Ruling and Opposition Parties Seek Solutions to Medical Crisis... Will It Expand to Agenda of Talks Between Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jae-myung?

Following the residents, nurses and other healthcare workers are also trying to leave medical sites, prompting both ruling and opposition parties to come up with measures to address the medical crisis. Amid disagreements between the government and the ruling party over solutions to the medical crisis, attention is focused on whether the medical crisis will be a central agenda item at the meeting between Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

On the morning of the 19th, as most of the resigned residents did not return and the medical gap continued, medical staff at a large hospital in downtown Seoul are looking at the hospital lobby.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

On the 27th, Democratic Party lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee held an urgent meeting on healthcare issues with representatives from the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. The meeting was arranged to hear the voices of nurses and other healthcare workers ahead of the KHMU's general strike scheduled for the 29th. Park Ju-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the Health and Welfare Committee, said, "Since the policies unilaterally decided by the government are not working at all, medical professionals are leaving the field, and healthcare workers are tirelessly filling the gaps day and night," adding, "We will work together to solve the problem by amending related laws such as the Nursing Act."

The Democratic Party is seeking solutions to the medical crisis, including the shortage of residents. The party established a special committee on medical crisis measures the day before and appointed Park as its chair. Before forming the special committee, Lee, who was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, instructed from his hospital bed to devise measures to address the medical crisis. Cho Seung-rae, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, told reporters the day before, "While hospitalized, Lee communicated with party officials and exchanged opinions on forming a task force," adding, "It is understood that he took action because it is a serious issue where public inconvenience and anxiety are bound to increase exponentially."

The People Power Party has also recently proposed, through various channels, to suspend the increase in medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year to resolve the medical crisis next year, but the Presidential Office has shown reluctance, resulting in a mismatch. Although Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and other party leaders did not directly mention it during the high-level party-government meeting on the 25th, there is a consensus within the ruling party that it is necessary to suspend the plan to increase medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year to negotiate with the medical community. In response, Han took the initiative to act as a bridge by secretly meeting with Park Dan, emergency committee chair of the Korean Intern Resident Association, on the 20th.

However, the Presidential Office maintains the position that the increase in medical school quotas should proceed as planned. They argue that the issue of medical personnel supply is legally the government's responsibility and that the decision was made based on data and future projections, so it cannot be postponed. A senior official from the Presidential Office dismissed the matter the day before, saying, "This is not something to be decided through negotiations without any basis, nor is it a matter for the medical community to decide." Additional discussions are also expected to be difficult at the dinner scheduled for the 30th between President Yoon Suk-yeol and ruling party leaders.

There is also a possibility that the medical crisis will be discussed as an agenda item at the meeting between the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties. This is interpreted as the National Assembly seeking to find an escape route from the medical crisis through a top-down approach, as neither the government, ruling party, nor opposition party has reached an agreement on a proper solution. Yoon Sang-hyun, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on his social media the day before, "The medical crisis must be addressed as the top priority for people’s livelihood at the meeting between the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties," adding, "I hope the two leaders will show statesmanlike cooperation politics by putting their heads together to come up with realistic and reasonable alternatives to the medical crisis."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.