Ex-PM leaves New Reform Party after rift with Lee Jun-seok

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday announced his departure from the New Reform Party and resignation from its leadership, following signs of a growing rift with his co-chair, Lee Jun-seok. The announcement which comes merely 11 days after the ex-PM and his own political party, the New Future Party, merged with the Reform Party, which was launched by the former ruling party leader, Lee Jun-seok, last month. “I plan to return to the New Future Party and reorganize the party to prep

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024

Yoon says trainee doctors' collective actions 'cannot be tolerated'

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said the collective action of trainee doctors to quit their jobs at teaching hospitals cannot be tolerated, and the government has the "constitutional responsibility" to manage medical resources to prevent the nation's medical system from collapsing. "We are seeing scheduled surgeries being scaled down or suspended, as the (trainee doctors') collective action to halt the provision of medical services was expected," Yoon told the Ca

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2024

Junior doctors pull the trigger, stage walkout despite warning

Thousands of trainee doctors submitted their letters of collective resignation in protest against the government's plan to boost the number of medical students on Tuesday, aggravating fears of a major void in public health. As of Monday at 11 p.m., 6,415 trainee doctors at 100 teaching hospitals had handed in their resignation letters, with about 1,630 of them walking out of the hospital, according to the Health Ministry on Tuesday. The rate of junior doctors resigning is over 55 percent, a

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024

[News Focus] Why do Korean doctors oppose having more physicians?

Thousands of medical doctors, the essential force for the care and treatment of critical patients, left their hospitals Tuesday in protest of the government’s policy to expand the number of medical school students. South Korea’s medical landscape has been gripped with the fear of a major health care crisis, with doctors leaving their patients, claiming that the nation does not need more doctors because it has enough already and that the policy change will lower the quality of medical

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024

Human rights body to fund research on foreign workers' conditions

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced Monday that it plans to fund research on the working conditions of migrant workers, to expand the statistics available specifically on migrant worker deaths and potential support systems. The commission will be accepting research proposals for related studies with a maximum funding award amount of 50,000,000 won ($37,374) per project from March 7, 10 a.m. through March 10, 10 a.m. via their website. “Various factors make migrant worke

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024

Putin's car gift to Kim showcases 'special' bond, defying UN sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a gift of a Russia-produced car exclusively "for his personal use," North Korean state media reported Tuesday. The South Korean government decried the gift as a breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The Rodong Sinmun, which primarily targets internal audiences as North Korea's most widely circulated newspaper, featured the news on its front page without disclosing specifics about the vehicle gifte

North KoreaFeb. 20, 2024

Nearly half of special medical equipment over 10 years old

The South Korean government on Tuesday said it will revamp the supervision and maintenance system for the medical equipment in the country, as recent data shows that some 42.6 percent of what is deemed "special medical equipment" here has been in use for 10 years or more. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's recently-announced second comprehensive state health insurance program for the 2024-2028 period kicked in this year, which includes plans to shorten the term for regular inspe

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024

Dozens of KAIST alumni accuse presidential security of violence

Dozens of alumni from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday accused the presidential security of abusing its power and exerting violence by forcibly removing a student from the graduation ceremony venue. The bodyguards of President Yoon Suk Yeol ejected an attendee, named Shin Min-gi, from the ceremony in Daejeon when he protested the budget cut in scientific technology research and development for this year during Yoon's commencement remarks on Friday. The alumni, co

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2024

DP floor leader says democracy has regressed under Yoon govt., calls for support in general elections

Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Tuesday that democracy has regressed under the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for voter support for the party in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Hong made the remarks during an address at the National Assembly as representative of the largest parliamentary negotiating bloc, asserting that the Yoon administration has failed to uphold fairness and common sense as previously promised. "In ju

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2024

'Accommodating 2,000 new med students impossible': deans of med schools

Some 40 medical universities have called for governments to retract their original decision to add 2,000 seats to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year from the current 3,058, claiming that "the plan is impossible to accommodate considering the conditions of current education in a short period." The Korean Association of Medical Colleges (KAMC), on behalf of the deans of 40 medical schools and medical specialty schools nationwide, released such a statement on Mon

