Patients, families on edge as more doctors consider resigning

Oh Myung-jin, 44, who has to care for two critically ill family members, blew a fuse after hearing the news of medical professors considering leaving their hospitals too, joining junior doctors in their protest against the government increasing the medical school student quota. “If professors also walk out, (patients) won’t be able to get the same treatment starting this month or even next week. (My daughter and father) including myself are living in constant fear,” she told Th

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

More speeding tickets issued with bidirectional traffic cameras

A total of 2,018 cases of speeding and traffic signal violations were detected after bidirectional traffic enforcement cameras were installed in four locations across Gyeonggi Province, according to the National Police Agency on Thursday. Bidirectional traffic enforcement cameras capture license plates on both the front and rear ends of a vehicle. These are different from the traditional kinds of cameras installed in most locations nationwide which are only capable of capturing license plates on

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

Junior doctors ask ILO to intervene in Seoul's back-to-work order

A group of medical interns and residents who left hospitals in protest of the government’s planned medical school admissions hike has demanded the International Labor Organization, a labor rights watchdog under the United Nations, intervene in Seoul's back-to-work order, it said on Thursday. “The government is threatening junior doctors to return to work by mentioning suspension of their licenses, a forced labor prohibited by the ILO. Accordingly, we have asked the ILO to interv

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

Woman throws dogs from ninth floor

South Korean police on Thursday said they were investigating a woman in her 30s on suspicion of killing her two dogs by throwing them from her ninth-floor apartment. The suspect is believed to have thrown two of her dogs out of her apartment window at around 7 a.m. on Monday at Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, according to Incheon Samsan Police Station. Officers arriving on the scene found the bodies of the two dogs on the site. The suspect has a history of mental illness and has been institutionalized wit

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

Basketball legend-turned-coach faces parent's complaints for 'meokbang'

Parents of student basketball players at Whimoon High School recently filed complaints against the team's head coach Hyun Joo-yup to Seoul education office, claiming that his TV and YouTube appearances are disrupting his duties as the coach. According to reports by local media, the petitioners -- which also include officials from the school and the team -- accused Hyun of abnormal operations of his team due to his side job. The suspicions reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Educati

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

Leader of doctors' group questioned again over trainee doctors' walkout

A leader of the Korean Medical Association, the biggest doctors' group, appeared before police Thursday for his second round of questioning over suspicions of instigating a mass walkout by trainee doctors. Park Myung-ha, chief of the KMA emergency committee's organizational affairs, arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's office in the city's western Mapo district for the second time, following his last on Tuesday. Park is one of the five former and current KMA leaders against whom the

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

S. Korea stages live-fire drills with US military engineers near inter-Korean border

South Korea staged live-fire tank drills Thursday near the inter-Korean border, involving US military engineers, the Army said, as the allies' major annual springtime exercise came to a close. The drills took place as part of a weeklong training at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, just 25 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border, in connection with the combined Freedom Shield exercise designed to bolster deterrence against the North's nuclear and missile threats. Some 300 pe

DefenseMarch 14, 2024

DP excludes human rights activist from candidacy, citing military service refusal

A satellite party affiliated with the main opposition Democratic Party has excluded a human rights activist specializing in military issues as a candidate for a proportional seat, citing his refusal to comply with military service requirements. Lim Tae-hoon, the former director of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, a nongovernment group dealing with military-related issues, was convicted in 2004 for declining to serve in the military based on his religious beliefs. "I received noti

PoliticsMarch 14, 2024

10 rescued, 1 missing after fishing boat sinks off south coast

A fishing boat carrying 11 people sank off the country's south coast Thursday, leaving three dead and another missing, the Coast Guard said. Four South Korean and seven foreign crew members were aboard the 139-ton trawler when it sank in waters 4.6 nautical miles south of Yokji Island off the coastal city of Tongyeong, some 330 km south of Seoul, after sending a distress call at 4:12 a.m., the Coast Guard said. Ten crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard and nearby boats, including thr

Social AffairsMarch 14, 2024

N. Korea unveils new battle tank with leader Kim boasting their striking power

North Korea has unveiled a new battle tank during training exercises, state media reported Thursday, amid ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove a new tank himself during the "training match" between tank units Wednesday in a bid to inspect tank troops' actual combat capabilities, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Calling them "the most powerful tanks in the world," Kim expressed satisfact

