In Yo-han, a former People Power Party lawmaker and former professor at Yonsei University's International Health Care Center, was elected the 32nd president of the Korean Red Cross. However, civic groups are opposing the appointment and have called for it to be withdrawn.
According to the Korean Red Cross on the 23rd, the Central Committee voted the previous day to elect Im as the new president. The new president, Im, will assume the duties after approval by President Lee Jae-myung, the organization's honorary president. The term is three years.
The Red Cross said, "The electee Im has long worked on the medical front lines and, based on experience in public health activities, tuberculosis eradication in North Korea, and medical equipment support, was assessed as the right person to lead the Red Cross's blood services, hospital services, disaster relief, and humanitarian international cooperation."
Civic groups, however, pushed back. The "Universal Free Health Care Movement Headquarters," which includes about 40 groups such as the National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KTCU), and Federation of Korean Trade Unions, issued a statement the same day saying, "It is infuriating and absurd to appoint In Yo-han, a former People Power Party lawmaker, as Red Cross president."
They said, "Not only is this person a pro-Yoon figure, but also a pro-business, market-oriented advocate who has called for medical privatization and the introduction of for-profit hospitals," adding, "President Lee Jae-myung should immediately halt the approval."
Born in 1959 in Jeonju, North Jeolla, the new president, Im, graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine and earned a master's and doctorate in medicine from Korea University. In 1987, Im became the first Westerner to pass the national medical licensing exam and later served as a professor in family medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine, director of the International Health Care Center at Severance Hospital, and president of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH). In 2012, in recognition of contributions such as developing a Korea-style ambulance and medical aid to the North, Im was selected as the No. 1 recipient of "special naturalization."
Im also served as vice chair of the Presidential Committee of National Cohesion on Park Geun-hye's presidential transition team and entered the National Assembly as a proportional representative of the People Power Party in the 22nd general election. However, saying Im was disappointed by what was revealed over the year following former President Yoon Suk-yeol's Dec. 3 martial law emergency, Im resigned from the National Assembly in December last year.
The new president, Im, said, "Under the Red Cross's humanitarian spirit, I will draw on my diverse experience to advance the Korean Red Cross and devote myself to helping marginalized neighbors."