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

S. Korea, Netherlands launch semiconductor dialogue

South Korea and the Netherlands on Monday launched a dialogue on the semiconductor industry in an effort to boost bilateral cooperation on the advanced sector, the industry ministry here said. The two nations held the inaugural meeting of the director-level Korea-Netherlands Semiconductor Dialogue in the Dutch city of Eindhoven on the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The meeting was held as the two sides agreed in December to establish a working-level dialogue channe

Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

Yoon calls for utmost efforts to protect people's lives amid threat of doctors' walkout

President Yoon Suk Yeol called on the government Monday to make utmost efforts to protect the people's lives and health amid a looming walkout by doctors protesting a planned increase in the medical school enrollment quota, his office said. Yoon issued the call during his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. "Please make utmost efforts in the response to protect the people's lives and health," he was quoted as

PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024

Trainee doctors take collective action against gov't medical policy

Trainee doctors began submitting their letters of collective resignation Monday in protest against the government's plan to boost the number of medical students, while the health ministry ordered all of them to keep providing medical treatment. Worries mounted as doctors warn of a large-scale strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seat

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

Reality check: How diverse is Korea really? LGBTQ+ and society (9)

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2020, there has been a notable shift in public opinion in South Korea regarding the acceptance of homosexuality. The survey revealed that the percentage of individuals who believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society increased from 25 percent in 2002 to 44 percent in 2019. This shift suggests growing openness and changing attitudes towards LGBTQ+ issues within South Korean society over the years. However, it's impo

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

Man indicted for false testimony, evidence rigging over girlfriend's rape

South Korean prosecutors recently indicted a man for providing false testimony and rigging evidence related to the alleged rape of his girlfriend by another man. The man reportedly tried to convince his girlfriend that she had not been assaulted. Investigators have pushed for charges of perjury, instigation of perjury, and forging of evidence against the 20-something suspect, according to officials. The suspect, who was in a romantic relationship with the victim, was approached by a friend of

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

Police vow to probe doctors’ joint action

The police will investigate doctors who undertake joint action in protest of the government’s plan to increase the annual student enrollment quota at medical schools from 2025, Yoon Hee-keun, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency told reporters Monday. Yoon said that the police would investigate any joint action taken by doctors that were reported to law enforcement agencies, adding that arrest warrants would be issued for individual doctors who are “clearly in vi

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

First lady resumes duties after 2-month hiatus

Kim Keon Hee appeared to have resumed her engagements as South Korea's first lady, albeit unofficially, for the first time in over two months. Kim reportedly joined a lunch meeting with Netflix Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos and "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, who had been received by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday at the presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The initial statement from the presidential office about the meeting did not indicate that Kim was presen

PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024

More universities gear up for bigger tuition hikes

Four-year universities in South Korea are gearing up to raise tuition fees, going away from the so-called "half-price" tuition policy that encouraged them to freeze the price since 2012. Out of 137 universities that have set the amount of their tuition fees, 19 have decided to raise the expenditure. Keimyung University raised its tuition fee for the first time in 16 years, while Chosun University and Dong-Eui University raised them for the first time in 15 and 13 years, respectively.

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024

Decade after UN report, NK human rights 'worst in world': Turner

The human rights situation in North Korea has remained the worst in the world, even 10 years after the UN released its first report unveiling systematic human rights abuses and violations by the North Korean regime, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights said Monday. One defector, however, asserted that North Korean people have started to adopt the notion of "human rights violations," attributing this shift to the international community's concerted efforts to shed lig

North KoreaFeb. 19, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Stock investment promotion, wind power distribution

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation Proposed by Rep. Park Dae-chul (People Power Party) ● In consideration of the high interest rates and rising number of stock investors in the current economic landscape, this amendment proposes to cancel the upcoming implementation of the financial income tax system and maintain the current capital gains tax system. This bill is in line with President Yoon Suk Yeol's push to abolish the finan

Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2024