Junior doctors job, test registration open Monday

Starting Monday, local training hospitals will begin posting job openings for junior doctors who will begin training in the second half of the year, and the registration for the state-run medical license test will open in the government's latest steps to fill the months-long medical void. The recruitment comes after 110 out of 151 medical institutions that hired junior doctors last week completed processing the resignations of 7,648 junior doctors who left their worksites in mid-February to

Social AffairsJuly 21, 2024

Koreans' chicken intake continues to rise, hits two per month: data

South Koreans ate an average of more than two chickens per month last year, doubling their per capita chicken consumption over the past two decades, according to data released Sunday. Statistics from the Korea Rural Economic Institute show that per capita chicken consumption reached 26 birds last year, with domestic production accounting for 20 birds per person and imports making up the remaining six. By the weight of chicken meat consumed, excluding bone weight, the per capita figure increase

Social AffairsJuly 21, 2024

N. Korea again sends trash-carrying balloons into S. Korea: JCS

North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday, just three days after a similar launch. The JCS said the balloons appeared to be traveling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul and advised the public not to touch fallen balloons and to report them to the military or police. With the latest launch, North Korea has sent more than 2,000 trash-filled balloons into the South over nine occasio

North KoreaJuly 21, 2024

Cho Kuk reelected as leader of minor Rebuilding Korea Party

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk was reelected the chief of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party on Saturday, officials said. Cho won his second term after winning 99.9 percent approval from party members during a convention held in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul, as he was the only candidate running for party leader. Cho formed the party in March, one month ahead of the general elections on April 10, and had led the party until earlier this month when he resigned to run for reelection. His party

PoliticsJuly 20, 2024

Ex-DP chief wins sweeping victory in Jeju primary for party leadership

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), won a primary on Jeju Island for party leader Saturday, as he eyes to secure a second term. In June, Lee resigned to run for reelection as the current party rule stipulates the party chair must resign from his leadership position to be eligible as a candidate. During Saturday's primary, the first of the 15-leg race across the country, Lee won 82.5 percent of all ballots cast by registered party members on the is

PoliticsJuly 20, 2024

[Weekender] Save the date for affordable, unique weddings in Seoul

When it comes to his big day, hotels, wedding halls and convention centers have never been an option for Bae Sung-jae. The 38-year-old always wanted a wedding that broke from the Korean norm, where hundreds of guests gather at an indoor venue to watch the newlyweds make their wedding vows, followed by a meal or a buffet, and then a photo session. The budget was also an issue. Wedding venues charge not only for food and drinks but also use of the venue, screen for videos and flowers. Instead, he

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2024

Rape suspect’s 18-year run from law ended by a nurse’s sharp eye

A man wanted on suspicion of rape has been apprehended after 18 years on the run after a nurse recognized him from a wanted poster. The police in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province said Friday that the suspect - 54-year-old Kim Yang-min - was apprehended after a nurse at a clinic in Seoul reported the man to the police, having recognized his face from a police poster of criminal suspects on the run. Kim is suspected of breaking into a home in Mokpo in 2006 and sexually assaulting the resident. The inv

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2024

S. Korea blares propaganda broadcasts for 3rd day against NK balloons

South Korea's military on Saturday continued to send propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in response to the North's repeated launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border, sources said. The anti-Pyongyang broadcasts started from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the sources said. The South Korean military had warned it could increase the number of loudspeakers and switch to a full-scale broadcast if the North stages further provocations, including sending trash balloons across

North KoreaJuly 20, 2024

Rival parties wrangle over Yoon's impeachment petition at parliamentary hearing

The ruling and main opposition parties clashed Friday as a parliamentary committee held its first hearing to address an online petition demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The hearing, which focused on allegations that Yoon interfered in a probe into the death of a young Marine surnamed Chae, was marred by physical scuffles and yelling as the ruling People Power Party (PPP) staged a rally outside of the meeting room. Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui of the main opposition Democratic Party (

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Some budget airlines, online games in S. Korea affected by IT outage: sources

Some low-cost airlines and game companies in South Korea saw problems with booking or experienced interruptions in their servers Friday, industry sources said, in an apparent IT disruption that affected the global airline and financial sectors. The cyber outage affected the airport ticketing of Jeju Air Co., Eastar Jet Co. and Air Premia Inc., prompting employees to conduct check-ins by hand, according to sources. The three airlines use computer systems based on Microsoft's cloud service, t

