Critical court decision looms over fate of govt.'s plan to hike medical school quota

An appellate court in Seoul was to deliver a critical ruling Thursday that would determine the fate of the government's highly contested plan to increase the nationwide medical school admission quota, officials said. The Seoul High Court will issue a ruling at around 5 p.m. on an injunction filed by the medical community seeking to halt the government's plan to increase the medical school quota by 2,000, court officials said. A court rejection of the request would pave the way for the

May 16, 2024

Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon

A rare mid-May warning of heavy snow was issued Wednesday over mountainous areas in northern Gangwon Province. The warning went into effect at 7:20 p.m. as snow, which had started shortly beforehand, was forecast to continue into Thursday morning, accumulating up to 7 centimeters in highland and other mountain areas of northern Gangwon. A heavy snow warning is issued when snowfall accumulation is expected to reach five centimeters or more within a 24-hour period. It marks the first mid-May heavy

May 15, 2024

Will Itaewon tragedy memorial find a new location?

A memorial for the victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, currently installed in front of the main City Hall building in central Seoul, could be relocated as a special bill that mandates an investigation into the tragedy took effect Tuesday. The Seoul city government on Wednesday said the bereaved families and civic groups related to the incident, which claimed 159 lives, would begin discussions on an alternative location for the altar that was installed near Gwanghwamun in February last year.

May 15, 2024

Do Korean doctors make too much money?

Recent government data revealing that South Korean doctors -- except junior doctors -- now rake in an annual salary of 301 million won ($220,029), nearly five times higher than the country’s average annual salary of 42.14 million won, has rekindled the debate on whether doctors are making too much. Some critics believe high income is the reason why doctors refuse to agree to the government’s plan to increase the student quota for medical schools here, out of fear that the value and p

May 15, 2024

CIO chief nominee to explain allegations at confirmation hearing

The nominee for the new chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials is set to explain multiple accusations against him and his family, including allegations of nepotism, in a confirmation hearing scheduled for Friday. Oh Dong-woon, a former judge and attorney, was nominated last month to lead the state investigation agency but has since been mired in controversy surrounding the hiring of his wife at a law firm he worked for between January 2018 and Octobe

May 15, 2024

Online post claims alleged needle in hanwoo beef cut

An online user claimed to have discovered broken metal pins, resembling syringe needles, in Korean premium hanwoo beef, raising questions about meat inspection protocols. On Tuesday, a user of the online community Bobaedream shared images of metal pieces she claimed were from a needle tip found in beef. She described an experience of chewing on a "small metal pin" first and "a pin resembling a sharp needle tip” later, although a thorough search for other metal parts afterwar

May 15, 2024

[Herald Interview] Korea must actively regulate against plastic waste: WWF-Korea chief

As South Korea grapples with a significant surge in plastic pollution, the chief of the world’s largest nongovernmental conservation group's Korean office called for the government here to adopt stricter regulations, calling it an "absolutely necessary" measure. “Some environmental issues cannot be resolved through voluntary participation, and targeting plastic waste problems is one of them,” World Wide Fund for Nature-Korea's executive director Park Min-h

May 15, 2024

Govt. to regulate synthetic nicotine as tobacco through legislation

The government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to designate synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco in order to regulate the product category seeing growing popularity among young smokers, according to officials Wednesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to push for a revision of the law to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco under the Tobacco Business Act, according to officials. In South Korea, tobacco-related laws are man

May 15, 2024

[Graphic News] 1 out of 5 restaurants closed last year

The closing rate of restaurant businesses in South Korea exceeded 20 percent last year, higher than during the height of the COVID-19 period. According to the FinTech company Pinda's big data business analysis platform, “Open Up,” 176,258 out of 818,867 restaurants closed last year, with a closing rate of 21.52 percent. This means that more than 1 out of 5 restaurants closed. The number of restaurants that closed last year surged by 82.6 percent from 96,530 in 2020. The closin

May 15, 2024

Another suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested in Cambodia

A South Korean man has been arrested in Cambodia for his alleged involvement in the murder of a South Korean tourist and abandoning his body in Thailand, officials said Tuesday. The suspect, 27, was nabbed at a lodging in Phnom Penh at around midnight following a tip-off that a South Korean suspected of involvement in the case was spotted in the area. Police have been tracing the whereabouts of the man after confirming that he had fled to Cambodia. He is one of three South Koreans suspected

