Court rejects doctors' group exec's request for stopping license suspension

A Seoul court has rejected a request for an enforcement halt of the medical license suspension filed by Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the emergency committee of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), a group of some 130,000 Korean physicians.

As things stand now, Kim's license will be suspended from next Monday.

According to judicial sources on Thursday, the Seoul Administrative Court rejected Kim's application for an enforcement stay of the three-month suspension of his medical license against the Minister of Health and Welfare. The outcome of a similar request by Park Myung-ha, former head of the organizing committee whose license was also suspended, has yet to come.

Last month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare suspended the two KMA executives’ licenses, alleging that they violated government orders, encouraged trainee doctors to submit resignations, and incited medical students to take an alliance leave of absence.

Earlier on Feb. 6, when the government announced its plan to increase the number of medical school students by 2,000, the ministry issued an “order prohibiting collective action and instigating collective action" to all 16 regional medical association heads. At the time, Kim was the chairman of the Gangwon Medical Association, and Park was the chairman of the Seoul Medical Association. The two are also accused of obstructing business and aiding and abetting violations of the Medical Service Act.

"I expected the court to make a wise judgment, but, unfortunately, it did not. I will discuss follow-up measures with the emergency committee,” Kim said.