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

Fired for rejecting romantic advances: Civic group reveals bizarre dismissal cases

A local civic group recently revealed its analysis of 46 consultation cases involving employees of small businesses, the majority of which were related to what the employees saw as wrongful dismissal from work. The Workplace Gapjil 119 looked into their consultations in 2023 involving employees of workplaces of fewer than five workers and found that 27 of them were cases related to dismissal. In one such case, the employee was fired after packing their own lunch instead of eating with co-worke

Aug. 12, 2024

Foreign student arrivals hit record high. Find out which country leads the pack

Over 200,000 international students came to South Korea for studies in the first six months of this year, setting a new half-year record, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 204,000 foreign students entered South Korea for studies from January through June, a 50.6 percent increase from the same period last year. This is the first time that the half-yearly number of student arrivals has exceeded 200,000, though the total number of students at universities here has

Aug. 12, 2024

Woman from 36-week abortion YouTube video to face criminal charges

A woman who shared her experience of undergoing an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy via YouTube could face criminal charges, along with the doctors who performed the operation, Korean police said Monday. “The YouTuber and the doctors of the hospital where she underwent the surgery are being investigated as criminal suspects,” a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official told reporters on Monday. In the since-deleted video, a woman who described herself as 24 years old claims to have

Aug. 12, 2024

Concerns rise over summer COVID-19 wave

Concerns about a resurgence of COVID-19 are again gripping South Korea, as the country has been witnessing an alarming increase in patients. The uptrend is likely to continue throughout the end of this month, health authorities here said Monday. Just as many are taking summer breaks, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has seen a stark rise in recent weeks, with those admitted to 220 hospitals nationwide for the virus standing at 861 in the first week of August -- the highest numbe

Aug. 12, 2024

Heat wave likely to persist until Aug. 22

The weather agency said Monday that it expects the current heat wave to continue at least until Aug. 22, with temperatures until then to record higher than usual. In the past, Korea saw the summer heat easing into fall weather after Aug. 15. However, due to the continued convergence of the Tibetan and North Pacific high-pressure systems over the Korean Peninsula, the Korea Meteorological Administration anticipates the current heat wave to last longer. Until Aug. 22, morning temperatures are expe

Aug. 12, 2024

Wanted man turns himself in, two days after hostage situation

A man on the run from the law turned himself in to police two days after he fled officers while shielding himself with a female hostage, who turned out to be his romantic partner. Changwon District Prosecutors' Office said Monday that the suspect in his 50s had turned himself in at around 11:05 p.m. the night before, after police contacted him and persuaded him to do so. He had been on the run since April, when he was supposed to return to prison after being temporarily released for medic

Aug. 12, 2024

Seoul mayor confident in 2036 Olympics bid

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon voiced strong confidence in the city's ability to host a profitable and successful 2036 Summer Olympics, citing Seoul's well-established infrastructure and robust public safety measures as key factors that would contribute to the event's success. In a Facebook post on Sunday titled "Again, the Seoul Olympics," Oh reiterated his commitment to bringing the Olympics back to Seoul, a pledge he first made two years ago. After visiting the Paris Olympics

Aug. 12, 2024

Pilot program to bring in 300 immigrant workers annually for power line construction

The government will bring in 300 immigrant workers annually through a pilot visa program to address workforce shortages in power transmission line construction, officials said Monday. Under the two-year trial program, the government will issue E-7 work visas to 300 foreign workers annually, who will be employed in the country's power line construction industry, the justice and industry ministries said. The industry is struggling to hire new workers due to its dangerous and demanding work en

Aug. 12, 2024

6 in 10 low earners not registered for pension: report

Despite the government's efforts to reduce the blind spot for the national pension, only four out of 10 people in the low-income bracket are enrolled in the national pension system, a study showed Sunday. According to the National Pension Research Institute, among the people aged 20 to 59 in the last tier of the income group, those who earn less than two-thirds of the median income of 2021, only 40.96 percent enrolled in the national pension system. The enrollment rate increased a mere 2.15

