Doctors group to vote for impeachment of embattled chief

Korean Medical Association headquarter in Yongsan, central Seoul (Yonhap)

South Korea's largest doctors' association is set to hold a vote of confidence against its controversy-ridden president, who has been at the center of controversy for his comments and actions, as well as bribery allegations.

The operating committee of the Korean Medical Association held an emergency meeting Tuesday evening and decided on an assembly of representatives on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m., with a motion of no confidence in KMA chief Lim Hyun-taek included in the agenda. They will also vote on forming an emergency committee in relation to the ongoing standoff between doctors and the government over medical reform plans.

A total of 103 out of 246 delegates of the group signed the motion supporting Lim's impeachment, citing his "irreversible" failure in the handling of current issues. Busan delegate Cho Hyun-keun, who proposed the motion, said Lim's controversial comments had defamed the doctors as well as the KMA, while the group had failed to properly respond to the government's reform plans.

South Korea is currently pushing for a gradual expansion of medical school admissions in the country, starting with hiking the quota by 1,509 by the 2025 school year. The government had initially planned to increase the quota by 2,000 for next year.

The motion of no confidence would be passed with at least two-thirds of the KMA's delegates present and over half of those present voting for the motion. At least half of the delegates need to be present and over half of those must approve for the formation of the emergency committee.

The hard-liner chief of the KMA has sparked several complaints with his controversial comments and actions, including allegedly insulting a judge and a doctor who refused to participate in the nationwide walkout by doctors.

It was reported recently that he supposedly requested to be paid 100 million won ($72,300) by a KMA member as a settlement for dropping a defamation lawsuit that he had filed.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)