Wheel falls off truck and hits bus; 2 killed, 12 injured

A wheel broke off of a semi-trailer and hit an express bus at around 4:09 p.m. Sunday, leading to an accident that left two dead and 12 injured. According to local police, the accident occurred on the Gyeongbu Expressway near Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province. The wheel that came off the truck, which was headed in the direction of Busan, crossed over to the other side of the expressway and collided with the bus. The wheel went through the glass of the bus, inflicting fatal injuries upon the 60-som

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Anti-Yoon vs anti-‘586’: Main parties’ election strategies take shape

The campaign strategies for South Korea’s two major parties are starting to take shape as they fill candidacies for the legislative general election less than 50 days away. The Democratic Party of Korea, the main opposition that has a majority in the National Assembly, is playing the “Yoon Suk Yeol card,” seeking to capitalize on the strong anti-Yoon sentiment in the party’s base. Rep. Kim Min-seok, who is heading the Democratic Party general election situation room, told

PoliticsFeb. 25, 2024

Fewer S. Koreans take parental leave; more opt to reduce work hours

The number of South Korean nationals taking parental leave dipped by 3.9 percent in 2023 compared to the year before, though an increasing number of parents are using the state-backed reduced work hours system, according to a recent Ministry of Employment and Labor report. A total of 126,008 people took maternal or paternal leave last year, down 5,076 from the year before, the report showed. Parents taking leave or using the reduced work hours system receive a portion of their salary during the

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

DP rift widens over candidate nomination process

An internal rift in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has widened amid accusations from current and outgoing party members that the candidate nomination process for the April legislative election is unfair and lacks transparency. Both the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party have been gradually selecting their candidates to run in South Korea's 253 constituencies. Lawmakers are either elected directly by the constituency or through a proportional representation system t

PoliticsFeb. 25, 2024

Medical grads abandon internships, robbing hospitals of respite hopes

South Korea's health crisis deepened Sunday as recent medical graduates began to join doctors' collective action against medical school expansion by refusing to take up internships, dashing what hopes there were that they might fill the health care vacuum left by striking trainee doctors. Doctors took to the streets in the afternoon. They claimed the government plan was "unscientific" and asserted that they are "not criminals," in response to threats of legal action

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Bereaved family of subway stabbing victim thanks police

The bereaved family of a woman killed during last year's subway stabbing rampage has sent a letter of gratitude for the police officers in charge of the case, Suwon Nambu Police Station said Saturday. Kim Hye-bin, who was a 20-year-old college student at the time, was one of two victims fatally injured by then-22-year-old Choi Won-jong near Seohyeon Station in Seongnam city, Gyeonggi Province on Aug. 3, 2023. Family members of Kim and 65-year-old Lee Hoi-nam, who also lost her life in the r

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Woman jailed for extortion, assault of celebrity she dated for 10 days

South Korean court on Saturday said it has decided on a 10-month prison term for a 36-year-old woman, who blackmailed and physically assaulted a South Korean celebrity after dating them for just 10 days. The defendant, who dated the 30-something victim briefly in August 2022, refused the victim's request to end their romantic relationship and demanded that he pay her 5 million won ($3,750). The defendant threatened to post malicious comments about the victim if he did not comply, taking adv

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Medical drama's prospects hit as doctors lose sympathy

As public opinion toward doctors worsens over the medical vacuum caused by physicians’ collective action against a planned increase in medical school admissions, a planned medical drama seems to be suffering the fallout. “Wise Resident Life” is a spin-off of the 2020-2021 series Hospital Playlist, and depicts the lives and friendships of professors and doctors at the fictional Yulje University Hospital. It is scheduled for release on tvN in the first half of this year. Earl

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Pediatricians' incomes less than half what eye doctors get: report

A recent government report showed substantial income disparity among South Korean doctors, with the annual incomes of physicians in fields like ophthalmology, neurosurgery and dermatology being more than double that of pediatricians. An average ophthalmologist made 389 million won ($290,000) annually as of 2020, the highest out of all medical fields in the country, according to the annual report by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. The next highest on the list was neur

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2024

Hospitals experience disruptions on extended doctors' walkout

Major hospitals across the country continued to experience disruptions Saturday as thousands of trainee doctors remained off their jobs for the fifth consecutive day in protest against the government's plan to raise the medical school enrollment quota. Nearly 100 general hospitals have canceled or postponed nonessential procedures and turned away non-emergency patients, prioritizing service for severe emergency cases to minimize the growing strain on the medical system. As of Thursday night

