PPP, gov’t likely to finalize decision to ask Yoon to veto nursing act

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the government are expected to finalize a decision Sunday to ask President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto the opposition-led nursing act during this week's Cabinet meeting.

PPP leader Kim Gi-hyeon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo plan to attend the policy meeting that will also be participated in by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong and presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki.

The nursing act is one of the top agenda items for the meeting because Yoon has to either approve or reject the legislation during a Cabinet meeting set for Tuesday. The official deadline for Yoon's decision is Friday.

The act, which passed through the opposition-controlled National Assembly in a vote boycotted by the ruling party last month, is aimed at stipulating the roles and responsibilities of nurses and improving their working conditions.

Doctors and assistant nurses have opposed the bill, arguing that the legislation would cause confusion in the medical sector because it could lead to nurses opening their own clinics without doctors' supervision and that assistant nurses could be discriminated against.

Nurses tout the bill as essential in redefining their role as more independent and professional services amid growing medical needs. They also argue that the act was one of Yoon's campaign promises ahead of last year's presidential election.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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