No time for a war of nerves between leaders

We look forward to seeing our political leaders have a close consultation to find an effective way out before it’s too late.

The meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and leaders of the governing People Power Party (PPP), slated for Thursday, was suddenly postponed until after the Chuseok holidays in September. The delay came after President Yoon changed his mind. The presidential office underscored the need for the government to find ways to improve people’s livelihoods rather than having dinner with members of the PPP. But the postponement of the meeting apparently resulted from the conflict between the president and PPP leader Han Dong-hoon over the increased medical school admissions quota over the next five years.

Han supports the government’s proposal to raise next year’s quota by 1,509 but wants to suspend the increase for one year, citing the excessive burden for medical schools to educate the newly added 4,500 students on top of the existing 3,000 students in 2026. But the presidential office didn’t take a step back. A presidential aide criticized Han for “not raising the same voice on the urgent issue.” We are dumbfounded at a pitiful lack of consensus between the president and the governing party.

After more than six months have passed since the collective walkout by trainee doctors in protest of the quota hike, our medical vacuum is getting worse than ever. At the emergency room of the Ajou University Hospital, a key medical center in Gyeonggi, 21 doctors were nearly cut in half while seven doctors specializing in emergency treatment tendered their resignations at the Konkuk University Chungju Hospital. Another university hospital in the same province had to suspend the operation of its emergency room after two specialty doctors took sick leave. In the meantime, a patient suffering from cerebral infarction and a construction worker died last month. Up to 50 percent of all surgery rooms at large hospitals shut down.

Han cannot be free from criticism for his unrefined ways. After his proposal to postpone the quota hike by a year was rejected by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo last week, Han wrote on Facebook, “Why don’t you present a better idea than mine?” after explaining his discussion with the prime minister. That suggests Han’s uneasy relations with the president. The presidential office retorted, “If so, close dialogue is difficult.” PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho said there was no discussion with Han over the issue. If Choo’s words are true, Han should be held accountable for a dearth of internal discussions in the PPP.

Before blaming one another over the issue, both sides must meet first to discuss the feasibility of Han’s proposal. The presidential office must devise substantial ways to resolve the unprecedented — and protracted — medical crisis. Emergency patients cannot waste time trying to find the doctors they badly need. We look forward to seeing our political leaders have a close consultation to find an effective way out before it’s too late.