“Stop it, you arrogant bastards” verbal abuse
Find a solution through participation in the ruling, opposition, legislative and government consultative body
The medical community is protesting in an organized manner, saying that Mr. Jeong, who was arrested for creating and distributing a ‘medical blacklist’, is “oppression of residents.” On the 20th, the Gyeonggi Medical Association held a rally in Seoul and declared that “the arrest of residents is a violation of human rights.” The Jeonbuk Medical Association claimed in a statement that “it is an act of suppressing the fundamental freedom of expression of democracy.” It is absurd for doctors to insist that the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant, which has aroused public outrage, is a “oppression of human rights” and a “violation of freedom of expression.” Isn’t this nonsense and a double-crossing of the truth?
In a situation where patients are dying from ’emergency room hit-and-runs’, harassing and infringing on the personal integrity of doctors who have been protecting emergency medical services with a sense of duty is a serious crime that cannot be overlooked. This is why the judge in charge of issuing warrants at the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for a resident suspected of violating the Stalking Punishment Act, saying, “There is a risk of destruction of evidence.” No wonder former Korean Medical Association President Noh Hwan-gyu said, “Mr. Jeong’s actions deserve to be criticized for their intent being no different from a witch hunt.” Nevertheless, medical groups are not backing down from their claim that “creating and distributing a blacklist is a means of resisting the government’s extra-legal measures.” We cannot help but ask if it is okay to use illegal means for the collective benefit of doctors. Which citizen would tolerate this?
This is not the only misbehavior by doctors. Park Yong-eon, vice president of the Korean Medical Association, recently posted a screenshot of a press release from the Korean Nurses Association titled “KNursing Association Welcomes the Announcement of the Nursing Act” on his Facebook page and wrote, “Stop acting like that. If you were going to do that, you should have gone to medical school.” He added, “You think you’re a player in a long-term game? I’ll leave out the subject and object. How arrogant.” Isn’t this excessive verbal abuse and a distorted sense of superiority? It’s just heartbreaking that the manners and standards of doctors, who are the leaders of society, are this low. This is why there are calls to significantly strengthen character education in the doctor training process.
The police announced that they have sent 30 doctors and 2 medical students who created and distributed the blacklist. This is by no means a small number. Only by severely punishing them and conducting a more thorough investigation can we prevent a recurrence of the blacklist incident. Doctors should realize that the more they emotionally and irrationally oppose, the more they will become alienated from public sentiment. It is natural for them to stop making inconsistent and unrealistic claims and participate in the ruling and opposition parties, medical and government consultative bodies to express their opinions. We can no longer ignore the people’s demands for the normalization of medical care. I hope that doctors’ sense of mission and collective reason will come into play.
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Source: www.segye.com
