S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership

South Korea on Thursday voted in favor of a UN Security Council draft resolution aimed at facilitating full United Nations membership for Palestine, reaffirming its endorsement of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, South Korea clarified during a meeting of the UN Security Council that its vote did not amount to recognition of Palestine as an independent state. A total of 12 out of 15 Security Council members, including South Korea and Japan, voted for the draft

Foreign AffairsApril 19, 2024

Medical schools granted enrollment quota flexibility for next year

Taking a step back from pushing its medical reform plan, the Korean government said on Friday that it would allow medical schools with additional spots to adjust the number of new medical students freely in an attempt to break the standoff with the medical circle. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during Friday’s press briefing that 32 colleges subject to the increase will be allowed to freely adjust the number of new medical students within a 50 to 100 percent range of the enrollment quota

Social AffairsApril 19, 2024

First Filipino domestic helpers to arrive this summer: ministry

The South Korean government on Friday announced its plans to bring in 100 Filipino household helpers in July and deploy them as early as August. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that discussions with the Philippine side on the plan for a pilot program for Filipino domestic workers have been completed. The Philippine government plans to post a job opening for 100 Filipino domestic workers willing to work in Seoul within this month. As Filipino workers are mandated to undergo initial and

Social AffairsApril 19, 2024

Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating was at 23 percent to mark the lowest figure since he took office, a poll showed Friday, as the ruling party struggled to recover from its crushing defeat in the general elections held last week. The Gallup Korea poll, conducted on April 16-18 on 1,000 adults across the country, showed that positive assessment of Yoon's performance dropped 11 percentage points from the previous survey, which was taken at March 26-28 before the parliamentary election. The

PoliticsApril 19, 2024

N. Korea, Belarus agree to strengthen cooperation, high-level contacts

The vice foreign ministers of North Korea and Belarus, both key allies to Russia, agreed Thursday to strengthen high-level contacts and cooperation across various sectors, encompassing the economy and cultures, as well as on global affairs, North Korean state media reported on Friday. The bilateral talks in Pyongyang between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il and his Belarusian counterpart took place amid closer alignment with Russia and their provision of support in its war against U

North KoreaApril 19, 2024

Police find more evidence of murder-suicide in Paju hotel death case

Police investigating the recent deaths of four people at a hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, have found more evidence to suggest the men had murdered the two women before killing themselves. The two men were found to have sent messages saying, "Shall we kill (them)?" "Yeah," right before overpowering the two women in the hotel room, according to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. The case was first reported on April 11. The two killers had jumped to their deaths the

Social AffairsApril 19, 2024

S. Korea not invited to G7 summit meeting this year: sources

South Korea appears not to have been invited to this year's summit of the Group of Seven countries set for June in Italy, diplomatic sources familiar with the matter said Friday. South Korea was "not included" in a list of countries invited to the upcoming summit set to take place in Apulia, Italy, from June 13-15, the sources said. The G7 consists of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Italy is serving as the rotating presidency of the G7 for thi

Foreign AffairsApril 19, 2024

‘Mom, I want to live’: Mentally disabled man reaches out to police for help

The South Korean police said it recently found and protected a severely malnourished mentally disabled man, after he made 360 calls to the 112 emergency services and hung up without saying a word. Jeju Dongbu Police Station tracked down the 40-something man dumpster diving at the Jeju International Airport on March 5, who was in extremely poor health due to not having eaten for days. Authorities have provided emergency medical care for the man, who has since been discharged and is staying at a s

Social AffairsApril 19, 2024

N. Korea slams US envoy's Asian tour as 'aid-begging' trip to enliven anti-Pyongyang sanctions

North Korea on Friday denounced the recent visit to South Korea and Japan by the top US envoy to the United Nations, calling it an "aid-begging" trip to invigorate the "weakened illegal" sanctions against Pyongyang. Late last month, the UN Security Council failed to extend the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against the North's nuclear and missile programs due to Russia's veto. The operation of the panel is set to expire on Ap

North KoreaApril 19, 2024

Govt. likely to accept university chiefs' request to lower med school enrollment quota

The government is likely to accept a request made by the chiefs of six national universities to lower their medical school enrollment quotas for next year, officials said Friday. The six universities, all located outside the capital region, made the request Thursday amid an ongoing standoff between the government and the medical community over the government's decision to increase total medical school admissions by 2,000 starting next year. The six -- Gangwon National University, Kyungpook

