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Leader of doctors' group questioned again over trainee doctors' walkout

By Yonhap

Published : March 25, 2024 - 11:26

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Joo Soo-ho, the chief spokesperson of the Korean Medical Association, appears for questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap) Joo Soo-ho, the chief spokesperson of the Korean Medical Association, appears for questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

A leader of the Korean Medical Association, the country's biggest doctors' group, appeared before police Monday for another round of questioning over suspicions of instigating a mass walkout by trainee doctors.

Joo Soo-ho, the chief KMA spokesperson, arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul to undergo questioning, his third police questioning connected to the walkout.

He is one of five former and current KMA leaders against whom the government has filed a police complaint, accusing them of instigating the mass walkout by trainee doctors.

The collective action has continued for over a month in protest against the government's expansion of the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 seats starting next year, causing delays and cancellations of surgeries and emergency medical treatment.

Before entering the police office, Joo denounced the government's ongoing moves to facilitate dialogue with the medical industry as "two-faced," saying that any dialogue with the government is "unnecessary."

After President Yoon Suk Yeol called for flexibility in the government's moves to suspend the medical licenses of striking trainee doctors the previous day, the government said it is reaching out to the medical industry to explore the possibility of dialogue.

"On one hand, the government is putting on a show by offering dialogue, but on the other hand, one of the KMA's emergency committee members was questioned again yesterday as a witness," he said.

"There's no need for dialogue with a government that displays such two-faced behavior," he noted.

Joo also accused the government of triggering the walkout and urged a parliamentary investigation to find those responsible.

Meanwhile, police also planned to question the head of the doctors' internet community "medistaff" Monday afternoon over an online post blacklisting trainee doctors not participating in the walkout.

Earlier this month, a post deriding trainee doctors sticking to their hospitals without participating in the walkout as "genuine doctors" and revealing their personal information was uploaded on the web community.

Police launched an investigation into the case following a complaint from a civic group accusing the head of medistaff and the writer of the post of charges including defamation and business obstruction. (Yonhap)