Doctors seek to negotiate with gov¡¯t

Striking doctors Wednesday were seeking to resume negotiations with the government over how to solve their embargo of medical services. With both sides at odds over the stalemate, the Korea Medical Association held an emergency meeting of the subcommittee of joint representatives and discussed ways to have three to five doctors, including medical professors, negotiate with the government.

¡°We will demand that the government improve comprehensive medical circumstances, including the revision of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, for a perfect separation of roles of doctors and pharmacists, and the revision of Basic Health and Medical Service Law and the Public Health Insurance Law.¡± Chu Su-Ho, spokesman for the Committee for the Struggle to Achieve Medical Rights, said. Earlier, the Emergency Countermeasure Committee, comprised of medical specialists, suggested preconditions for doctor-government negotiations such as the release of arrested doctors and an end to search orders against doctors, as well as an apology from police for the ¡°violent crackdown¡± on the rally of doctors.

¡°The prerequisites meant that the government should show a will to come to the negotiation table in a sincere attitude,¡± committee spokesman Park Hun-Min said. The spokesman`s remark was interpreted as indicating that doctors were easing their earlier hawkish stance. ¡°We will respect the subcommittee`s decision on whether to resume negotiations and the process of the talks,`` he said.