Social AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

Two students of Priest Lee Tae-seok become medical specialists

Two South Sudanese students of Catholic priest Lee Tae-seok, who is known for the documentary “Don’t Cry for Me Sudan," have become medical specialists in Korea. Thomas Taban Akot (40) and John Mayen Ruben (38) passed the national certification test to be a surgeon and a physician respectively on Tuesday, Fr. John Lee Memorial Foundation told the Korea Herald. It has been 12 years since they enrolled in the medical school of Inje University in Busan, after graduating Don Bosco S

Social AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

[Photo News] Taegeukgi adorns trees in honor of patriotic figures

Trees are decorated with Taegeukgi, South Korea's national flag in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul on Saturday. Yongsan-gu Office empolyees installed the flags Friday along the 710-meter walkway between Hyochang Park subway station and the park in celebration of the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. The flag decoration will be displayed until March 3, according to the district office.

Social AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

Parents of 7 first to receive W10m for childbirth in Seoul

A young couple who recently welcomed their seventh child became the first family in Seoul to receive a 10-million-won ($7,500) subsidy for bearing multiple children, the district office of Jung-gu in central Seoul said Thursday. Jung-gu Office said it had delivered Jeon Hye-hee and her husband Jo Yong-seok, both 28 years old, the cash incentive for couples who've had at least five children. The district office last year increased the incentives for couples who have five children or more fro

Social AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

FM Cho meets with UNESCO chief in Brazil

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has met with UNESCO's chief in Brazil to discuss ways to bolster cooperation in the ethics of artificial intelligence, as well as other issues, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The meeting with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay took place Thursday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the ministry said. During the meeting, Cho said the two sides can expand cooperation as UNESCO has r

Foreign AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

G7 leaders decry N. Korea's exports of ballistic missiles to Russia

The leaders of the Group of Seven leading democracies strongly condemned arms transactions between North Korea and Russia on Saturday, as they marked the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The G7 leaders issued a joint statement, stressing that the transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow are in breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The G7 countries are the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. "We strongly condemn North Korea's e

Foreign AffairsFeb. 24, 2024

South Korean FM Cho voices concerns over North Korea-Russia military cooperation

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed concerns Friday over growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying it could potentially help Pyongyang's ability to "threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond." Cho made the remarks during a UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on the Ukraine issue at UN headquarters in New York on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "If and when it turns out to be the cas

North KoreaFeb. 24, 2024

Yoon appoints new vice science ministers

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday appointed experienced bureaucrats as new vice science ministers, his office said. Lee Chang-yune, the secretary-general of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science & Technology, was appointed to replace Cho Seong-kyung as the first vice science minister in charge of science technology policies, the presidential office said. Kang Do-hyun, director of ICT policy at the science ministry, was appointed to replace Park Yun-kyu as the second vice science minis

PoliticsFeb. 23, 2024

Fake compilation video featuring President Yoon goes viral

A fake compilation video featuring President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering a speech has spread rapidly on social media, prompting South Korea's independent media regulation agency to decide on Friday to remove the deceptive video from all social media channels. The 46-second fabricated video shows Yoon saying “I, Yoon Suk Yeol, have been enforcing laws that harass our nation,” as well as “I ruined our country and made its people suffer by clinging onto an ideology that deviates

Social AffairsFeb. 23, 2024

Medical services disruption escalates with 27 surgeries canceled

South Korean hospitals are experiencing further disruption amid a growing walkout by the country’s junior doctors, who perform surgeries and provide other treatment at major hospitals. The Ministry of Health and Welfare received 40 adverse effects from the doctor walkout as of 6 p.m. on Thursday, with reports renewing daily. These cases consist of 27 instances of delayed surgery, six cases of patients being refused treatment, four appointment cancellations, and three delays in hospitaliz

Social AffairsFeb. 23, 2024

Health care crisis hits highest level amid doctor walkout

The South Korean government said it has elevated the health care crisis level to the highest position, as of Friday at 8 a.m., in response to the collective walkout of junior doctors as they show little signs of returning. The highest level of seriousness in the four-tier warning system had previously been issued during the COVID-19 pandemic over a spike in confirmed cases, but this is the first time the government has lifted the gauge to seriousness regarding health care. In an effort to minimi

Social AffairsFeb. 23, 2024