'Foundation Day' controversy resurfaces

The controversy over Korea's national day has resurfaced in the past week, after the Yoon Suk Yeol administration appointed a conservative professor accused of supporting a political movement that wants the country’s founding to be recognized as happening in 1948, instead of liberation in 1945. Kim Hyoung-suk, who took office as the new director of the Independence Hall of Korea earlier this month, has been accused by the liberal bloc and some descendants of Korean independence fighte

Aug. 14, 2024

Free after-school programs to run nationwide

The Education Ministry announced Wednesday that care programs for elementary schools driven by the state will begin in the second semester of the 2024 academic year, benefiting more than 6,300 schools nationwide. Dubbed "Neulbom school" which directly translates to "always caring" in Korean, the policy is a comprehensive after-school management system that integrates various educational resources from the school, the community and universities in the area in addition to regul

Aug. 14, 2024

Why has S. Korea seen no typhoons this month?

While Japan is grappling with record rainfall from Typhoon Maria and bracing for three more typhoons, South Korea is experiencing the opposite -- intense heat, heat wave warnings and tropical nights. In the past, after the roughly monthlong monsoon season in July, Korea would see heat waves last to mid-August, accompanied by typhoons and rain after, lowering overall temperatures to ease into fall. However, instead of typhoon warnings and heavy rain this year, Korea has seen more heat wave warn

Aug. 14, 2024

157 families chosen for foreign nanny pilot

A total of 157 households in Seoul, primarily dual-income families, have been selected to participate in the newly introduced foreign nanny program, according to the Seoul city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it had received 751 applications by the deadline of Aug. 6, meaning there was significantly more demand than could be met by the pilot program. The city government chose the successful applicants by prioritizing single-parent households, pregnant women, families

Aug. 14, 2024

Number of COVID-19 pediatric patients jumps as summer wave spreads

The number of COVID-19 child patients in South Korea jumped this month, as the nation saw a surge in cases amid a summer wave, hospital data showed Wednesday. At 42 pediatric hospitals, there were 1,080 child patients with COVID-19 on Aug. 5-9, compared with 387 child patients on July 22-26, according to data compiled by the Korea Children's Hospital Association. In particular, the number of COVID-19 child patients stood at 301 on Aug. 5-9 in Chungcheong provinces, compared with 54 on July 22-26

Aug. 14, 2024

More foreigners visit S. Korea via non-capital region: data

An increasing percentage of foreign visitors to South Korea are opting to use air and sea ports in areas outside of the Greater Seoul region of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, data showed that 74.4 percent of the foreign visitors who entered the country in the first half of this year used Incheon International Airport, Incheon Port and Gimpo International Airport, which are located in the country's gateway

Aug. 14, 2024

Seoul develops dog meat testing tech ahead of country-wide ban

Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it has developed a diagnostic test to identify dog meat, with a recently passed ban on dog-sourced meat set to fully take effect in 2027. The test kit uses polymerase chain reaction to identify dog DNA in meat, and has been developed by Seoul's Research Institute of Public Health and Environment in June. The city government plans to use the system to catch those who attempt to sell dog meat by falsely advertising it as other types of meat. Seou

Aug. 14, 2024

Health minister vows stern measures against attempts to hinder return of junior doctors

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong on Wednesday pledged to take stern measures against attempts to obstruct junior doctors' return to hospitals. Cho's remarks came as lists of junior doctors who decided to return to work were circulating online, with the police conducting an investigation upon the request of the ministry. "So far, we have referred 21 cases regarding the release of lists and defamation, with investigative authorities identifying the suspects and sending the cases to the

Aug. 14, 2024

Price cap of meals for public servants to be raised later this month

The government will ease restrictions on the price of meals served to public officials and other professions later this month, officials said Wednesday, in a move aimed at reflecting the current price levels since the anti-corruption law came into effect in 2016. Under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, commonly known as the Kim Young-ran law, public officials and individuals in specific roles, such as journalists and private school teachers, are not allowed to be served meals worth more t

Aug. 14, 2024

Relentless heat sparks surge in heat-related illnesses, livestock losses

The ongoing heat wave continues to take a toll on humans and livestock alike, with men, the elderly and manual laborers most affected, while poultry remains hardest hit among animals. As of Sunday, South Korea reported nearly 2,300 heat-related illnesses and over 700,000 livestock deaths, data showed Tuesday. According to the Interior Ministry, the cumulative number of heat-related illness cases had reached 2,293, with 21 deaths reported. This is the highest number since the record-breaking heat

