By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Kyung Man-ho, vice president of the Korean National Red Cross, was elected president of the Korean Medical Association March 21, the KMA said Monday.
Kyung, who pledged a medical fee raise for practitioners and general hospital doctors, won 6,081 votes to beat his rival and current KMA President Choo So-ho by 474 votes.
``I will prioritize upgrading doctors' status,'' Kyung said in his acceptance speech. ``The medical market has been under tight regulation through the National Health Insurance System. Medical fee regulations should be abolished,'' he said.
``The medical market is a blue ocean for everyone. We should all understand that it is the doctors who should take the lead,'' he said.
Kyung graduated from the Catholic University medical school. The orthopedic surgeon will start his three-year-term from May 1.