May 14, 2024

Guidelines introduced to prevent deaths from extreme summer weather

The government will focus its efforts on preventing further loss of human lives during periods of heavy rain and heat waves for the upcoming summer season, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Tuesday. The Interior Ministry convened a joint meeting on the same day with officials from the Ministry of Environment, the National Fire Agency, the Korean National Police Agency and local governments to discuss strategies for preventing human casualties from natural disasters during the summer seaso

May 14, 2024

$70m to be injected into AI-powered public education

The South Korean government said Tuesday that it would inject 96.3 billion won ($70 million) into improving digital infrastructure and developing digital textbooks at public schools in a bid to kickstart teaching and learning powered by artificial intelligence. Initiating the project for third and fourth-graders at elementary schools and first-grade students at middle and high schools, the government aims to alleviate the burden placed on schools and teachers for administrating and managing digi

May 14, 2024

Ministry, doctors clash over decision process of expansion plan

The government and doctors continued their fight Monday over whether the expansion plan to have 2,000 more students starting next year has been determined through appropriate procedures ahead of a court's ruling set for this week. The medical community lashed out at the document presented by the government, claiming it shows the decision was made "arbitrarily without logical justification." The document showed that Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong proposed having 2,000 more medical s

May 13, 2024

[Herald Interview] S. Korea, EU embrace 'great opportunities' for advancing climate action: envoy

South Korea and the European Union share great opportunities for further cooperation in addressing climate change and its impacts not only on a bilateral level but also across the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond, EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez said. "For the EU, the Republic of Korea is one of the key like-minded partners in the context of climate and environment, with the shared values and common goals against the climate crisis," Castillo Fernandez sai

May 13, 2024

Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested

Police in South Korea arrested a man under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, according to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency on Monday. According to police officials, a Korean man in his 20s was apprehended at his home in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on Sunday evening and placed under emergency arrest for allegedly murdering a man and abandoning his body. The police had been tracking the suspect’s whereabouts after learning that he had

May 13, 2024

Seoul Metro seeks solutions to scare away pigeons

Seoul Metro has installed spikes to keep pigeons from roosting in its stations and will introduce more such measures, it said Monday. The operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1 through 8 announced that it has introduced spikes and would soon adopt other measures to deter pigeons and other birds, including nets, bird repellent gel and ultrasonic bird repellers. These measures have come as complaints about birds have increased. Seoul Metro said it received 131 total complaints about pigeons specific

May 13, 2024

Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal

A Korean American pastor accused of gifting a luxury Christian Dior handbag valued at 3 million won ($2,210) to first lady Kim Keon Hee in September 2022 was summoned and questioned by prosecutors for the first time Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sought to investigate the motive behind Choi Jae-young’s decision to hand the luxury bag to Kim, while using a spy cam to secretly film the meeting, according to officials. Whether Choi violated the nation’s Improper S

May 13, 2024

Resources to protect kids on way to school inadequate: report

Despite South Korea witnessing an alarming average of over 89,000 children involved in traffic accidents annually for the past three years, recent data unveiled on Monday that Seoul suffers from inadequate resources to safeguard them from such accidents within school zones. Typically, elementary schools need at least six people per school to guide and direct students at crosswalks near schools. However, across the country's 565 public elementary schools, a total of 767 staff responsible for

May 13, 2024

Ice cube alert: Viral YouTube video exposes dangers of unclean ice machines

Frequently used but unclean ice-making equipment at cafes and restaurants has stirred concern online due to a YouTube video that went viral, drawing attention to the potential health risks posed by ingesting ice cubes from such machines. In an April video posted on the Korean YouTube channel, I am a Businessperson, (direct translation) featuring salespeople and other businesspeople, a cleaning service provider in his 50s, specializing in air conditioning and ice maker maintenance, underscores

May 13, 2024

More than quarter of young couples have no kids: study

More than a quarter of Korean couples aged between 25 and 39 were childless in 2022, a study showed Monday, with a substantial increase in the ratio of DINK -- double income, no kids -- couples among young South Koreans. The Korea Labor Institute report analyzed the trend of young married couples, particularly related to households with the head of the family aged between 25 and 39. The study showed that the percentage of couples without kids in the 25-39 age group came to 27.1 percent, up almos

May 13, 2024