Seoul, South Korea - Leaders of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the nation's largest doctors' group, were summoned for another round of questioning by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday. This follows allegations that they played a significant role in orchestrating a widespread walkout by trainee doctors.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Taek-woo, emergency committee chief of the KMA, urged the government to adopt a more flexible and forward-looking approach to resolve the ongoing dispute. He emphasized the dual responsibility of the medical community to stand by patients and of the government to ensure public health. Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Pediatric Association and a candidate for the next KMA president, denied any involvement in the mass resignations of trainee doctors. However, Lim declared his intention to lead a nationwide doctors' strike if elected, criticizing the government's handling of the situation and likening it to treating medical professionals as criminals.
The police investigation was initiated after the health ministry filed a complaint last month against five current and former KMA leaders, accusing them of inciting the mass walkout that has seen thousands of trainee doctors abandon their posts.