40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather

Forty flights have been canceled on the southern resort island of Jeju due to adverse weather conditions, officials said Sunday. According to officials from Jeju International Airport, 20 arrivals and 20 departures had been canceled as of noon. Strong wind warnings have been issued for the island, with an advisory for wind shear also in effect at the airport. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) asked air passengers to check their flight schedules in advance as the bad weather is expect

May 5, 2024

Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors

The government appears to have shelved a plan to take punitive measures against a protracted walkout by trainee doctors and have pulled back slightly from its plan to increase medical school admission quotas amid a standoff with major doctors' associations, according to officials Sunday. Still, the doctors' associations remained adamant over the issue and renewed their call for the government to revisit the medical reform from scratch, despite some signs of an internal split. During a

May 5, 2024

Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal

As much as "samgyeopsal," the quintessential Korean pork belly cut, translates to three-layered meat, its deliciousness hinges on the perfect balance of fat and meat. This balance delivers a satisfyingly chewy texture bursting with juicy, meaty flavor. In online forums in South Korea now, a heated debate is underway over just how much fat is too much in fat-rich samgyeopsal, as people share their experiences of being served cuts they deem “overly fatty” at restaurants. Th

May 4, 2024

Underage gamblers getting younger, increasing in number: police

South Korea has seen a continued decrease in the average age of teenagers caught gambling in the past five years, reaching 16.1 years old in 2023, according to the National Police Agency. The country also saw a substantial on-year increase in the number of those aged between 14-18 years who were subject to criminal investigation for gambling, which more than doubled from 74 in 2022 to 171 in 2023. The figure does not include those who were caught but received a summary trial or a warning from po

May 4, 2024

From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police

South Korea has been seeking to curb an increasing number of false emergency reports that hinder police duties, with a law revision for stricter measures set to take effect in July. The recently revised law on 112 emergency call services passed last year will kick in on July 3, allowing the court to hand out an administrative fine of up to 5 million won ($3,600) for false reports to the police, even to first-time offenders. Prank calls to the police had previously been dealt with mostly under th

May 4, 2024

Police tracking down bomb threat on public facility

South Korean police on Saturday were searching for the individual who sent an email threatening to detonate bombs at a public facility on Children's Day. Police said they received a report from a local news outlet about the email, which detailed plans to place "high-performance bombs in public facilities in Korea, where many children visit," on Sunday. Written in English, the email declared the bombs would go off Sunday, describing the act as retaliation against U.S. President Joe

May 4, 2024

Man arrested while threatening woman with weapon in Gangnam

A man in his 40s was arrested by police while threatening a woman with a weapon in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam on Saturday morning, officials said. Police said they dispatched officers to the scene after receiving an emergency report that a man is holding a woman hostage in a store selling household items near Gangnam Subway Station at about 9:30 a.m., and the officers arrested the suspect about 25 minutes later. The victim is known to have been safely rescued. Police said they wer

May 4, 2024

Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case

The anti-corruption investigation office was questioning the commander of the Marine Corps on Saturday as part of a probe into an alleged influence-peddling case related to the death of a young Marine last year, officials said. Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Kye-hwan appeared at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, Saturday morning, while remaining tight-lipped when reporters asked him questions. Kim is suspected of being involve

May 4, 2024

Medical students file appeal after court denial of injunction to halt quota hike

Hundreds of medical school students have filed an appeal against a district court's recent decision to deny an injunction they sought to halt their schools from increasing admission quotas, their lawyer said Friday. Earlier this week, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed an injunction request filed by 485 medical students of three state-run universities to stop their university presidents from altering medical school admission plans. The legal action was part of several suits filed by

May 3, 2024

Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket

A woman who was hanging from overhead power lines was rescued unharmed after falling onto a blanket held by neighbors, fire authorities reported Friday. Police and fire officials say they received a report at 11:24 a.m. on Wednesday about a woman dangling from power lines 6 meters above the ground in a multiplex housing complex in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The woman was later identified as being 46 years old and from Uzbekistan. She fell while firefighters were still in

