KMA Emergency Committee: "Nationwide Medical Community Rally as Early as Next Month 10" (Comprehensive)

The Korean Medical Association Emergency Response Committee announced on the 17th that it will launch a struggle to prevent the expansion of medical schools. The association plans to hold a nationwide rally as early as the 10th of next month.

Kim Taek-woo, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Medical Association, is announcing the results of the first Emergency Response Committee meeting around 8 p.m. on the 17th.
Photo by Choi Tae-won peaceful1@

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The Emergency Response Committee of the association announced the results of the first emergency committee meeting held from 4 p.m. at the Korean Medical Association Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the emergency committee, stated, "The start and end of collective action (general strike) by the medical community will be decided by a vote of all members," adding, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare is responsible for the upcoming chaos in medical sites." He continued, "We respect and support the voluntary actions of residents and medical students," emphasizing, "The emergency committee will handle their legal issues."

Joo Soo-ho, the emergency committee's media and public relations officer, said, "The decision-making authority for relatively small-scale collective actions such as one-day strikes has been delegated to the standing committee," adding, "We plan to hold a nationwide rally where doctors from across the country gather in one place around March 10 at the earliest." He also added, "We are reviewing whether the government's recent statements contain any illegality."

When asked by reporters whether there are plans to engage in dialogue with the government, Chairman Joo responded, "First, the government must stop lying and retreat from its position on the expansion of medical schools by 2,000 before dialogue can be possible."

However, Chairman Joo stated that a general strike on the scale of the 2000 separation of drug prescribing and dispensing will be decided by a vote of all members. He said, "During the 2000 separation of drug prescribing and dispensing, residents took to the streets in summer and returned to hospitals in winter," adding, "The timing and method of the final general strike will be decided through members' votes." He further noted, "Since a consent procedure for the disclosure of members' information is required to conduct electronic voting, a decision cannot be made soon."

The emergency committee plans to contact large law firms in the future to provide legal support for doctor members. It also announced that it will hold an emergency meeting and rally of nationwide doctor representatives protesting the government's medical school expansion on the 25th. The committee plans to request attendance from 500 to 600 people, including representatives from city, county, and district medical associations and single hospital representatives.

However, the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeon Association) did not attend the meeting that day. Chairman Joo explained, "The entire executive board of the Korean Intern Resident Association has resigned, so conditions for participation in the emergency committee have not been established."

Meanwhile, after concluding the meeting, the Korean Medical Association Emergency Response Committee entered a joint meeting with 16 city and provincial medical associations and the delegate council's operating committee. Earlier, on the 7th, the delegate council's operating committee held an extraordinary delegate general meeting and resolved to establish the 'Emergency Response Committee to Prevent Medical School Expansion.' On the 9th, Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the Gangwon Medical Association, was elected as the chairman of the emergency committee.

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