Aug. 11, 2024

Korea mulls more sprinklers underground in wake of EV fire

In response to a recent surge in fires caused by electric vehicles in underground parking lots across South Korea, the government is reportedly considering regulatory changes, including installing additional sprinklers and expediting the fire department's response times. The Ministry of Environment was set to hold a meeting Monday to have the National Fire Agency explain how to mitigate the risks associated with EV-related fires. Discussing major measures starting from the Monday meeting, t

Aug. 11, 2024

[Photo News] In memory of comfort women

A memorial event to commemorate the upcoming International Memorial Day for Comfort Women on Aug. 14, was held at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday. Hosted by Gyeonggi Province, the event was themed "Yellow Butterfly -- A Promise to Next Generation" and included a cultural festival, a commemorative ceremony, and a wreath-laying at the statues of the victims. Attendees participated in symbolic activities like folding yellow butterflies and creating replicas

Aug. 10, 2024

SK Telecom's e-prescription service ruled legal by top court

The Supreme Court recently confirmed the ruling that said the SK Telecom Co. did not violate the law with its electronic prescription service that the company provided 14 years ago, court officials said Friday. In a verdict reached last month, South Korea's highest court upheld the lower court's ruling that cleared SK Telecom of violating the Personal Information Protection Act and the Medical Services Act. The e-prescription service in question was launched by the largest wireless c

Aug. 10, 2024

Seongsu Station to install 2 extra stairways to address overcrowding

Two extra sets of stairs are to be installed at Seoul's notoriously crowded Seongsu Station, the Seoul Metro said Thursday, in a bid to resolve overcrowding issues in the popular area. One of the new stairways will be installed next to the existing stairs leading to Exit No. 2, and the other next to the existing stairs leading to Exit No. 3, according to Seoul Metro's officials. Construction of the new stairs at the Line No. 2 station will be completed before October next year, by wh

Aug. 10, 2024

No. of foreign doctors in S. Korea on rise amid medical walkout

The number of foreign medical doctors in South Korea has been on a steady increase, data showed Saturday, amid a prolonged walkout by doctors and trainee doctors here over a government-proposed spike in the medical school quota. The report comes amid plans by the health ministry to allow foreign medical doctors to practice medicine in the country when needed, even before they obtain local licenses. According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the r

Aug. 10, 2024

Seoul moves to ban overcharged EVs from underground parking

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday new measures to prevent fires caused by overcharging electric vehicles, including banning EVs with over 90 percent battery levels from entering underground parking in residential buildings. The municipal government explained that electric vehicle fires can result from various factors, including external impacts and battery defects, with excessive charging also recognized as a significant cause. The policy comes a week after an Incheon incident w

Aug. 9, 2024

New chief of Independence Hall of Korea accused of being ‘pro-Japan’

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s recent appointment of a conservative professor who is accused of supporting the New Right political movement that justifies Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula as the source of Korea's modernization, as chief of the national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement, has been met with a torrent of criticism from independence fighters' descendants. The Heritage of Korean Independence, a Seoul-based or

Aug. 9, 2024

Seoul reverses course, lifts greenbelt limits to fuel housing growth

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Friday emphasized that easing greenbelt development restrictions is crucial to addressing the city's housing demands, particularly for newlyweds, as part of broader efforts to tackle South Korea's pressing low birth rate. Oh acknowledged Seoul's historical reluctance to lift greenbelt restrictions but argued that current challenges, including population decline due to low birth rates and the urgent housing needs of young couples, make this change necessar

Aug. 9, 2024

Hospitals commence additional recruit of trainee doctors amid standoff

Local training hospitals began announcing new recruitment notices for trainee doctors Friday, eight days after the Ministry of Health and Welfare called for additional recruitment notices due to low turnout during the initial recruitment round two weeks ago. The second round of recruitment for local training hospitals is scheduled to last until Aug. 14 for first-year resident doctors and until Aug. 16 for second to fourth-year resident doctors. The government plans to hold written examinations f

Aug. 9, 2024