Govt. to cut trainee doctor quota unless hospitals accept resignations by next Monday

The government has notified hospitals that it will reduce next year's quota of trainee doctors unless they accept their resignations by next week, according to officials and the medical community Tuesday. The move is seen as a measure to put pressure on trainee doctors, who have left their worksites since late February in protest of the medical reform, to return to hospitals. The notice was sent to training hospitals Monday, when the government announced a decision to withdraw its plan to t

July 9, 2024

Seoul cancels administrative actions against protesting junior doctors

Five months after protesting junior doctors tendered their resignations en masse despite stern legal warnings from the government, the Health Ministry said Monday it would scrap all administrative actions imposed on intern and resident doctors, in a move seen as an effort to convince protesting doctors to resume their training and end disruptions to the nation's medical service. Describing the appeasement step as a "last resort" for the government to address the medical standoff a

July 8, 2024

Police clears ex-division commander of negligent homicide over Marine's death

The police said on Monday they have decided to clear a former 1st Division Commander Lim Seong-geun of negligent homicide charges related to the death of a Marine conscript during a search operation in a stream following torrential rains last summer. Concluding its year-long investigation, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency forwarded six others to the prosecution for indictment, saying that Lim was excluded because he had not been in a position to issue a direct "underwater search order

July 8, 2024

Oceans Ministry stopped mentioning Dokdo in reports to president: lawmaker

An opposition lawmaker on Monday accused the incumbent Yoon Suk Yeol administration of "giving up trying to defend Dokdo as Korean territory," given that the Oceans' Ministry's reports to the president have never mentioned the island since Yoon took office in 2022. Rep. Lim Mi-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries report she recently acquired shows that the Dokdo Islets are not mentioned once in the reports submitte

July 8, 2024

[Survive & Thrive] Introducing new rain alerts and why you should pay attention

Living in South Korea involves learning to differentiate between various mobile phone alerts and announcements, and deciding which ones to heed and which ones to disregard. These alerts, sent by different authorities such as police, city government and central governmental ministries, may seek assistance in locating missing persons, inform of air quality unsafe for outdoor activities, or warn about occasional trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea. This summer, there is a new addition:

July 8, 2024

Chocolate goes Dubai-style, at least for a while

A gooey chocolate bar from Dubai -- a color-splattered shell filled with dessert-inspired ingredients -- is sparking the new sweet craze in South Korea, with high demand largely being met through homemade versions or replicas crafted by local confectioneries. While this handcrafted chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and kataifi, a filo-based pastry, is experiencing supply shortages internationally due to Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier's daily order limit of 500, the scarcity has

July 8, 2024

47m passengers used S. Korean airlines in H1, most ever

A record-high 47.56 million passengers used South Korean carriers in the first half of this year, logging a 29.1 percent increase from the same period in 2023. The passenger traffic was the highest in the country's history, up from the previous high of 47.04 million in the H1 of 2019, according to the Air Portal data of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The annual all-time high for passengers of local airlines is 93.47 million, also recorded in 2019. The number of passenge

July 8, 2024

Suspected human case of tularemia found in Suwon, raw beef liver suspected

A suspected human case of tularemia, a rare disease carried by rodents, insects and wild animals, was found in a resident of Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, health authorities said Monday. A man in his 20s experienced abdominal pain and fever after eating raw beef liver at a restaurant on June 24. He was admitted to a local hospital, where he tested positive for the tularemia bacterium. Although he dined with a companion, only he exhibited symptoms. He recovered and was discharged from hospital on

July 8, 2024

Average smoothie contains 13 teaspoons of sugar: study

The average smoothie served in a cafe contains the equivalent of 13 teaspoons of sugar, a recent study showed. The Health and Environment Institute of Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday the results of its analysis of 93 smoothie drinks from small and medium-sized cafes, where the nutritional content of drinks is not labeled. The cafes subject to investigation, which ran from April to June, were located near hagwons, or private cram schools, particularly frequented by teenagers. The a

July 8, 2024

Foul play suspected in Incheon cat deaths

Police in Incheon are investigating a possible case of animal abuse after four stray cats were found dead Thursday at an apartment complex in the city. According to Incheon Namdong Police Station, the cats were found dead at around 4 p.m. at an apartment complex in Guweol-dong, in Incheon's Namdong-gu. One of the cats had its legs cut off. Police are checking the surveillance footage of the area around the apartment complex. They also asked the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency to conduct

July 8, 2024

Govt. to halt administrative steps against striking trainee doctors for breakthrough

