Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's removal has prompted the Korean Medical Association (KMA) to intensify its struggle to demand a halt to medical policy changes. The KMA is also preparing for a large-scale rally to demand accountability for those responsible for the conflicts in the medical field.
According to the medical community on the 5th, the KMA held an emergency executive board meeting the previous evening to decide on its protest schedule. It plans to hold a national representative meeting of doctors on the 13th and a gathering of physicians nationwide on the 20th.
On the 13th, the KMA will hold a national representative meeting at the KMA building in Yongsan, Seoul, where professors of medicine, hospitalists, private practitioners, and residents will participate to share the current situation and discuss future response strategies.
On the 20th, a national-level rally, characterized as a nationwide doctors' protest, is set to take place in Yeouido or Gwanghwamun, where strong demands will be made for the dissolution of the Medical Reform Special Committee and accountability for those responsible for the conflicts in the medical field.
KMA Spokesperson Kim Seong-keun noted, "We are preparing a rally for doctors nationwide to unite their voices," adding that "it will be a place to call for the normalization of medical policy and the medical environment." Kim also remarked, "Since the president has been removed, isn’t it right to halt and dissolve the Medical Reform Special Committee, which was operated directly under the president?" and stated, "Now we must properly discuss with experts to normalize healthcare."
In a statement issued the day after President Yoon Suk-yeol's removal, the KMA expressed its expectation that, "We hope that the erroneous medical policies being pursued by the Medical Reform Special Committee and others will be halted and that discussions can be reasonably reopened regarding the increase of medical school admissions and essential medical policy packages."