The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), the representative body for trainee doctors (interns and residents), is moving to establish itself as an independent organization separate from the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the nation's statutory physicians' body.
KIRA said Wednesday that it held its regular general assembly at the KMA headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on May 28 and deliberated and approved motions including the establishment of a registered incorporated association and the creation of a Young Doctors' Policy Research Institute.
KIRA currently operates as a subsidiary body under the KMA. If it obtains approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to convert into a nonprofit incorporated association, it would gain greater operational autonomy, including the ability to independently bid for government research projects and enter into institutional contracts. Most importantly, the move would give the group an independent voice in government policy decisions such as the push to increase medical school admissions, regardless of the KMA's position.
"The establishment of the incorporated Korean Intern Resident Association was pursued due to the legal limitations caused by KIRA's lack of legal personality and the need to secure legal standing required for government project procurement and inter-institutional contracts," KIRA said.
The decision also signals a desire to chart an independent course from the KMA, which has long faced criticism both inside and outside the medical community for being disproportionately focused on representing the interests of private-practice physicians.
KIRA Chairman Han Seong-jon said in his opening address, "We have been focused on resolving issues such as ensuring training continuity and revising the Trainee Doctors Act." He added, "In the short term, we will work to improve trainee doctors' working conditions and normalize the training environment, and in the long term, we will draw a blueprint for the future of medicine."
Through the Young Doctors' Policy Research Institute approved at the assembly, KIRA plans to undertake as its first research project a "study on training curriculum reform" aimed at guaranteeing "protected training hours," which are core educational participation hours.