Aug. 13, 2024

Yoon restores ex-governor's political rights, pardons Park's aides

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday officially restored the rights to hold public office for former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, who had served in jail until late 2022 for illegally conspiring to manipulate online opinions in favor of former President Moon Jae-in ahead of the 2017 presidential election. The reinstatement of Kim's political rights came as part of Yoon's decision to grant special pardons for a total of 1,219 convicts on the occasion of Liberation Day which fall

Aug. 13, 2024

Korea mulls service fee hike for 1,000 critical surgeries

The Health Ministry said Tuesday that medical service fees for complex but essential surgeries, often undervalued despite their high skill and resource demands, will be raised possibly starting early next year. This initiative seeks to correct the long-standing pay disparities in a country where compensation for cosmetic procedures at private clinics is often higher than critical, lifesaving surgeries. The discussion took place during the medical reform committee meeting earlier in the day, whic

Aug. 13, 2024

COVID-19 cases to peak by late August: KDCA

The number of COVID-19 cases is expected to reach its peak by the end of this month, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, vowing to expand its COVID-19 response team and implement stricter antivirus measures. As of the first week of August, the agency said up to 861 cases have been recorded at 220 major medical institutions around the country, a sixfold increase compared to the number of cases from July. “The surge could peak around the end of August, as contacts among peo

Aug. 13, 2024

Moment when divorce sank in? Divorced Koreans pick splitting assets, moving to new home

A recent survey showed that many in South Korea who have divorced said that splitting up hit them the hardest when they were dividing assets with their former spouse, or when they were moving to a new home. Local matchmaking agencies Bien-Aller and Only-You conducted the survey of 267 divorced men and 267 divorced women, and asked them when was the moment their divorce sank in. Some 31.1 percent of the female respondents picked when they were receiving their half of the marital assets, or giving

Aug. 13, 2024

Missing Incheon man found dead in golf course pond

South Korean police said Tuesday that an Incheon man who had been reported missing after a work dinner last week was found dead in a water hazard or pond at a golf course three days after he had disappeared. The body of the man, in his 20s, was found by the police search team at 4:20 p.m. on Monday, according to Incheon Seobu Police Station. Investigators used drones and surveillance footage of the areas adjacent to where he was last seen in Seo-gu in the western part of the city, and managed to

Aug. 13, 2024

Seoul Metro sells naming rights for 4 more stations

Seoul Metro, operator of the Seoul subway system, said Monday it has sold the naming rights for four stations to local companies in a recent open auction, in a bid to address its chronic financial issues. The naming right of Seongsu Station was sold to Olive Young, a health and beauty products retailer of the CJ Group, for 1 billion won ($730,000), while rights for renaming Yeouinaru Station was to Eugene Investment and Securities Co. for 220 million won. The naming right for Gangnam Station was

Aug. 13, 2024

Seoul records tropical nights for 22 days in row; 3rd longest on record

The tropical night phenomenon has continued in Seoul for 22 days in a row, the third longest on record, the state weather agency said Monday. Seoul has experienced yet another tropical night phenomenon overnight, marking the third longest on record since modern meteorological observation began in the city in 1907, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. A tropical night refers to a phenomenon when the nighttime temperatures stay above 25 degrees Celsius from 6:01 p.m. to 9 a.m. the f

Aug. 12, 2024

South Korea police investigate YouTuber for late-term abortion video

South Korean police said Monday they were investigating a YouTuber who vlogged about undergoing a late-term abortion, sparking online outrage and calls from the country's health ministry for a murder probe. The woman, whose identity police withheld, claimed in a video posted on Google-owned YouTube in June to have undergone an abortion in her thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, saying she had only discovered she was pregnant very late in the process. The footage, which was later deleted, quickl

Aug. 12, 2024

Gov't to convene meeting this week to address growing electric car concerns

Vice ministers from various government agencies will hold a meeting this week to address growing safety concerns over electric cars, following the recent explosion of an electric sedan in an underground apartment parking lot, the government said Monday. The Office for Government Policy Coordination is set to preside over the vice ministerial meeting on Tuesday as part of the government's plan to announce a set of measures to prevent electric car fires early next month, according to offici

Aug. 12, 2024

AI textbooks turmoil continues ahead of implementation

As South Korea prepares to implement the world's first artificial intelligence-powered, tablet-based digital textbooks in 2025, concerns over privacy violations and students' over-reliance on digital devices continue to stir controversy. Amid growing concerns, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho reaffirmed the importance of turning classrooms "digital" on Monday at a briefing with reporters at the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety, pledging full support to teachers as t

Aug. 12, 2024