Bodyguards drag student out for protesting Yoon's commencement

A student was physically removed on Friday as he protested a research budget cut as President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered a speech at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's commencement ceremony in Daejeon. A clip of the student being carried out with his arms and legs lifted by bodyguards has gone viral in online communities. The video appeared to show some of the bodyguards were clad in graduation gowns. The student, identified as Shin Min-gi, one of some 3,000 graduates tha

PoliticsFeb. 16, 2024

Government orders hospitals to reject mass leave of trainee doctors

The Health Ministry ordered 221 hospitals on Friday to ban mass leave of junior doctors and to maintain essential medical personnel, in response to a nationwide movement of collective action among doctors in protest of the government's recent decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota. The government's decision comes after trainee doctors from five major general hospitals in Seoul threatened to walk off the job at 6 a.m. on Tuesday next week, in an apparent show of protes

Social AffairsFeb. 16, 2024

S. Korea to introduce stipend for graduate students in tech push

South Korea on Friday unveiled plans to introduce a basic allowance for graduate students taking part in state-sponsored scientific projects, in high hopes of boosting the nation's scientific research capabilities. Any master's degree student in Korea who contributes to state-backed research will receive at least an 800,000 won ($600) stipend each month regardless of the amount of work done. The amount of the allowance will be at least 1.1 million won for an eligible doctor's degr

PoliticsFeb. 16, 2024

Free, unmanned monorail opens in Jung-gu, Seoul

A free, unmanned monorail has opened in Jung-gu, Seoul, officials said on Friday. The Jung-gu Office said the 100-meter long monorail connecting Shindang Hyundai Apartment to Daehyeonsan Reservoir Park began operating from Thursday. This is the first time in Seoul that the monorail has been introduced as a means of transportation. The monorail has three platforms in total: the starting point, the middle point and the ending point. It takes about 3 to 4 minutes from the departure point to the f

Social AffairsFeb. 16, 2024

[From the Scene] ‘South Korea’s health care died on Feb. 6’

Unleashing pent-up anger against the government’s decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 from the current 3,058, hundreds of doctors from the Seoul Medical Association, along with medical students, interns and residents and their families, walked the picket line on Thursday to urge a reversal of the planned hike. The picket was part of massive protests staged by doctors’ groups nationwide beginning Tuesday, marking the first collective action by doctors gro

Social AffairsFeb. 16, 2024

Yoon taps retired Maj. Gen. Seok as DAPA head

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday tapped Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Seok Jong-gun as the new minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the presidential office announced Friday. Seok will begin in the position on Monday, replacing Eom Dong-hwan, who has served since June 2022. Yoon's office said in a statement that Seok is the right fit for the role of setting up coordinating structures between the government, military, DAPA and local defense industry. The major general will

PoliticsFeb. 16, 2024

Govt. says nationwide doctors' strike unlikely despite growing grievances

A nationwide strike by doctors is unlikely to be realized, the health ministry said Thursday, though trainee doctors and medical school students have moved to take collective action against medical school enrollment quota hikes. Doctors have warned of a massive strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision announced last week to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. "The poss

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Kim's sister says N. Korea open to better ties with Japan

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday said the regime is open to improving its relationship with Japan, including inviting the Japanese leader to Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong's remark came after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a speech last week that he feels a "strong need" to change the current relationship between Tokyo and Pyongyang, and that he is currently making related activities. In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency, the si

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2024

Seoul voices 'deep concern' over Israel's military operation in Gaza

South Korea on Thursday expressed "deep concern" over Israel's recent military operation in the southern Gaza Strip, calling for relevant parties to protect civilians. "The government of the Republic of Korea expresses its deep concern over the recent Israeli military operation and its additional plan in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, where approximately 1.4 million people are sheltering," the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Rafah, which li

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

[Contribution] Looking back on 35 years of ties on the occasion of Serbia's National Day

By Nemanja Grbic, Serbian ambassador to Korea As the Embassy of Serbia in Seoul proudly celebrates its National Day together with the small Serbian community living here, as well as our Korean friends, it is an opportunity to once again recall the close and decadeslong friendly relations that so happily exist between our two countries and two peoples. Statehood Day or National Day is celebrated every Feb. 15 in Serbia to commemorate the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, which e

