Doctor Rally

[Anchor Lead]

Back here in the nation, doctors held a second rally to call for the suspension of President Moon Jae-in's new national medical insurance program. They are protesting that the expansion of National Health Insurance coverage, the key to the Moon administration's new insurance reform, is undermining doctors’ independence and patient care. Let’s take a look.

[Soundbite] Collapsing under populism! Collapsing! Collapsing!

[Pkg]

Doctors opposing so-called "Moon Jae-in care" have come out to the streets once again. The government's new health insurance initiative mandates that the national insurance system covers more treatments. The organizers estimated that 52,000 people came out for the protest, while police put the figure at around 13,000. The main point of contention was the government's initiative to dramatically reduce the number of treatments not covered by the national health insurance program. Doctors claim that a fewer number of treatments not covered by insurance violates doctors' independence and ultimately lowers the quality of treatment. They argue that it's not right to force doctors in the private sector to work for public interest without providing support to the essential areas of medical care, such as intensive care units.

[Soundbite] Kim Ik-yong(Surgeon) : "They only stress public interest without providing, guaranteeing, or planning any support for infrastructure or human resources."

But some point out that it would be hard for the doctors to gain public support if they keep opposing "Moon Jae-in care" which aims to reduce patients' financial burden. The road to striking a deal appears long and rough as the medical world's distrust of the government runs deep.