Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Head of doctors’ group faces impeachment vote as coalition fractures
Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Medical Association, walks to a meeting room for talks with Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Lim faces an impeachment vote amid growing discontent over his leadership. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
41% of delegates launch motion to remove Lim amid growing discontent
The head of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the nation’s largest coalition of doctors, faces an impeachment vote amid rising discontent over his “irreversible” failures in handling some critical issues since his three-year term began in May.
A total of 103 out of 246 delegates of the group, or 41 percent, signed a motion to oust Lim Hyun-taek as KMA president, accusing him of failing to protect the interests of its members and damaging their reputation with his inappropriate remarks, according to the KMA’s official paper released on Friday.
He will be removed from the post, if at least two-thirds of delegates attend the KMA's upcoming extraordinary general meeting and at least half of the attendees approve the impeachment motion.
A source familiar with the issue told The Korea Times that Lim may well be impeached amid growing criticism when the meeting is held, possibly early next month.
If that happens, he would be the only impeached leader in the KMA's history other than Noh Hwan-gyu, who resigned in disgrace in 2014.
In a statement released to reporters the previous day, Cho Hyun-keun, a delegate in Busan, said Lim’s inept response to the government’s attempt to increase the number of physicians has led to a disappointing result for the members.
“The medical school admission quota for 2025 was increased by 1,504, and rolling admissions have been underway,” Cho said. “The admissions began because the KMA failed to respond effectively, and now it is practically very difficult to reverse it.”
Another major failure was the National Assembly’s approval of a nursing bill, which allows physician assistant nurses to play roles beyond simple clinical tasks under the supervision of a doctor, he said.
“Lim was the person who had voiced that Lee Pil-soo, his predecessor, should step down if he fails to block the nursing bill. But now Lim takes no responsibility after helplessly watching the bill pass (under his watch) without even trying to hold a rally against it,” Cho said.
The delegate also criticized Lim for using improper language, which, in his view, antagonized many policymakers, journalists and the public at a time when the KMA badly needed them to garner support for its position over the quota issue.
In one such incident, Lim railed against Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social affairs, calling him a “schizophrenic” on Oct. 17 for defending the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students. The following day, Lim apologized to mental patients and their families for using the term to demean the official.
Lim’s leadership crisis comes amid signs of a widening rift between the KMA and some other groups of doctors, including trainee physicians who collectively resigned from their workplaces in February in protest of the government’s quota move.
The government has been seeking to resolve the issue through a consultative body between ruling, opposition parties and the medical community. The KMA has so far refused to participate.
But earlier this week, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and the Korea Association of Medical Colleges said they would join the talks.