Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Lee Pil-soo to lead Korea Medical Association
By Lee Hyo-jin
Lee Pil-soo, vice president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the largest doctors' group in the country, has been elected as the new president of the association.
His three-year term as the 41st president will begin on May 1, replacing incumbent head Choi Dae-zip.
Lee Pil-soo, 41st president of the Korea Medical Association / Courtesy of Korea Medical Association
By Lee Hyo-jin
Lee won the runoff vote which took place at the association's headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, on March 26, by garnering 12,431 votes, or 52 percent of the 23,658 valid votes.
“In this particular period that we are in, I feel a strong sense of responsibility as the new president. My mission is to lead the association in playing a pivotal role in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, and at the same time, I will put all my efforts into protecting the rights of our 130,000 members,” he said during a speech at a KMA meeting, Sunday.
Prior to the election, he appealed to the members by pledging to take the role of a negotiator and to represent the voices of local doctors better.
“We have been responding with stern measures to the government's arbitrary push for revisions to the Medical Law. Fighting against them is important, but if I become the president, I will cooperate with the administration when necessary, for the practical benefits of our members,” he said.
The KMA has been at odds with the administration over healthcare reform bills since last year. The association has fiercely opposed the bills, aimed at strengthening local medical capacity by increasing the medical student quota and establishing state-funded medical schools, viewing them as unilateral decisions of the government.
Lee's main pledges include launching a support committee for doctors suffering from economic damage amid the pandemic, innovating public healthcare policies, and establishing sustainable and reasonable health insurance policies.
On his first official day as the new head on May 3, he will receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine along with other leading government health officials, including Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae, with the hope of relieving public concern over the safety of the vaccine.
Lee, born in 1962, graduated from Chonnam National University Medical School, after which he completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Masan Korea Hospital. He then served as the head of the Jeolla Namdo Medical Association in South Jeolla Province.
Recently, he led a special committee under the KMA on supporting small- and medium-sized hospitals to overcome difficulties amid the coronavirus pandemic.