Hong Jun-pyo "Doctors Switching to Welders, Does That Make Sense?"... Targeting the Korean Medical Association

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo targeted Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Medical Association, on the 6th, saying, "As the world becomes chaotic, all kinds of nonsense come out and cause trouble."

On that day, he wrote on his Facebook, "Is it even reasonable to say that some doctors are so struggling that they switch careers to become welders?"

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. [Photo by Yonhap News]

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He also said, "Can someone with the intelligence to lead a group of intellectuals like doctors accuse others of being accomplices and slander them as shameless criminals, just because they regret not stopping what a boarding house roommate did over 50 years ago?"

These remarks by Mayor Hong were analyzed as targeting Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Medical Association, who recently exchanged disputes over increasing medical school quotas.

He wrote, "Lee Jae-myung, who supports increasing the number of doctors, is too scared to make personal attacks. Am I really that easy?" and added, "He is under investigation for being accused of being a strike teacher, but if he were just thrown in jail, the world would be quiet."

Mayor Hong also posted the day before, "When logic fails, resorting to slander and personal attacks is something only people with low character do," and added, "For someone like a doctor to do such things raises doubts about their level; they are no different from common thugs."

Earlier, on the 3rd, Mayor Hong stated on Facebook, "80% of the public supports increasing medical school quotas," and said, "Going on strike at the expense of the people's lives is an excessive measure."

The next day, Lim responded on Facebook, "It is outrageous that someone involved in sexual crimes with pig estrus drugs runs as a presidential candidate and serves as a mayor, yet doctors who do not get a single tax cut are called public officials and talk about the Hippocratic Oath," countering Hong's remarks.

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