Photo: Doctors' strike from August 2020. Credit: the Blue Roof.
The Korean Medical Association 대한의사협회 threatened to boycott COVID-19 vaccination over a proposed law that would strip the license from doctors who have committed a felony. The Health and Welfare Committee 보건복지위원회 of the National Assembly 국회 passed an amendment to the Medical Service Act 의료법 that would cancel the license for doctors who committed murder, sexual assault and other felonies and prohibit them from re-applying for five years.
Choi Dae-jip 최대집, the outspoken president of KMA who was a former head of a far-right group, said: “This is 100 times more important than the new medical school issue that the government pursued last August,” which led to a widespread doctors’ strike that caused patients to die while seeking medical help. (See previous coverage, “Doctors Strike Against More Doctors”.) Choi further threatened: “Should we begin the strike, COVID-19 vaccination or treatment will be disrupted.”