Social AffairsJuly 19, 2024

More restaurants allowed to hire foreign kitchen assistants

In addition to Korean restaurants, Chinese, Japanese and Western restaurants will also be able to hire foreign workers from China and 15 Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries as kitchen assistants under the Employment Permit System. The government has finalized its plans to ease requirements for a pilot program that aims to include the restaurant industry in the EPS system. Initially, the project was to allow only Korean restaurants, and restaurants with fewer than five employees had to ha

Foreign AffairsJuly 19, 2024

Trump touts ties with NK leader, signals interest in dialogue in acceptance speech

Former US President Donald Trump said Thursday in his Republican National Convention speech to accept the conservative party's nomination as its presidential candidate that he "got along with" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. His remarks came as he touted himself as the right person allegedly to stop the wars and deal with the geopolitical complexities involving Russia and North Korea, given his experience holding in-person meetings with both North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Ru

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Major US carriers including American, UAL ground flights citing comms issue

Major US carriers including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines issued ground stops on Friday morning citing communication issues, less than an hour after Microsoft resolved its cloud services outage that impacted several low-cost carriers. It was not immediately clear whether the call to keep flights from taking off were related to the earlier Microsoft cloud outage. Apart from American and Delta, UAL and Allegiant Air too grounded flights. The FAA did not immediately respond

Foreign AffairsJuly 19, 2024

Political blame game intensifies in Seoul over Sue Mi Terry row

The recent indictment in the US of Sue Mi Terry, a North Korea expert who formerly worked for the US Central Intelligence Agency, is feeding the political blame game between the ruling bloc and opposition here over which administration is responsible for what is perceived as South Korea's spying blunder. A South Korean liberal lawmaker who formerly served as the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol's office for "creating an inte

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Over 40 North Korean trash balloons detected overnight: JCS

Over 40 balloons carrying trash flew across the border from the North and fell in northern Gyeonggi Province overnight, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Friday. The JCS detected at least 200 balloons flying from North Korea from 5 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday, and one-fifth of them dropped in South Korea. Residents of Seoul received an alert at around 5:50 p.m. Thursday that a North Korean balloon had entered South Korea's territorial airspace. The balloons mostly carried paper

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

Parliamentary committee to hold hearing on Yoon's impeachment petition on Marine's death anniv.

A parliamentary committee is set to hold a hearing Friday to address an online petition demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, focusing on allegations of his interference in a probe into a young soldier's death. The National Legislation and Judiciary Committee will review the petition urging the National Assembly to propose a bill to impeach Yoon citing five reasons, including his alleged influence on the military's investigation into the Marine's death, and first l

PoliticsJuly 19, 2024

S. Korea brings largest-ever 'Korea House' to Paris Olympics

South Korea will operate its largest-ever "Korea House" during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics to promote its culture and serve as a support base for its athletes, the culture ministry said Friday. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee, the facility will run from July 25 to Aug. 11 at Maison de la Chimie (House of Chemistry), an international conference center in the heart of Paris. The Korea House has been a tradition since

Social AffairsJuly 19, 2024

N. Korean leader discusses military ties with visiting Russian vice defense minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has discussed the "importance and necessity" of military cooperation with Russia's vice defense minister, state media reported Friday, amid Pyongyang's deepening military alignment with Moscow. Kim met with a Russian military delegation, headed by Aleksey Krivoruchko in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He has become the first known ranking Russian military official to visit North Korea since Russian Pre

North KoreaJuly 19, 2024

S. Korean military resumes loudspeaker broadcasts near border in response to NK balloons

South Korea's military conducted propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in response to its latest launch of trash-carrying balloons into the South, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The broadcasts took place from Thursday evening to early Friday in areas near where the balloons were launched, the JCS said in a notice to reporters. It did not provide further details. "The military's response going forward will fully depend on North Korea's actions," the

DefenseJuly 19, 2024

S. Korea, Canada agree to enhance regional security, economic cooperation

Top diplomats of South Korea and Canada held talks Thursday to discuss ways to expand cooperation in regional security, the economy, technology and other areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly, adopted an "action plan" to further develop the comprehensive partnership in broad areas encompassing security, the economy, supply chains, technology, health and climate change. Cho and Joly vowed to

Foreign AffairsJuly 18, 2024