The national association of nurses has vowed to hold the government and ruling People Power Party(PPP) politically accountable for the joint decision to ask President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto the Nursing Act.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Korean Nurses Association argued that the legislation was an election pledge by Yoon that has been reviewed and passed in a legitimate manner through as many as four parliamentary reviews over the course of two years.

The association characterized the decision by the PPP and the health ministry as “groundless claims” and “false accusations” that nurses are taking the lives of the public hostage with a unilateral legislative move.

The statement said that a total of 620-thousand nurses in the nation will rise up against the humiliating assertion and punish those responsible for the accusation.

Nurses are reportedly reviewing a campaign to surrender their licenses and joining political parties. They previously said there will be no collective action, but the interim results of a survey by the association found that more than 98 percent support "active" collective action. 

Earlier in the day, the ruling party and the government agreed to make a formal recommendation to President Yoon to veto the bill, which proponents say is aimed at improving nurses’ working conditions but is viewed by critics as a bid to extend the interests of nurses at the expense of other medical professionals including doctors and nurses’ aides.

Doctors believe the bill could open the path for nurses to start their own clinics while nurses' aides take issue with tying up their eligibility to high school graduates.