SEOUL (UCAN): The religious community’s support for healthcare reform in the spirit of respect for life has been a great strength in pushing forward the policy,” Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea, said, urging religious leaders to support his administration in tackling civil issues and fulfilling reform tasks in the healthcare sector.
The meeting was attended by 10 religious leaders from the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, Jogye Buddhism, Tendai Buddhism, Won Buddhism, Confucianism, and Cheondoism, among others.
Meeting at the Blue House, once a presidential residence, Yoon thanked them for backing reforms in healthcare, the Yonhap News Agency reported on March 12.
Yoon expressed gratitude to religious groups who have supported the government’s healthcare reform which is aimed at hiking medical school admissions from next year to combat shortages and an aging society.
Kim Ryung-ha, president of the Council of Religious Affairs of Korea, said the religious groups would consider issuing a joint statement in response to the government’s efforts in the healthcare field.
“Let’s think about whether we need to meet with the medical association to convince them,” Kim said.
In recent years, the Christian, Buddhist, Catholic, Won Buddhist, Confucian, and the Korean National Council of Religious Affairs have issued a total of 18 statements on collective action in healthcare, Yonhap reported.
Yoon told the religious leaders that he has been travelling to directly listen to people’s voices related to their daily lives “which led to the current debate on people’s livelihoods.”
He added, “I believe that national unity and social integration will be achieved by itself if we focus on people’s livelihoods.”
