Medical professionals and parents of patients walk through the hallways of a major hospital in Seoul on Tuesday.
Doctors question the direction of the committee and the qualifications of its chairperson
Written by Jeon Ji-hye
The Presidential Special Committee on Medical Reform, set up by President Yoon Seok-yeol's administration to discuss policy, was officially launched on Thursday after doctors, one of the most important stakeholders, vowed to boycott the committee. I've been in trouble before.
The committee was made up of government officials from six ministries and agencies and 20 private citizens, including 10 recommended by medical organizations, to discuss the contents of the policy package announced by Minister Yoon and the Ministry of Health and Welfare on February 1. was established to discuss improvements. National healthcare system.
Through a committee, the government is searching for a solution to the prolonged strike by more than 90% of the country's 13,000 medical trainees over a plan to increase the number of medical trainees by 2,000 starting next year.
However, the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the country's largest union of doctors, and the Korea Medical Training Association (KIRA), an association of medical interns and interns, have refused to cooperate as the protests continue.
Second Vice-Minister of Health Park Min-soo on Monday once again called on the KMA and young doctors to participate in the committee and express their opinions.
President Park said at the government meeting, “The government expects various representatives to discuss issues related to medical reform in order to reach a reasonable conclusion.''
Despite this, the Korean Medical Association rejected this and remained steadfast in its original position that the government should completely withdraw the plan to increase medical school capacity and go back to the drawing board.
“There is no proper definition of the composition or role of the presidential committee,” the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Emergency Response Committee said in a statement.
Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the Medical Association, questioned the participation of representatives of patient groups and civil society groups in the presidential committee as unrelated to the issue of increasing medical school quotas.
Park Dan, chairman of KIRA's emergency response committee, said that KIRA is preparing to file an administrative lawsuit against the government in response to the return-to-work order imposed due to the trainee doctors' strike. expressed reluctance to participate.
Doctors' organizations are also questioning the qualifications of Noh Young-hun, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, who was nominated to chair the presidential committee.
They call President Roh a pro-government figure, but he has actual experience in the medical field, having once worked at the Ministry of Health and served as Minister of Food and Drug Safety under the previous Lee Myung-bak administration. There isn't.
Kim Sung-geun, a spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association Emergency Committee, said, “The chairman of the presidential committee is neither a medical professor nor an academic, so I have no choice but to question the direction of the presidential committee.''
Jang Sang-yun, presidential secretary for social policy, said this at a press conference Tuesday at the presidential palace in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.United
Chan Sang-yoon, presidential secretary for social policy, expressed regret on Tuesday over the doctors' boycott and called on them to “adopt a positive approach and change their position” before the committee is formed.
Professor Jang said at a press conference, “I would like to reiterate that once doctors come up with a unified measure based on scientific analysis regarding the amount of increase in the number of medical school admissions, they can discuss the issue at any time.''
A presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that even if the boycott by medical groups continues, a committee to discuss urgent issues will be established as scheduled. “We cannot wait forever,'' he said.
When Yun announced a policy package in February, he called for reducing legal problems caused by medical malpractice, establishing a fairer compensation system for doctors' work, and restoring health services to underserved areas. promised.
The announcement came just days before the government announced plans to increase medical school quotas, a move aimed at placating doctors who have long opposed such policies, saying such increases would disrupt medical education and training. It was interpreted as having been given. However, efforts to persuade doctors were unsuccessful, and conflicts in the medical field have continued ever since.
