lim Hyun-taek, the next KMA president-elect, who is considered a "hardliner" toward the government.

The KMA presidential transition committee sent an official letter to the Emergency Committee on the same day, stating, "There have been several decisions and external statements during the operation of the Emergency Committee that contradict the intentions of the president-elect," and "The president-elect will directly take charge of the KMA Emergency Committee chairman position."

President-elect Lim had also expressed dissatisfaction with the meeting between President Yoon Seok-youl and Chairman Park on the 4th.

Unlike the KMA Emergency Committee, which viewed the meeting between President Yoon and Chairman Park as "meaningful," President-elect Lim posted a strongly critical message on SNS, referring to Chairman Park as an "internal enemy."

Chairman Park shared these reports in a post, expressing "regret" and adding, "I welcome dialogue anytime. Let's have some samgyeopsal and soju. I'll treat you."

On the same day, Chairman Park also refuted critical public opinion and rumors circulating in doctor communities and intern resident group chat rooms related to him.

Regarding the rumor in the doctor community about a "meeting with the president on the 9th," he flatly denied it, saying, "I will not meet the president tomorrow."

He also denied rumors that he joined the Doctors for Human Rights, a medical organization supporting the increase in medical school admissions, stating, "I have never joined or been active in that organization."

Chairman Park refuted claims of "autocratic decision-making" raised within the intern resident community, saying, "I drafted all seven demands and the statement draft of the Korean Intern Resident Association on February 20, 2024, and completed them after discussions with representatives of intern residents from training hospitals nationwide."

On February 20, Daejeonhyeop issued a statement titled "The government should withdraw wrong policies and stop undemocratic repression," presenting seven demands.

The demands include △ complete cancellation of the medical school admission increase plan and essential medical policy package △ establishment of a scientific physician supply and demand estimation body △ expansion of specialist recruitment in training hospitals △ legal burden relief for unavoidable medical accidents △ improvement of intern resident training environments △ complete withdrawal of unfair orders to intern residents △ complete abolition of work commencement orders.

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