Political parties ramp up campaign efforts amid shifting opinion polls

With only a month left before the April 10 parliamentary elections, political parties are unveiling various pork-barrel election pledges and intensifying efforts to secure key districts, as recent public opinion polls indicate a slight yet significant shift. The quadrennial vote holds significant importance for the ruling People Power Party as a failure to regain a majority in the 300-member National Assembly could potentially render President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for the next three years o

PoliticsMarch 11, 2024

Top general visits Air Force missile defense center amid N.K. threats

South Korea's top military officer on Sunday called for responding "overwhelmingly" against any enemy provocations as he visited an Air Force missile defense operations center, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo made the call amid concerns of North Korean saber-rattling during the annual Freedom Shield exercise between South Korea and the United States, which began Monday for an 11-day run. "If the enemy undertakes a provocation, don't

DefenseMarch 10, 2024

Health minister vows to speed up medical reform despite walkout by trainee doctors

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Sunday that the government would hasten its policy of increasing the number of medical students while issuing warnings against defiant trainee doctors who attacked their colleagues returning to the medical field. "It is completely unacceptable to attack people who are working day and night in the field and coerce them to participate in the collective action," Cho told a government response meeting. "We will thoroughly investigate it and take stri

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Protests at airport as ex-defense chief departs for Australia as envoy

Lee Jong-sup, the former minister of national defense who was recently appointed as ambassador to Australia, faced protests by opposition parties as he arrived at the airport on Sunday to depart for Brisbane. Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, the Democratic Party of Korea floor leader, held a protest at the Incheon Airport terminal for international flights and said that Lee being sent abroad as an ambassador was a demonstration of “what is wrong with the administration in power.” “Exactly ab

PoliticsMarch 10, 2024

Is S. Korea violating ILO rules in fight against junior doctors?

Amid the ongoing standoff between the South Korean government and medical professionals, a new criticism has been raised from within medical circles that the back-to-work order imposed on junior doctors in teaching hospitals violates international labor standards. The doctors' walkout in South Korea began in mid-February as a boycott of the government's plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota by at least 2,000 places each year, from 3,058. As of Thursday, nearly 12,000 jun

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Descendant from US missionary family to run for Assembly

Ihn Yohan, who is from the fourth generation of a US missionary family that helped build churches and schools in Korea during Japanese colonial rule, is running for office in the April 10 general election as a ruling People Power Party candidate. The People Power Party committee for nominating candidates for the general election asked In, whose American name is John Linton, to run, and he has accepted, according to those familiar with the matter. Ihn, director of the Severance Hospital Internati

PoliticsMarch 10, 2024

Man gets 1-year jail term for assaulting pregnant girlfriend

A South Korean court on Sunday said it has sentenced a 30-something man who had repeatedly assaulted his pregnant girlfriend with a one-year prison term. The defendant, whose identity was withheld by the authorities, has been accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend multiple times in Cheongju, 112 kilometers from Seoul, in August 2022, after accusing her of causing him to lose in a video game. He is also accused of hitting the victim in the face multiple times for secretly looking into hi

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Falls in employment linked to higher suicide rate: study

A recent think tank study showed that the suicide rate in South Korea tends to go up as the employment rate falls with the effect stronger among women and the younger population. The report by the state-run Korea Labor Institute analyzed the data of 16 major cities across the country between 2000 and 2021, comparing the suicide rates with both employment and unemployment rates. They found that suicide rates go down as employment rates go up, and rise proportionally to the unemployment rates. In

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Fruit vendor praised as hero after taking down man wielding knife

A store owner who took down a man on a rampage while wielding a knife is being heralded as a hero here, after reports of the incident made headlines Friday afternoon. According to Gangbuk Police Station, a man in his 50s attempted to start a fire in the streets of Suyu-dong, northern Seoul at around 1:25 p.m. on Friday. When a passerby tried to stop him, he swung a knife and inflicted a minor injury to the victim’s face. Sensing danger, Jo Yu-chan, a local fruit vendor who was near the sus

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Late bloomers eye medical schools amid hike plan

Amidst the South Korean government's move to boost the medical enrollment quota, a growing number of Koreans in their 20s to 50s are flocking to private academies in a determined bid to prepare for medical school applications, or what they are calling their "second chance" in life. Due to rising demands, private academies that help students prepare for the Korean college entrance exam, or Suneung, have recently opened late-night classes targeting those who already have careers but

