Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right

President Yoon Suk Yeol said he and his administration will humbly accept the result of last week's general election, which renewed the main opposition's firm grip over the National Assembly for the next four years, stressing that he sees it as a reflection of public sentiment. "I will take heed of the public sentiment and communicate more with people with humility and flexibility," Yoon said in a Cabinet meeting held in his office in Seoul, with his opening remarks televised

PoliticsApril 16, 2024

‘0’ in job ads highlights generation gap

An online row has erupted after viewers interpreted "0" in a job posting made by a South Korean comic YouTube channel as offering literally zero openings, when it was meant to signify an unspecified number of positions. The sketch comedy channel “Nerdult," with approximately 1.85 million subscribers, posted a recruitment notice on their YouTube community page on Friday, seeking an undisclosed number of new actors. In the post, they left the number of available positions as

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

Color vision deficient people to be allowed to become cops

A recent revision of ordinances related to hiring police officers will allow anyone who is not completely colorblind to join the police, the National Police Agency said Tuesday. The Korean National Police Commission on Monday passed the law revision that would allow those with color vision deficiency to apply to become police officers. The revision will go through the deliberation process at the Ministry of Government Legislation, after which it will be finalized and become effective as early as

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

S. Korea ‘strongly’ protests Japan’s claim over Dokdo in diplomatic bluebook

South Korea's Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest Tuesday against Japan's renewed assertion of its unjust sovereignty claim over Dokdo, the easternmost sovereign islets of South Korea, in its annual report on diplomatic policy. A Japanese diplomat was also summoned by the Foreign Ministry less than two hours after the ministry's spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk, issued a formal denunciation. "The government strongly protests against the Japanese government's repeated inclu

Foreign AffairsApril 16, 2024

Yellow dust to impact S. Korea throughout Wednesday

With a thick blanket of yellow dust over South Korea on Tuesday, fine dust concentrations are expected to spike to "very bad" levels across the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The national weather agency had forecast the yellow dust from the Inner Mongolia region and Gobi Desert to flow into the country early Tuesday, leading to murky skies. Fine dust levels will rise to "bad" across Greater Seoul, Gangwon, the Chungcheong Provinces and North Gyeongsang

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

Seoul says will cut power to porn festival planned on Han River

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would deal sternly with a festival planned for this weekend featuring Japanese adult film stars, including cutting off electricity to the venue. The warning message came after the city formally issued a ban Sunday on the adult industry exposition advertised as “2024 KXF The Fashion,” organized by Play Joker and to be held on the Han River. The city government also sent a formal letter to the operator of the venue, Us Cruise, located at Jamwon

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

[Contribution] 6 reasons why medical school expansion isn’t the answer

I’m Ryu Ok Hada, a trainee doctor who resigned from the Catholic Medical Center on Feb. 16. Recently, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the medical community should come up with a unified proposal on an appropriate increase in the annual medical school admissions quota based on scientific and rational grounds. A survey I conducted on 1,581 trainee doctors and medical students between March 29 and April 1 showed that 96 percent of the respondents think that the increase in the medical schoo

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

3 out of 5 young couples went through a rough patch

A recent survey on married couples in their 20s and 30s have shown that 65.4 percent of them have experienced a severe decline in contentment of their marriage. The survey was conducted on 500 married women last month by a local matchmaking company Duo, to see how many of the young South Korean couples go through "gweontae-gi," which roughly means a period when a couple find each other tiresome. It is similar to the seven-year itch in the Western culture, a belief that happiness in lon

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

Man commended for rescuing driver suffering from epilepsy

A 33-year-old man who saved a woman suffering from an acute case of epilepsy while driving was commended by the city rescue authorities on Monday. Jeon Ji-hun received a certificate of appreciation from the Ulsan Nambu Fire station for his role in saving a 50-something-year-old driver in Nam-gu, Ulsan, on March 28. At around 10:26 p.m., her car had stopped in the middle of the road, not responding to honking of other cars for a full three minutes. Jeon, who was driving the car behind her, steppe

Social AffairsApril 16, 2024

S. Korea to provide $12m to conflict-ridden Sudan

South Korea will provide $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan and the neighboring countries struggling with a yearlong conflict between rival military factions, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi Jai-chul, South Korean Ambassador to France, announced the plan Monday (local time) during an international humanitarian conference in Paris, as he voiced concerns over the worsening situation in Khartoum. "Our government will continue to join international efforts to assist countri