Social AffairsApril 19, 2024

Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official

Russia's denial of entry of a South Korean national and its subsequent decision to impose a 30-year entry ban on the person appears to be unrelated to the bilateral relations that have soured amid Moscow's war in Ukraine, a Seoul official said Thursday. Lim Soo-suk, the foreign ministry spokesperson, made the comment after the Donga Ilbo daily reported that a South Korean businesswoman, who has spent more than 20 years doing business in Russia, was denied entry last month upon arrival

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2024

S. Korea requests Chinese e-commerce giants comply with personal data protection law

The South Korean private information protection watchdog requested Chinese e-commerce giants Thursday to faithfully comply with the South Korean law on personal data protection, the agency said. Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) Vice Chairperson Choi Jang-hyuk made the request during a meeting in Beijing with officials from AliExpress, Temu and about eight other Chinese internet firms, as Chinese e-commerce firms have rapidly emerged as major players in South Korea. A senior exec

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2024

Top military officer meets new U.S. Pacific Fleet commander

South Korea's top military officer held talks with the new commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Thursday on ways to boost the allies' combined defense readiness, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo met US Adm. Stephen Koehler at the headquarters of the Navy's Fleet Command in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the JCS. The two admirals were briefed on naval operations at the unit's command center and held talks on ways t

DefenseApril 18, 2024

Yoon's approval rating sinks to all-time low following election loss

President Yoon Suk Yeol's job approval rating hit an all-time low in the third week of April, as the ruling bloc reels from the repercussions of massive losses in the April 10 general election, a poll showed Thursday. Yoon's approval rating came to just 27 percent, the lowest since Yoon took office in May 2022, according to a poll conducted by the National Barometer Survey. The previous low was 28 percent in the second week of August 2022. The president's popularity plunged by 1

PoliticsApril 18, 2024

Police uncover illegal gambling website made by teens, for teens

Busan police on Thursday arrested the operators of an illegal website that offered illegal gambling services mostly for teenagers, run primarily by teenagers. The cyber investigation unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested a man in his 20s on the charge of operating an illegal online gambling website. Also under investigation are 16 teenagers suspected to be operators of the site, including two suspected to be the founders. Officers believe that the website was created by two boys,

Social AffairsApril 18, 2024

Civic groups call on govt. to end crackdown on illegal immigration

A coalition of eight South Korean civic groups and unions on Thursday called on the Yoon Suk Yeol government to end its intensified crackdown on foreign nationals residing illegally in the country. The coalition protested the government's recent joint crackdowns, condemning them as an "anti-human rights measure that will create an atmosphere of fear against unregistered immigrants, justify their oppression by treating them as criminals, and lead to numerous human rights violations.&quo

Social AffairsApril 18, 2024

North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South

North Korea recently removed streetlights and other facilities along roads connecting to the South, according to South Korean military authorities on Thursday. The South Korean military said its surveillance caught North Korea taking down streetlights lining the roads leading from the South to the Kaesong industrial park, a now-defunct inter-Korean manufacturing complex launched as a part of Seoul’s past pro-rapprochement policy, and to Kumgangsan, the mountain that is one of the North&r

North KoreaApril 18, 2024

Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote

A main opposition-controlled parliamentary standing committee on Thursday unilaterally passed a total of five contentious bills, including a watered-down version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. The move aims to expedite their consideration, intending to usher them directly into a plenary session at the National Assembly for voting. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has accelerated the passage of contentious bills follo

PoliticsApril 18, 2024

Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023

The number of farming households in South Korea fell below 1 million for the first time last year, while over half of the country's farming population was aged 65 or older, latest data showed Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, there were an estimated 999,000 farming households as of Dec. 1, a decrease of 24,000, or 2.3 percent, compared with 2022. This is the first time since the survey began in 1949 that the number has dipped below 1 million. However, Statistics Korea cautioned that

Social AffairsApril 18, 2024

‘The Host’ creature sculpture in Han River park to be removed

A sculpture modeled after the mutated fish creature from Bong Joon-ho's 2006 film "The Host" is set for removal this year from Yeouido Han River Park due to its design clashing with the park's aesthetics, Seoul City announced Thursday. The 3-meter-tall and 10-meter-long sculpture was installed in 2014 as part of an endeavor to enrich the area's cultural and tourist allure with a city budget of around 180 million won ($130,900). Following a new urban design initiative l

Social AffairsApril 18, 2024