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Gov't calls for 'candid dialogue' with doctors after KMA elects new hardline president

Published: 09 Jan. 2025, 14:13

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Kim Taek-woo, newly elected president of the Korean Medical Association, speaks after his victory in the election in central Seoul on Jan. 8. [NEWS1]

The government on Thursday said it hopes to have a “candid dialogue” with the medical community as early as possible a day after the nation’s largest doctors’ group elected its new president, Kim Taek-woo, a hard-liner opposed to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's medical reforms.

During a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said Koreans want to see the medical system quickly normalized. He said the medical community and the government share the same hopes as the public.

Kim’s inauguration came two months after the Korean Medical Association (KMA) impeached its former chief, Lim Hyun-taek, in November for his unilateral behavior and lack of communication with its members.

During his post-election speech on Wednesday evening, Kim said now was the time "to gather wisdom to put the brakes on a recklessly moving train without a driver.”

Kim has long argued that the government should stop its medical reforms and end increases in medical school admission quotas.

Kim told reporters that the government must adopt a progressive attitude to resolve the 11-month impasse between doctors and the government.

Kim also argued that the government should stop developing and instituting medical reform policies when the president's seat is vacant.

Office of the Korean Medical Association in central Seoul on Jan. 2 [YONHAP]

“Everything is abnormal now, and I believe that everyone should put effort into normalizing the medical system,” Kim said during the public speech. His remarks seemingly left open the possibility of dialogue with the government.

In a phone call with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, Kim said he has a "willingness to solve the current standoff reasonably as negotiation and resistance coexist."

While confessing that “resistance does not solve everything,” he maintained that such action could still be used as a “last resort.” He asked the government to join hands with doctors to resolve the current crisis.

Yet, he said that the KMA will continue its disobedience toward the government if it continues to intimidate doctors.

Regarding the medical recruitment quota hike, he demanded the government prepare a “master plan” for educating medical students this year, as medical schools should simultaneously teach newly admitted students and those returning from their boycott.

Kim noted that the master plan would be key in deciding the number of admission seats in medical schools for the 2026 academic year.

Kim earned 17,007 votes out of 28,167 valid ballots in the by-election, defeating his rival, Joo Soo-ho, who obtained 11,160 votes. Kim's term began on Wednesday and will expire on April 30 of 2027.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]