As the government-doctor conflict enters a settlement, calls have emerged within the medical community for Park Min-soo, the former vice minister of health and welfare, to apologize.

Doctors said Park was the “highest working-group official responsible for the unprecedented chaos by increasing the medical school enrollment by 2,000.”

The Chungnam (South Chungcheong) Medical Association issued a statement on Wednesday, asserting that instead of demanding a public apology from trainee doctors and medical students, “Park, the former vice minister who was in charge of the medical and educational crises, should kneel before the people and beg for forgiveness.”

The association listed examples of Park's controversial remarks, stating that he “played a crucial role in every aspect of the medical crisis and consistently mocked the medical community, making it difficult for the medical community and the government to trust each other.”

Among the most notable examples the association condemned as “absurd and outrageous” were Park’s remarks during official briefings. More specifically, the association pointed out that Park degraded doctors and suggested that if there was a shortage of cadavers for dissection practice, “importing them could be considered.”

Park’s other controversial remarks included promising to charter planes to transport patients for treatment if no doctors remained on-site, citing “differences in working hours between male and female doctors” as a basis for expanding medical school enrollment, and stating that “if the patient can make a phone call, it's a minor case.”

“The unprecedented medical crisis caused in part by former Vice Minister Park, who mocked the medical community, has resulted in thousands of excess deaths and will be recorded as a major disaster,” the provincial doctors’ group said. “Taxpayers' money has already been wasted by trillions of won, and residents and students have experienced shock and despair that they will never forget.”

The wall of distrust between the public and doctors has been further reinforced, the association noted. While resident doctors and some medical students, who are effectively victims, have expressed apologies and regret to the public, the actual perpetrators of this crisis remain silent, it added.

It then recalled a part of Park's briefing last March, where he said, “Whether the results are good or bad, the ministers and vice ministers will take full responsibility.”

“Isn't it only natural that those who have thrown the entire country into chaos should now take responsibility? Resigning is not the only solution,” it said.

The Chungnam Provincial Medical Association accused Park of collapsing the medical community, destroying the educational opportunities of resident doctors and medical students, and demonizing doctors to undermine trust, stating, “Park must kneel before the people, apologize, and confess all his past mistakes.”

Additionally, they demanded that the framework of the medical crisis response process be transparently disclosed, that Park completely avoid any future positions related to public health, and that he sincerely apologize for his numerous derogatory remarks toward the medical community and repent sincerely.