Foreign AffairsApril 16, 2024

Kim Jae-shin appointed ASEAN-Korea Center secretary-general

Kim Jae-shin has been appointed as the sixth secretary-general of the ASEAN-Korea Center. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Korea are preparing to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN-Korea Center and 35 years of ASEAN-Korea dialogue this year. The year holds special significance for the relationship, as ASEAN-Korea relations are to be upgraded to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" at the ASEAN-ROK Summit to be held in the second half of this year, the

Foreign AffairsApril 16, 2024

Senior US officials discuss N. Korea, Taiwan, South China Sea in talks with Beijing officials

Senior US officials discussed with Beijing officials a range of regional and global issues, including North Korea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea during their visit to China this week, the State Department said Monday. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran met with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and Yang Tao, director general of the North Ameri

North KoreaApril 16, 2024

N. Korea has capability to genetically engineer biological military products: US report

North Korea has the capability to genetically engineer biological military products, an annual US report showed Monday, noting Pyongyang has a "dedicated, national-level offensive" biological weapons program. The State Department issued the report, titled "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments." It was prepared in consultation with the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

North KoreaApril 16, 2024

S. Korea, US hold NK human rights talks in Washington

Diplomats from South Korea and the United States held a new session of their bilateral dialogue on North Korean human rights in Washington on Monday, as the two sides see a close link between Pyongyang's weapons programs and its rights conditions. Chun Young-hee, director general for the Korean Peninsula peace regime at Seoul's foreign ministry, and Julie Turner, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, led the second session of the dialogue that was relaunched in Nov

North KoreaApril 16, 2024

Yoon discusses Mideast tensions, NK issues with US envoy

President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks with the top US envoy to the United Nations on Monday to discuss issues ranging from tensions in the Middle East to UN sanctions against North Korea, his office said. Yoon's meeting with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield took place at the presidential office as part of her four-day trip to South Korea that also involved talks with the foreign and defense ministers. The two called for joint efforts to help resolve the Mideast crisis and extend comprehensiv

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2024

US envoy, FM Cho discuss ways to build new mechanism for NK sanctions monitoring

The top US envoy to the United Nations and Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul discussed ways to build a new mechanism for monitoring the enforcement of UN sanctions on North Korea, Cho's office said Monday, after Russia vetoed a resolution meant to renew the monitoring mandate. The meeting between Cho and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield came amid growing concerns that Moscow's rejection to extend the mandate for the UN Panel of Experts on North Korean sanctions could undermine internation

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2024

Ex-PPP member attends police questioning for receiving donations via YouTube

An unsuccessful candidate in last week's parliamentary elections appeared before police Monday for questioning on charges of receiving political donations through payments via a YouTube broadcast last year. Jang Ye-chan, a former ruling People Power Party member who quit the party and ran as an independent, has been accused of accepting payments through YouTube's Super Chat function during live streaming in August in violation of the Political Funds Act. Viewers sent as little as 2,000

PoliticsApril 15, 2024

S. Korea issues special travel advisory for Iran amid Middle East tensions

South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a special travel advisory for Iran, effective as of Monday, in response to the escalating tensions in the Middle East. The special travel advisory is equivalent to a travel alert level 3 within the 4-stage travel alert system, or a red alert, which advises nationals to leave the designated area unless it's an emergency and to postpone or cancel planned trips to the area. While the previous level 3 alert for specific regions of Iran remains unchange

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2024

A decade lost: Sewol survivors on life after tragedy

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province -- On April 16, 2014, 325 students and 14 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province were aboard the Sewol ferry heading to Jeju Island for a field trip. Cho Mun-jeong was one of the students on the trip and was hoping to enjoy a brief reprieve from preparing for college entrance exams. After a loud "bang" echoed through the ferry, an announcement was made over the intercom, urging passengers not to move and to wait patiently for rescue. But C

Social AffairsApril 15, 2024

Recording of boss cursing in office ruled legal

An employee of a state-run company who recorded his boss swearing loudly inside the office has been cleared of criminal charges, a local court said Monday. The 35-year-old defendant had been accused of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, which bans anyone from recording or listening to a conversation of other people that was not public. The boss in question claimed that the recording was a private conversation with a specific employee, who was not the defendant. The prosecuti

Social AffairsApril 15, 2024