PoliticsFeb. 15, 2024

Trump's NATO barbs spark concerns of return to 'transactional' alliance

Former US President Donald Trump's outspoken criticism of NATO and its collective defense resonates deeply with implications for South Korea's security, a cornerstone being the US commitment to defense, especially amid escalating North Korean threats. After Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, intensified his rhetoric on Saturday, the possibility of his return to power raised concerns about the revival of his transactional approach to the Sou

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Seoul side-eyes N. Korea while forging ties with Cuba

The surprise establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba marks the culmination of Seoul's diplomatic endeavors with socialist countries that have historically maintained friendly ties with North Korea, according to the presidential office on Thursday. South Korea and Cuba on Wednesday evening officially announced that they had forged diplomatic relations, fulfilling Seoul's decadeslong aspiration to engage with the socialist country. Seoul believes the move deliv

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Ministry downplays risk of doctors’ strike despite growing calls for action

While medical circles have shown signs of momentum for collective action across the country, the Health Ministry on Thursday downplayed the possibility of them walking out of school campuses and jobs, saying it judges the likelihood of a full-scale joint action as “very low.” Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo said during Thursday’s press briefing that the ministry has seen no movements at this point, adding that reports that junior doctors have submitted t

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

1 in 6 elementary schools in Seoul to have under 40 students per grade: study

Amid a sharp decline in the school-age population due to a rapidly dropping birth rate, 1 out of 6 elementary schools in Seoul will have fewer than 40 students per grade level, government research suggested Thursday. The number of "small-scale schools" that have fewer than 240 students will increase by 101 in 2028, an almost 50 percent increase from this year with 69 schools, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's prediction on arrangements of schools from 2024

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Farewell to Seoul's oldest elephant passing at age of 59

The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday. The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered from deteriorating health since November last year, primarily caused by ascites and subcutaneous edema. Born in February 1965 in Thailand, she was in her 90s in human years. Sakura spent her early years as a circus performer at a Japanese amusement park, Takarazuka Family Land, from when she was 7 m

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

1 out of 5 job-seekers in S. Korea aged 60 and above

With South Korea rapidly closing in on the "super-aged society" threshold, 20.1 percent of all job-seeking posts uploaded on the state-run job search website last year were by people aged 60 and above. According to the Ministry of Labor, a total of 4.77 million people sought to find new jobs through the state-run Worknet, out of which 959,602 were posted by senior citizens. The figure was higher than for any other age group except the 29 and below group, who uploaded 1.15 million posts

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

S. Korea joins Ukraine donor coordination plaform

South Korea has joined the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine as a member country on Wednesday along with the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to contribute to the post-war reconstruction of the country at war with Russia, the presidential office said on Thursday. The new membership was confirmed during the meeting of the MDCP's steering committee held virtually Wednesday. Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland also joined the platform as observers. Before th

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

All eyes on N. Korea's reaction over S. Korea's establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba

North Korea has given no reaction yet to South Korea's establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, but the surprise announcement is a blow to Pyongyang that has long boasted brotherly ties with the Caribbean nation. South Korea forged diplomatic ties with Cuba on Wednesday, making Cuba the 193rd country that South Korea has built diplomatic relations with. That came 65 years after Cuba cut off bilateral exchanges with Seoul following Fidel Castro's seizing of power in a 1959 revol

Foreign AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Embattled soccer association set to hold meeting

Faced with controversy over a scuffle involving two of its best players and growing demand for the head coach's resignation, the Korea Football Association will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of the South Korean men's national team. The main agenda of the meeting, slated for 11 a.m., will likely be Jurgen Klinsmann, who has been subject to criticism from the public, the media and even politicians after the national team's disappointing semifinals exit at the Asian Cup 2023. The

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024

Govt. to expand telemedicine services if trainee doctors go ahead with strike

The health ministry said Thursday that it will fully expand telemedicine services and mobilize assistant nurses if a major association of trainee doctors pushes ahead with a nationwide strike in protest of a plan to boost the number of medical students. Tension between doctors and the government has grown over last week's decision to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2024