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

Seoul to loosen building height restrictions after 50 years

Seoul's "high-altitude" regulations that control building heights near mountains and major facilities are poised to be relaxed for the first time since their adoption over 50 years ago. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that the city’s Urban Planning Commission signed and approved an amendment to reorganize high-altitude regulations on Wednesday. High-altitude regulations are a part of Seoul’s city management plan, which sets a maximum height limit f

May 2, 2024

Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey

Over 60 percent of South Koreans supported an initiative of providing a 100 million won ($72,500) cash incentive for each newborn, aiming to tackle the country's low and declining birth rates, a government survey showed Thursday. The survey, conducted from April 17 to 26 by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission involving 13,640 individuals, aimed to assess the effectiveness of providing direct support to beneficiaries of birth boost policies. The survey queried whether significant

May 2, 2024

Another suspect grilled in probe of alleged interference in Marine's death inquiry

The anti-corruption investigation office questioned a former defense ministry official as a power abuse suspect Thursday over allegations of external pressure placed on the military investigation into last year's death of a young Marine. Park Gyeong-hun, the former acting chief of the ministry's National Investigation Headquarters, appeared at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, Thursday morning, while remaining tight-lipped when

May 2, 2024

On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal

Over 30,000 workers affiliated with the country's two major umbrella labor unions held rallies in Seoul on Wednesday on International Workers' Day, criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol's proposal to hire foreign domestic workers outside the minimum wage system. Unionized workers described Yoon's proposal addressed earlier this month as an attempt not only to discriminate against foreign workers but also to deny the application of the minimum wage system to a select group of pe

May 1, 2024

New hard-line leadership of doctors group prepares for govt. dialogue

The Korean Medical Association, the largest group in the medical community representing some 140,000 doctors nationwide, inaugurated its new leader Wednesday, seeking to unite the voices of doctors in preparation for a possible dialogue with the government. The association's new leader, Lim Hyun-taek, has maintained a hard-line stance against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's move to increase the number of doctors in the country to cope with population aging. The 54-year-old pediatrician is ant

May 1, 2024

Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints

Seoul Metro, the operator of the Seoul subway system, is set to adopt a tougher stance to combat persistent harassment and verbal abuse by imposing restrictions on complaints and considering legal action against repeat offenders. “We will actively pursue measures to address repeated malicious complaints that disrupt our operations,” the operator said Wednesday in a statement. Under the new measures, repeat offenders will be registered on a blacklist and will be barred from submitti

May 1, 2024

S. Korea lowers COVID-19 warning level, lifts last-remaining antivirus mandates

Wearing marks at hospitals in South Korea is not a must anymore as the government downgraded the infection level of COVID-19 and lifted most last-remaining antivirus regulations. Effective Wednesday, the country lowered the four-grade COVID-19 crisis level from the second-highest "alert" to the lowest "concern" in a move to fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The decision came more than four years a

May 1, 2024