People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung announced a joint statement at their first official meeting on the 1st regarding the recent medical vacuum situation, saying, “We have decided to urge the government to make every effort to establish an emergency medical system for the Chuseok holiday and to discuss countermeasures at the National Assembly level.” The issue of the medical vacuum was not an official agenda item for this meeting, but they have come up with a joint position considering the severity of the emergency room crisis ahead of the Chuseok holiday. This comes three days after President Yoon Seok-yeol stated at a press conference on the 29th of last month that “the emergency medical system is still operating smoothly,” and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties have ordered the government to come up with measures for the Chuseok emergency room crisis. It has been 11 years since the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties met to set an official agenda.
Representative Han said in his opening remarks at the meeting, “Relieving the public’s anxiety about the medical vacuum is also an important task of our politics,” and “As the party leader, I will work harder to immediately relieve the public’s concerns and anxiety while maintaining the essence and driving force of medical reform.” Representative Lee criticized the government, saying, “If we unilaterally push through (the issue of increasing medical school enrollment) by force and force the other party to submit, even if we succeed, the aftereffects will be great and the social cost will be too high,” and “If the policy is as rough, hasty, and excessive as it is now, the expected side effects will inevitably appear.”
The Office of the President stated its basic position regarding the inclusion of the Chuseok emergency medical system issue in the joint statement by the ruling and opposition party leaders, stating, “The government is preparing thorough countermeasures.”
The ruling and opposition party leaders are at odds over controversial issues such as the special prosecutor’s law for third-party recommendations for Private First Class Chae and the 250,000 won livelihood recovery fund for all citizens, and have failed to find common ground on the deferral of financial investment income tax. They included eight issues in their joint statement, including the ruling and opposition party’s common livelihood pledge promotion consultative body, response to ‘deepfake’ sex crimes, and consultation on the reintroduction of the district party system. Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science at Deoksung Women’s University, said, “The Blue House should show respect for issues that the ruling and opposition party leaders share.”
The two representatives held a closed-door meeting for about 95 minutes in a ‘3+3’ format with the policy chairmen and chief spokespersons of both parties in attendance. Representatives Han and Lee held a closed-door meeting for an additional 45 minutes while the ruling and opposition parties coordinated their statements, for a total of 140 minutes.
President Yoon decided not to attend the opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. This is the first time since the 1987 constitutional amendment. The presidential office said, “The normalization of the National Assembly, which abuses special prosecution and impeachment, must come first.”
Although it wasn’t an official agenda… Han-Lee, sympathize with ‘Chuseok emergency room crisis’
In the meeting between People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on the 1st, the issue of the medical vacuum, which President Yoon Seok-yeol and leader Han had different perceptions of, was brought up as a key issue. It was not initially included in the official agenda at the request of the ruling party, and leader Lee said in his opening remarks, “It is regrettable that it was left out of the official agenda.” However, regardless, both leaders Han and Lee expressed their thoughts on the medical vacuum in their opening remarks and continued the discussion in their closed-door meeting, and as a result of this, the joint statement included the following agreement: “We will ask the government to make every effort to establish an emergency medical system for the Chuseok holidays in relation to the current medical situation and will discuss measures at the National Assembly level.” Regarding concerns about the medical vacuum, the Office of the President has stated its position that “There will be no Chuseok emergency crisis. It is at a manageable level.” At a press conference on the 29th of last month, President Yoon said about the Chuseok emergency medical gap crisis, “I think it would be good to visit a medical site once,” and “There are many problems, but the emergency medical system is still operating smoothly.”
● Han-Lee “National Assembly-level consultation on medical situation measures”
The two leaders emphasized the need to resolve the medical gap issue in their opening remarks before the closed-door meeting. Representative Han, who spoke first, said, “As the party leader, I promise to work harder to resolve the people’s immediate concerns and anxiety about the medical gap while maintaining the essence and momentum of the medical reform.”
The representative said, “Just as Representative Han also risked conflict with the government to come up with an alternative, this is not something that will go away just by covering it up and trying not to see it.” He then said, “(The issue of the medical vacuum) is a case that seriously threatens the lives of the people,” and strongly criticized the government, saying, “I agree with the basic direction of the medical reform, which is to increase the number of doctors and strengthen essential, public, and regional medical services, but if you force it unilaterally and force the other party to submit, even if it succeeds, the aftereffects and damage will be great.” He also said, “When I or my family suddenly get sick at night, I think, ‘Where should we go?’ The people are jokingly saying things like, ‘Let’s not get hurt, let’s not get sick, let’s survive.’ We must accurately understand the reality and prepare effective alternatives.”
In a closed-door meeting, the Democratic Party demanded an apology from President Yoon regarding the medical vacuum situation, accountability for those responsible, and the formation of a countermeasure organization, according to Cho Seung-rae, the Democratic Party’s chief spokesperson. On the other hand, Kwak Gyu-taek, the People Power Party’s chief spokesperson, said, “Representative Han asked Representative Lee to reveal any alternatives other than his mediation proposal, the ‘2026 Medical School Enrollment Delay Plan,’ and Representative Lee responded on the premise that he had no alternatives or authority.”
Senior Spokesperson Kwak explained, “Representative Han and Representative Lee agreed that the increase in the number of doctors in the 2025 school year is an irreversible matter,” and “They said that efforts should be made to check (the emergency room issue) at the National Assembly level.” Senior Spokesperson Cho also said, “It seems necessary to focus on the (increase) in the 2026 school year and discuss it first.”
● Office of the President: “Government is fully prepared”
Some in the ruling party have noted that, contrary to the Blue House’s position that “we do not anticipate a Chuseok emergency disaster,” Representative Han and Representative Lee ordered the government to “make every effort to establish an emergency medical system for the Chuseok holiday.” On that day, an official from the Blue House said regarding concerns about a Chuseok emergency room disaster, “The government is fully prepared,” and “(the results of the meeting) will not differ significantly from the Blue House’s position.” However, some are speculating that tensions between President Yoon and Representative Han could continue.
A lawmaker from the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling and opposition party agreement, saying, “Isn’t this an issue that the government said was not a problem?” In response, a key lawmaker from the pro-Yoon (pro-Han Dong-hoon) faction countered, “Rather, it was Representative Lee’s strong remarks that were softened by Representative Han.”
Reporter Kim Jun-il [email protected]
Reporter Hwang Hyeong-jun [email protected]
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2024-09-01 13:46:23