The KMA’s belligerency doesn’t help at all

After the Korean Medical Association (KMA) forewarned the government about a “big fight,” the conflict between the two is deepening. In a candlelight vigil last Thursday, Lim Hyun-taek, president of the KMA, threatened to launch “a full-fledged battle against the government” from June. The doctors’ lobby group didn’t present a detailed action plan, but it will likely include a collective shutdown by clinics in neighborhoods. The KMA discussed its future action plans in Sunday’s meeting with heads of its city and provincial associations.

When the government in February announced a plan to increase medical school admissions quota by 2,000 annually for the next five years, many citizens welcomed it. But others thought the government’s decision was excessive. Many sympathized with the plan to increase medical doctors to resuscitate our essential medicine and regional medical system, but they couldn’t comprehend why the government adhered to the number 2,000. After the governing party’s crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections, the government took a step back from its insistence on the increase to talk with the medical community. But doctors keep insisting on a colossal review from scratch without presenting any alternatives.

If the KMA compels neighborhood clinics to launch a collective shutdown, it will only backfire. Though it declared a similar strike four years ago, less than 10 percent of clinics joined it. The action only fueled public distrust in the medical community with little effect of pressuring the government.

We hope the KMA president restrains himself from making radical remarks. He must distinguish between what he can say and what he must not. In the candlelight vigil, he even said that the government talked with the Justice Ministry to find prison space for doctors. That’s a totally groundless accusation.

After the negotiation with the government to raise the insurance overage rate for medical treatment failed, Lim posted on Facebook a derogatory comment about the government, saying “1.6 percent and 1.9 percent are what President Yoon Suk Yeol deems appropriate for the price of human life.” The two rate increases are actually what the National Health Insurance Service proposed to the Korean Hospital Association and the KMA, respectively. If Lim wants to lift the coverage rate, he should have presented grounds for further hikes. Instead, he resorted to inflammatory rhetoric.

If doctors are really concerned about the health of our medical system, they must first return to their hospitals and the negotiating table. If the KMA keeps repeating extreme words, it will only victimize patients and break our medical system. We urge it to reflect on what it has done so far.