Doctors angered by plan to require additional license to open practices

As the medical standoff extends over seven months, the government has been discussing mandating an additional license in order to open private hospitals, sparking fury among young doctors here, many of whom have walked off the job to protest the government's medical school quota hike. In line with the government's health care reform plan, the Health Ministry is reviewing introducing a so-called “practice license” in the future, arguing that a doctor's license alone can

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Advisory body for Constitutional revision to be launched: Assembly speaker

National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik reiterated Wednesday the need for a bill to revise the Constitution, with the aim of changing the term limit for the president, stressing that an advisory body will be launched soon. Woo’s remarks, made at a press conference at the Assembly in western Seoul, are in line with the opposition’s goal to hold a national referendum in 2026. The ruling party has denounced the referendum as a move to shorten President Yoon Suk Yeol’s single,

PoliticsAug. 21, 2024

Rain to continue until Thursday after Typhoon Jongdari weakens

Though Typhoon Jongdari weakened to a tropical depression late Tuesday evening, the Korea Meteorological Administration said on Wednesday that rain will continue to fall, focusing on central regions of South Korea to Thursday. As of 9 p.m., Tuesday, Typhoon Jongdari weakened to a tropical depression 30 kilometers off the southeastern coast of Heuksando, South Jeolla Province, according to the KMA. The typhoon then passed by Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, at 3 a.m., before dissipating nearby

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Medical standoff puts Korea's COVID-19 response to test

South Korea's health system, which for years worked to shield the nation from the deadly threat of COVID-19, finds itself under renewed pressure from a virus resurgence amid the prolonged standoff between medical professionals and the government, putting its capacity to the test. The virus is likely to peak later this month at a time when the country's health care has for six months been stretched beyond its capacity, after intern and resident doctors resigned en masse in mid-February

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Yoon aide suggests 'direct hire' of foreign nannies to ease cost burden

An aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday proposed a "private contract" or direct hire between South Korean individuals and foreign caregivers as a way to ease the cost burden for local households having difficulties balancing between work and family life, which she believes is one cause of the country's low birth rate. You Hye-mi, senior secretary to the president for population policy, said in a KBS 1 Radio interview Wednesday that the government is looking for ways to que

PoliticsAug. 21, 2024

Prosecutors drop luxury bag charges against first lady

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has decided to drop the anticorruption charges against first lady Kim Keon Hee, closing its investigation into allegations that she received a luxury Christian Dior handbag and other expensive gifts in exchange for favors. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, which is in charge of the first lady's case, has recently decided not to press charges and report its decision to Prosecutor General Lee One-seok, according to legal circle

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Woman gets suspended jail term for attacking 2 people she claimed were stalkers

A 49-year-old woman has been given a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, for attacking a man and a woman under the false belief they were stalking her, court officials said Wednesday. In a recent ruling from the Seoul Northern District Court, the suspect was found guilty of violence and special bodily injury on another in two attacks, against a 44-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man with mental disabilities She was also ordered to be on probation. On Sept. 16 last year the defendant at

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Man robs store after making false bomb report

A man in his 20s was arrested for making a fake bomb report and robbing a convenience store, South Korean police said Wednesday. The suspect called the police via 112 at around 7 a.m. Tuesday from Pyeongnae-dong, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, and said he installed an explosive device inside the nearby PyeongnaeHopyeong station. He then went into a convenience store and threatened a store clerk with a weapon, stealing 90,000 won ($67) in cash. Police officers searched the station, but did not f

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Coastal cities extend lifeguard availability, as beach visits continue

South Korea's east coastal cities recently extended the availability of lifeguards at official beaches, in light of people continuing to visit them even after they officially closed following the summer vacation period. The city governments of Gangneung and Donghae said they will continue to have lifeguards posted to some beaches for visitors, even after they have closed for this year's summer vacation season. Regional governments operate "haesuyokjang" -- referring to seasid

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

[Herald Interview] K-Wave a model for I-Wave: Indonesian diplomat

Joannes Ekaprasetya Tandjung, minister counselor for the creative economy and digital affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in South Korea, suggested Indonesian artists embrace Korean training and education as models to nurture the Southeast Asian country's creative industry. With an aim to promote Indonesian culture globally, Jakarta initiated the "Promoting Creative Economy for Sustainable Development" resolution at the 78th UN General Assembly in 2023. The initiative marks the firs

Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Korea denuclearization would remain goal if Harris wins White House: campaign official

The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would remain a US policy objective should Vice President Kamala Harris win the White House race in November, a former Pentagon official said Tuesday, dispelling concerns about the exclusion of the goal in the Democratic Party's new policy platform. Colin Kahl, former undersecretary of defense for policy, made the remarks, saying that people appear to be "overreading" the platform. He is known to have participated in a process to write t

Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Biden approved strategy to prepare against coordinated nuclear challenges from NK., China, Russia: NYT

President Joe Biden approved a secret strategy earlier this year to focus on China's growing nuclear threats and prepare the United States for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from North Korea, China and Russia, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Biden's approval in March of the revised strategy, called the "Nuclear Employment Guidance," came amid North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, China's rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal and Russia&

Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2024

[Graphic News] No. of foreign doctors in S. Korea on rise amid medical walkout

The number of foreign medical doctors in South Korea has been on a steady increase, data showed, amid a prolonged walkout by doctors and trainee doctors here over a government-proposed spike in the medical school quota. The report comes amid plans by the Health Ministry to allow foreign medical doctors to practice medicine in the country without obtaining a local license. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the ruling People Power Party, the n

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Prospects of Japanese PM's visit to S. Korea undecided: Seoul official

Prospects of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to South Korea remain undecided, a presidential official said Tuesday, following a media report of a potential bilateral summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol next month. Japan's Kyodo News earlier reported Kishida is considering holding summit talks with Yoon in South Korea early September before stepping down from office, citing diplomatic sources. "The Japanese side has expressed an intention for Prime Minister Kishida

PoliticsAug. 20, 2024

Typhoon Jongdari passes by waters off Jeju; no reports of damage

Typhoon Jongdari passed by waters west of Jeju Island on Tuesday, the state weather agency said, with no damage reported as of yet. As of 6 p.m., a typhoon warning was changed to an advisory for southern waters far off Jeju as the typhoon traveled northward at 33 kilometers per hour about 100 km southwest of the island's southern city of Seogwipo, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Jeju received up to 99 millimeters of rain, while the maximum instantaneous wind spee

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2024

Seoul designates mpox as infectious disease subject to border screening

Starting Wednesday, South Korean health authorities will classify mpox as an infectious disease subject to border screening and require passengers flying from eight African nations with mpox symptoms to report to officials, health authorities here said Tuesday afternoon. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the decision comes after the World Health Organization declared mpox a "public health emergency of international concern" last week. Under the strengthened surveilla

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2024

Moon crater honors Joseon-era astronomer

In a groundbreaking moment for Korean astronomy, the International Astronomical Union has named a lunar crater after 19th-century Joseon-era polymath Nam Byeong-cheol, marking the first time a Korean name has been assigned to a feature on the moon's surface. The Danuri Magnetic Field Payload Research Team from the Department of Space Exploration at Kyung Hee University said Monday that a crater on the far side of the moon, discovered through international collaborative research, has been na

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2024

[Herald Interview] Traveling to ‘see the human side of North Korea’

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- When British traveler Zoe Stephens, 30, decided to tour North Korea for the first time in 2017, she didn’t think she would be doing it for a living. “I went to North Korea as a tourist first, pretty much the same way as everyone else. I realized it’s nothing like what the media says,” she told The Korea Herald. She said “the real North Korea” took her by surprise and charmed her. “So I decided that I wanted to start doing tours to show

North KoreaAug. 20, 2024

Jeju on typhoon alert

A typhoon warning has been issued across Jeju Island as of 2 p.m., Tuesday, as the Korea Meteorological Administration expects Typhoon Jongdari to get close to the western coast of the island around 6 p.m. the same day. The KMA forecast heavy rain, ranging from 30 to 50 millimeters per hour, accompanied by thunder and lightning, to fall on Jeju Island from Tuesday afternoon into the evening. Until Wednesday, the island can expect to see up to 30 to 80 mm of rain, while heavily hit areas such as

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2024

Korea to strengthen e-scooter regulations

With regulations and laws regarding e-scooters still in their infancy despite growing popularity and accidents, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced Tuesday that the public and private sectors are working together to strengthen safety management measures to prevent further accidents. The announcement comes after the government signed a business agreement with related organizations in July, including ten major personal mobility rental companies; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure a

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2024