Kim Won-i, Democratic Party lawmaker, transferred to hospital after 11 days of fasting (comprehensive)

Kim Won-i (Mokpo), a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was taken to the hospital after 11 days of fasting.

On the 9th, Rep. Kim showed abnormal health symptoms, including a blood sugar level of 43 mg/dL and a sharp decrease in oxygen saturation.

In the afternoon, Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, visited the National Assembly sit-in site and tried to persuade Rep. Kim by strongly recommending that he stop the fast. Legislators from Gwangju, South Jeolla Province also visited and asked him to stop the fast.

Accordingly, Rep. Kim took the 119 ambulance and went to the hospital.

Democratic Party lawmakers from Jeonnam Gwangju district urged the government and Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City to "expand groundbreaking medical infrastructure in the western region, including Mokpo, where the bid to host a medical school failed."

Lawmakers visited Rep. Kim's hunger strike that day and said, "The hunger strike is to represent the desperate wishes of residents in the western part of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province," and added, "The sense of loss felt by residents due to the failure to attract a national medical school and concerns about a medical gap are very serious."

The lawmakers emphasized, "We can no longer ignore the tragedy of residents in western islands and remote areas missing out on golden time because they cannot receive even the minimum first aid," and added, "It is the natural responsibility of the nation to protect the people by quickly expanding the emergency medical system for serious diseases such as cardiovascular disease."

The lawmakers also emphasized the urgency of comprehensive development measures for the economic development of underdeveloped regions and argued that multifaceted measures should be implemented in parallel, including attracting high-tech industries, nurturing professional talent, and improving residential conditions.

The lawmakers asked the government and the unified city to "mobilize all available policy means to quickly prepare and announce effective measures that can be felt by residents of the western region."

The Democratic Party's United City Party has formed and is operating the 'Jeonnam Gwangju Medical Infrastructure Expansion Task Force' after the failure to establish a new national medical school in the western region.