The government is likely to halt the suspension of licenses and other administrative steps against striking trainee doctors in an effort to seek a breakthrough in monthslong medical service disruptions, officials said Monday. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong is scheduled to hold a press briefing later in the day after a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, during which he will announce measures that would help facilitate dialogue and resolve the ongoing standoff

July 8, 2024

Heavy rain batters central regions; 1 resident missing after landslide

Heavy rain pounded much of the country Monday, leaving roads flooded and many residents evacuating for safety, as rescue efforts are under way to find a person missing in the central county of Okcheon following a landslide. In Yeongyang county in North Gyeongsang Province, 55.5 mm of rainfall hit the region in an hour from 3 a.m., and 52.5 mm of downpours per hour had been recorded as of 3:30 a.m. in nearby Andong, 192 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administ

July 8, 2024

[Graphic News] Over 3 million S. Koreans use ChatGPT app: data

The number of South Koreans using the ChatGPT mobile app has surpassed 3 million, representing 6 percent of the country's total smartphone users, according to a report by market research firm Wiseapp Retail Goods. In just four months, user numbers nearly doubled, rising from 1.62 million in January to 3.15 million in May, underscoring the increasing popularity of the AI-powered chatbot. Demographically, more than half of ChatGPT users in Korea are in their 20s (28.6 percent) and 30s (23.4

July 8, 2024

Deadly City Hall car crash fuels hatred toward senior drivers

Following the deadly car crash near central Seoul on July 1, debate has rekindled over whether seniors aged 65 and up should be eligible to drive, with some openly expressing hatred toward older drivers online. On July 1, a vehicle crashed into pedestrians waiting at traffic light at an intersection near Exit No. 7 of Seoul’s City Hall Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul, as it drove in the wrong direction and collided with two vehicles before hitting the pedestrians. In the end, this car cr

July 7, 2024

Race for med school under new quota begins with special admissions

The race to enter medical schools here for the 2025 academic year will kick off this week, starting with the admissions process for international students and South Korean nationals residing overseas, officials said Sunday. The announcement comes despite continued protests from the medical circle calling on the government to scrap its planned hike, including medical students' boycott of their medical school classes and junior doctors' walkout since February. Twelve medical schools will

July 7, 2024

Koreans indulge more in canned food, cut down on facial makeup: survey

More South Koreans are consuming canned food and smoking, but are also opting to go makeup-free, according to a state-led survey released Sunday. According to the National Institute of Environmental Research's three-year biomonitoring survey of 6,608 Koreans from 2021-2023, 4.2 percent of adults aged over 19 reported consuming canned products, including food and beverages, more than four times a week. This marks an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 3.7 percent in the previous survey

July 7, 2024

1 in 5 S. Korean women threatened with sexual extortion: study

  An international study claims that one in five women in South Korea has faced threats of intimate images of them being released, the highest share among the 10 countries surveyed. According to recently released research conducted by RMIT University based in Melbourne, Australia in partnership with Google, which surveyed 16,693 adults across 10 countries, including 1,641 from S. Korea, 19.1 percent of South Korean women reported being victims of sexual extortion. The study defined sexual e

July 7, 2024

How Korea's laws block adoptees' descendants from finding their families

Korean-Dutch Marrit Kim van der Staaij teared up as she read a long-awaited email confirming that there were records of her mother’s adoption that she had never seen. South Korean adoption agency Korea Social Service disclosed that they had verified her mother’s birth date and Korean name, and had even uncovered information about her biological grandfather. “All her life, my mother thought that her name and birth date were made up by the adoption agency, and that bothered her

July 7, 2024

Govt. expected to announce measures against defiant trainee doctors this week

The government is expected to announce measures to deal with trainee doctors who refuse to return to hospitals in protest of medical reform as early as this week, officials said Sunday. The government is set to announce its measures on the junior doctors, who have left their worksites since late February, as early as Monday, according to government officials. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong earlier pledged to introduce such measures in early July, as hospitals need to prepare for the recruitment o

July 7, 2024

U-turning car hits pedestrians near Seoul Station; 2 injured

A car driven by a man in his 80s hit pedestrians while U-turning on a road in central Seoul on Saturday, injuring two people, police said. The accident occurred as the vehicle drove left into a pedestrian crossing in front of a gas station near Seoul Station, the police said. The car was supposed to turn the course in the opposite direction as it was making a U-turn, the police said. The car hit one pedestrian and moved about 20 meters before hitting another person. It stopped after crashing int

July 6, 2024