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Philippines, S. Korea recall cooperation that forged 75 years of ties

The Philippines marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties with South Korea on Tuesday, recalling the cooperation and sacrifices that have strengthened the bilateral relationship. Stressing the exceptional strength of Philippine-Korea diplomatic ties, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the majority of diplomatic relations with Korea can be traced back approximately 60 years or less, but Korea’s relations with the Philippines predate the Korean War. The Philippines contri

Foreign AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Court denies compensation for death after COVID-19 vaccine

South Korean court said Sunday it has recently ruled against the compensation for the family of an 88-year-old woman who died shortly after being vaccinated for COVID-19, saying her death could not directly be linked to the vaccination. According to officials, the victim experienced severe chest pain an hour and 30 minutes after receiving the shot on April 23, 2021. She died two hours and 37 minutes after the vaccination. The bereaved family requested financial compensation from the government,

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Court upholds dismissal of Air Force sergeant accused of abusing colleagues

South Korean court said on Sunday it has rejected the request made by a former member of the Air Force to reverse his dismissal, saying the military's decision is justified. The Chuncheon branch of the Seoul High Court upheld the earlier court ruling that ruled in favor of the Air Force dismissing the senior non-commissioned officer, who had the rank of "wonsa" which is roughly equivalent to chief master sergeant in the US Air Force. He was removed from the post in May 2022 after

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

1 in 5 teens have faced online abuse: survey

About 1 in 5 teenagers in South Korea have been subject to online abuse, a recent survey by state-run think-tank found Sunday. The National Youth Policy Institute conducted the study in November on 1,038 teens here, comprising of 508 middle school students, 507 high school students and 23 teens not attending schools. Some 20.1 percent of the respondents said they had been insulted, generally hurt online in the past six months, while 3 percent said they have been subject to cyberbullying over 10

Social AffairsMarch 10, 2024

S. Korea to dismantle support foundation for Kaesong complex as early as next week

South Korea is expected to pass a proposal to shut down a support foundation for the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong as early as next week, the unification ministry said Sunday. The revision to the decree on support for the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be presented at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, which will entrust the foundation's tasks to the civilian sector, according to the ministry. The foundation -- set up in 2007 to support th

DefenseMarch 10, 2024

Biden, Trump issue dire warnings of the other, as rematch comes into view in Georgia

ATLANTA -- President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump warned of dire consequences for the country if the other wins another term in the White House as the pair held dueling rallies in Georgia Saturday fresh off strong wins in Super Tuesday contests that positioned them for an all-but-certain rematch this November. The state was a pivotal 2020 battleground — so close four years ago that Trump finds himself indicted here for his push to “find 11,780 votes” and overtu

Foreign AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Biden: Netanyahu 'hurting Israel' by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza

WILMINGTON, Del. -- President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza. The US leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.” Biden has for months warned that I

Foreign AffairsMarch 10, 2024

Institutes launch 'office workers' class' for doctor-wannabes, amid med school craze

Private education institutes across South Korea have been expanding the number of classes for students preparing for medical school, with some promoting night classes for office workers wishing to become doctors. Mega Study, a major private education institute, held an information session earlier this week about a night class for medical school hopefuls which will open on March 18. According to the institute, the majority of the inquiries were made by those in their early to mid-30s who were gra

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2024

Many men fear paternity leave would lead to disadvantages at work: survey

The majority of men who have taken parental leave think taking a leave of absence for childcare is still difficult in South Korean society, with their leading concern being parental leave putting them at a disadvantage for promotion, a recent survey by a think-tank indicated. The KCTU Research Center, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, surveyed 1,720 of its members who took paternity leave at least once to find how they felt about the system. In the survey conducted throug

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2024

Govt. set to complete sending 1st suspension notice to striking doctors

  The South Korean government is expected to wrap up sending out the first notice of its plan to suspend the medical licenses of striking trainee doctors next week as part of its disciplinary action against them, sources said Saturday. About 90 percent of 13,000 medical interns and residents have remained off their jobs through mass resignations for nearly three weeks in protest of the government's decision to increase medical school enrollment. The government earlier ordered the striking d

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2024