National Assembly Discusses War Prisoner Issue

The National Assembly held a meeting for the 11 standing committees, including the Health and Welfare Committee, on June 20. A group of secretaries were elected from the ruling and opposition parties. The National Assembly also discussed policies related to the South-North summit and the medical crisis.

Unification Minister Park Jae-kyu announced at the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee that "war prisoners and kidnapped South Koreans should be classified as dispersed family members. The government plans to include them in the second group to meet their separated families, directly after the first reunion of the dispersed families around August 15."

Minister Park said, "war prisoner exchange issues were resolved immediately after the Korean War. Therefore, there are no war prisoners as recognized by international laws." He explained that "during the Korean War, about 45,000 South Korean soldiers were captured. Since they were mostly unmarried, they must be considered as dispersed family members."

Park said, "the National Defense Minister confirmed the fact that the National Security Committee (NSC) explained in February that 'there are no more war prisoners.'" Park also added, "according to escaped war prisoners from North Korea, about 268 war prisoners have been identified."

Health and Welfare Minister Cha Heung-bong announced at the Standing Health and Welfare Committee that "there are clear conflicts of interest between doctors and pharmacists. Therefore, the government is not currently considering the 'six month trial operation of the separated medical and pharmaceutical practices,' which the opposition party has insisted upon."

Millennium Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Myong-sub and other MDP members said "the doctors held the strike to gain the benefits and advantageous of operating as a group." The Grand National Party lawmakers have strongly requested that Minister Chan be held responsible for the current medical crisis caused by the doctors' strike,

by Lee Sang-il