North KoreaMarch 14, 2024

White House official calls S. Korea democracy 'champion' ahead of democracy summit

A White House official on Wednesday highlighted "real value in the symbolic nature" of South Korea hosting the third Summit for Democracy next week, casting the Asian country as a democracy "champion." Kelly Razzouk, National Security Council senior director for democracy and human rights, made the remarks as Seoul is preparing to host the summit, a US-led initiative to promote solidarity among democracies, from Monday to Wednesday. "As President Biden said when we conve

Foreign AffairsMarch 14, 2024

CU opens first store in Kazakhstan

South Korean retail company BGF Retail has recently launched the first CU convenience store in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Embassy in Seoul said Wednesday. The new CU opened on March 6 in the busy Tole Bi Street in downtown Almaty. The embassy said the store was expected to breathe fresh air into Almaty’s retail landscape. “The CU chain store is to enhance the shopping experience for Almaty’s populace. … The store boasts appealing exteriors, unique interiors, swift se

Foreign AffairsMarch 14, 2024

Top envoy to Moscow meets deputy Russian FM over detained S. Korean national

MOSCOW -- South Korea's top envoy to Russia asked for Moscow's cooperation in relation to the arrest of a South Korean national in Russia reportedly on espionage charges, according to the South Korean Embassy in Moscow on Wednesday. Ambassador Lee Do-hoon met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and requested the Russian government actively cooperate to ensure the safety and protect the rights of the South Korean national, the embassy said. The meeting took place at th

Foreign AffairsMarch 13, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan discuss supply chains, AI at economic dialogue

National security officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed efforts to boost cooperation in supply chains, emerging technologies and digital areas in a regular dialogue session, the presidential office said Wednesday. The third session of the economic dialogue took place in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan earlier in the day, led by Wang Yun-jong, presidential secretary for economic security and his respective US and Japanese counterparts -- Tarun Chhabra

PoliticsMarch 13, 2024

Blinken to visit S. Korea next week for democracy summit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea next week to attend a session of the Summit for Democracy, a US-led multination gathering formed to boost solidarity and shared values among democratic countries. Blinken is expected to arrive at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sunday, and take part in the ministerial segment of the forum Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He will also hold bilateral talks with his South Korean counte

Foreign AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Miss Chunhyang beauty pageant accepts foreign candidates for first time

For the first time in its 75-year history, South Korea's Miss Chunhyang beauty pageant will see foreign nationals compete. This year’s beauty pageant is accepting applicants from five countries -- China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Canada -- the Chunhyang Festival Organizing Committee told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Named after the heroine of the Korean folk tale Chunhyangjeon, the Miss Chunhyang beauty pageant has taken place in the story's setting of Namwon, North Jeolla

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Women's groups protest adult content convention

Local women's rights groups in Tuesday held a joint protest against an adult film convention to be held in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, next week. Suwon Women’s Group Network, an umbrella group of seven women's groups based in Suwon, and other civic groups voiced their opposition to the "K-XF: The Fashion!" festival. According to the festival's organizers, the event scheduled for April 20-21 will feature adult film actors from Japan, along with local online celebritie

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

[Campus Now] Hallyu, brokers and students' Korean dreams

South Korea's universities are witnessing a transformative shift in their cultural landscape, brought by a surge in the number of international students. Though the trend was stagnant during the pandemic era, the number of international students in Korea has steadily increased over the decades, amounting to 181,842 as of 2023. That is more than double the number 10 years ago (85,923), and 10 times more than in 2004 (16,832), when the Education Ministry began compiling related statistics. Th

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

PM denounces attempts to delay med school quota hike plan

South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday criticized recent attempts made by protesting doctors to delay the government's plan to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 and to lower the cap on the number of students. Han's remarks follow a proposal made by a group of senior doctors and medical school professors the same day, who called for the government "to decide on the quota increase after allowing overseas researchers to review the matter

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Police bust illegal gambling ring that hired minors to attract peers

Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday it had uncovered a cybercrime ring accused of operating an illegal gambling website and attracting minors into gambling. Police apprehended 35 suspects, including the ringleader in his 40s, on suspicion of operating illegal gambling websites for five years, from December 2018 to March this year. Out of the 35 suspects, 10 had been arrested as of Tuesday. According to police officials, the criminal ring operated gambling websites out of Dubai a

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024