Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Won-i, who represents Mokpo — a city that failed to secure a new national medical school in South Jeolla Province — was taken to a hospital Monday after 11 days on a hunger strike.
Kim's blood sugar level had dropped to 43 mg/dL and oxygen saturation fell sharply, raising serious concerns about the lawmaker's condition.
That afternoon, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok visited the hunger strike site at the National Assembly and strongly urged Kim Won-i to end the fast. Lawmakers representing Gwangju and South Jeolla Province also came to appeal for the same.
Kim Won-i was then taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Democratic Party lawmakers from the Gwangju and South Jeolla region called on the government to "dramatically expand medical infrastructure in the western region, including Mokpo, which was denied a medical school," adding that "the hunger strike represents the desperate wishes of residents in the western part of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province. The sense of loss and concern over gaps in medical care felt by residents following the failure to secure a national medical school are deeply serious."
The lawmakers said "the tragedy of residents on islands and in remote areas of the western region missing the critical window for emergency care due to lack of even basic first aid can no longer be left unaddressed," and said "it is the state's clear duty to protect the public by swiftly expanding emergency medical systems for serious conditions such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease."
Following the collapse of the plan to establish a national medical school in the western region, the Democratic Party's integrated city-province chapter has formed and launched a task force on expanding medical infrastructure in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province.
sij@heraldcorp.com