May 3, 2024

4 out of 10 Koreans don’t want to get married: report

Four out of 10 South Koreans have no intention of getting married or have not put thought into it, according to a report released by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy on Thursday. The committee unveiled the findings of a survey on perceptions regarding marriage, childbirth and child care, which targeted 2,011 men and women aged 25 to 49 nationwide. According to the report, 39.1 percent of the respondents aged between 25 and 49 answered that they do not want to get

May 3, 2024

Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry

The corruption investigation office for high-level officials has called in key suspects for questioning over allegations that presidential and defense officials interfered in a sensitive military inquiry concerning the on-duty death of a Marine last year, multiple sources said Friday. Yoo Jae-eun, a legal affairs official at the defense ministry, and Park Kyung-hoon, a former acting chief of the Criminal Investigation Command under the defense ministry, underwent the Corruption Investigation Off

May 3, 2024

Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry

More than 590 resident doctors who left their hospitals in protest of the government’s medical school quota expansion have returned, the Health Ministry said Friday, without providing the names of the hospitals, citing the possibility of future disadvantages from the medical circle. Currently, a little more than 590 out of 9,900 resident doctors, or six percent of the total, have returned to their training hospitals as of Thursday, the ministry explained. Second Vice Health Minister Park M

May 3, 2024

Seoul-Gimpo merger bill faces termination

A bill proposed by the ruling People Power Party last year to incorporate the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, into Seoul currently faces termination due to not being introduced even to a parliamentary subcommittee, according to the National Assembly on Friday. According to the National Assembly’s Bill Information website, no further discussions regarding the Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction Between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul have been made since the bill was presented by Rep. C

May 3, 2024

Korean govt. looks to hire 5th professional calligrapher since 1962

The Korean government is seeking to employ a professional calligrapher as a civil servant to be responsible for crafting letters of appointment for high-ranking civil servants in the name of the South Korean president, according to the Ministry of Personnel Management. The ministry on Thursday announced its plan to hire a professional calligrapher by May 13. The position of calligrapher is the rarest among Korean public officials, with only four calligraphers hired by the government in the 62 ye

May 3, 2024

S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study

Children and teenagers in South Korea have not only gotten taller compared to 10 years ago but also tend to mature at an earlier age, a recent report from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed. The ministry-affiliated Korean Agency for Technology and Standards conducted research on the body measurements of 1,118 South Koreans aged between 7 and 19, the results of which were presented at Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul on Thursday. The report showed growth among all age groups and

May 3, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%

The number of franchised coffee branches in South Korea rose by more than 3,000 on-year in 2022 on growing demand for food and beverages with the ebbing of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of budget brands, the antitrust regulator said. The country had 26,217 franchise coffee shops as of the end of 2022, up 13 percent from the previous year's 23,204, according to data from the Fair Trade Commission. It marked the highest growth among all kinds of food and beverage franchises in 202

May 3, 2024

Govt. to spend W95b to support reforms at 41 public hospitals in H1

The health ministry said Thursday it will spend 94.8 billion won (US$68.8 million) in the first half of the year to help normalize operations and support management reforms at 41 public hospitals across the nation. Under the support program, the government seeks to facilitate sustainable development of public hospitals by assessing their innovation plans, which focus on improving medical services and organizational efficiency, according to the ministry. Hospitals that demonstrate promising outco

May 2, 2024

Medical schools to increase up to 1,509 seats for 2025

South Korea will see an increase of additional seats in medical school admission next year ranging from 1,489 to 1,509, said the Ministry of Education Thursday, less than the 2,000 slots the government had initially allocated. The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education unveiled the finalized enrollment quota submitted by 31 out of 32 medical schools that have been allocated additional seats. Thirty-one medical schools handed in a total of 1,469 slots to increase by 20

May 2, 2024

Public backlash against division of Gyeonggi Province under 'corny' name

Gyeonggi Province’s plan to split off a northern section of the province under a new name as the special self-governing province of "Pyeonghwa Nuri” is facing public backlash, with an online petition against the proposed name drawing over 27,000 participants as of Thursday afternoon. The petition was filed shortly after Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon unveiled the winning name following a monthlong competition held in January, in a press conference Wednesday. Abbreviated, a

May 2, 2024