Will the Nursing Act Crisis Realize a 'Medical Disaster'... Healthcare Sector Collective Action Intensifies

The 'general strike' by the health and medical community opposing the enactment of the Nursing Act is becoming a reality. Although the government has made mediation efforts and taken measures to minimize confusion on the ground, there are concerns that it could potentially lead to a medical crisis.

Lee Pil-su, president of the Korean Medical Association, who is on a hunger strike opposing the enactment of the Nursing Act, is seen on the right meeting and talking with Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, who visited the protest site on the 1st.
[Photo by Korean Medical Association]

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According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and medical circles on the 2nd, the 'Health and Welfare Medical Solidarity (Medical Solidarity),' composed of 13 health and medical professional organizations including the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Association of Assistant Nurses, announced a struggle roadmap opposing the enactment of the Nursing Act and is launching full-scale collective action. In addition, the relay one-person protests that have been continuously held in front of the National Assembly will be moved to the Yongsan Presidential Office. The purpose is to urge President Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise his right to request reconsideration (veto) of the Nursing Act.

Before the currently discussed general strike, Medical Solidarity has decided to carry out partial strikes such as simultaneous leave protests nationwide on the 3rd. It is known that about 10,000 members of the Korean Association of Assistant Nurses will participate in the leave protest. The Korean Medical Association is also identifying participants in each region. The leave protest was originally expected on the 4th but was moved up by one day because the 5th is Children's Day, a holiday. If no significant conclusion is reached at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for the 9th, a second leave protest is planned for the 11th. The Korean Dental Association has also decided to strike for one day if there is no progress regarding the Nursing Act.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the competent ministry, is working to manage confusion in the medical field. Minister Cho Kyu-hong visited frontline medical sites such as Severance Hospital Emergency Medical Center on the 28th of last month and Seoul Nursing Home on the 29th to inspect, and on the 30th, he also met with Kwak Ji-yeon, president of the Korean Association of Assistant Nurses, who was on a hunger strike. President Kwak was transported to the hospital at the urging of Minister Cho and doctors present at the site. At an emergency situation inspection meeting, Minister Cho said, "The highest priority value should be the health and safety of the people," and urged, "Please promptly implement preemptive and active measures to prevent any inconvenience to the public, such as disruption of medical services due to gaps in the medical field."

On the other hand, the nursing community, which has achieved its long-cherished goal of the Nursing Act, has not issued any particular stance on the opposition from the health and medical community and is closely watching whether President Yoon will exercise his veto power. The Korean Nurses Association, in a statement released immediately after the Nursing Act was passed by the National Assembly plenary session, said, "We earnestly ask you to examine the facts regarding the claims of some conflicting forces and make a wise judgment," and added, "The Nursing Act, which the president promised through his campaign pledge wiki during his candidacy, will not only realize the universal health rights of the people and the public value of social care but also contribute to maintaining fairness and common sense in the medical community."

Along with this, the Korean Oriental Medicine Association stated that the medical community is being caught in a whirlpool of confrontation and conflict due to the Nursing Act and expressed the position, "We propose and request that you devote yourself more to the original mission of promoting public health and protecting life." The Korean Oriental Medicine Association has maintained a supportive stance on the enactment of the Nursing Act. It said, "If the extreme confrontation of professional self-interest as seen now continues, the necessity and fundamental purpose of the law's enactment will disappear, causing enormous social loss," and added, "Blind criticism and malicious disparagement of the opposing professions must be stopped immediately."

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