Yoon Jae-ok "Cooperation Beyond Parties, Restoration of Politics"... Presides Over First Floor Meeting

Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 11th, "We will restore the fundamental political process of dialogue and negotiation with an attitude of mutual respect and consideration beyond party lines."

At the party floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Yoon said, "We will protect what must be protected and fight when necessary, but we will extend a hand to the opposition first and find ways to minimize struggles and conflicts."

He pointed out, "While we will respond sternly to fake news and malicious political attacks, we will refrain from indiscriminate negativity and political strife to restore trust," adding, "Extreme remarks aimed only at supporters are rampant, causing the public to turn their backs on politics and increasing political distrust."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

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Nevertheless, he said, "Urgent reform bills and livelihood bills are stuck in the National Assembly with no progress, which is frustrating," and added, "We will not do things like solving easy problems first and postponing difficult ones, as if taking a test."

The first test for Floor Leader Yoon is expected to be the handling of the Nursing Act and Medical Service Act, which are sharply contested between the ruling and opposition parties. The Nursing Act bill and the Medical Service Act amendment, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, were directly submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 23rd of last month, with a plenary vote scheduled for the 13th. The People Power Party decided to prepare a mediation plan through a consultative meeting with related organizations such as the Korean Medical Association, Korean Nurses Association, Korean Assistant Nurses Association, and Korean Clinical Pathologists Association on the morning of the same day.

The Nursing Act bill separates nursing-related content from the current Medical Service Act, clarifying the duties of nurses, specialized nurses, and assistant nurses, and mainly includes the state's responsibilities regarding the working environment and treatment improvement for nurses and others. The medical community opposes the bill, arguing that it contains provisions allowing nurses to perform medical acts independently, and the government also opposes the enactment of the bill.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

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The Medical Service Act amendment includes provisions to revoke medical licenses if medical personnel receive imprisonment or higher sentences and strengthens the qualification requirements for medical personnel. It is known that the Korean Medical Association is willing to accept revocation of medical licenses only for sexual crimes and serious crimes, so it is highly likely that the Medical Service Act amendment and the Nursing Act bill will be separated and discussed with the opposition party.

Meanwhile, in his remarks at the meeting that day, Floor Leader Yoon also added that a special committee on labor reform would be formed within the party to focus on labor reform, one of the three reforms of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

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