SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day

Amid an intensifying standoff between doctors and the government, professors at Seoul National University Hospital, said Wednesday they would suspend treatments for one day on April 30, with some in leadership roles saying they would resign on May 1. Stressing that the decision was made as a last resort, the professors said they also needed time off to recover from months of filling in for junior doctors who walked out to protest plans to expand medical schools. They said they would inform their

April 24, 2024

Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy

Nearly 90 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were aged at least 50, with a substantial portion of the number being male or living alone, Seoul government data showed Wednesday. The data released by Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center, an affiliate of the city-run Seoul Welfare Foundation, showed that 86 percent of valid bankruptcy applicants last year were 50 or older, and 64.4 percent were male. Of those who declared themselves bankrupt, 83.5 percent had been ben

April 24, 2024

[Graphic News] Traffic deaths drop to record low

The number of traffic deaths in South Korea dropped to a record low of around 2,500 last year, nearly half the figure recorded a decade ago, data showed. A total of 2,551 people died from road accidents in 2023, a 6.7 percent decline from the 2,735 deaths recorded the previous year, according to the National Police Agency. It marks an 81 percent drop compared with 1991, when the death toll hit the highest at 13,429, and nearly half the rate from a decade ago, when fatalities from vehicle crash

April 24, 2024

Med professors to resign this week amid prolonged doctors' walkout

Medical professors at major hospitals in South Korea will resign later this week and have a day off next week as they have been thinly stretched amid a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, officials said Tuesday, deepening concerns over further disruptions in the country's health care system. "We confirm our resignation will start from April 25 as planned," an emergency committee of national medical professors said after an online general meeting. "We will go ahead without t

April 23, 2024

Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list

The Justice Ministry on Tuesday blocked the early release of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who has been serving a one-year prison term for forgery, in its latest round of monthly parole reviews, according to officials close to the matter. Though Choi Eui-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, was excluded from the latest list of inmates to be released early, she will be reconsidered for next month’s review, under the current law. Following an hours-long m

April 23, 2024

Online platform set up for easier access to old maps of East Asia

A one-stop online platform has been launched to streamline access to thousands of old and modern maps depicting East Asia, according to a South Korean history foundation Tuesday. The East Asian Old Map Collection, a website launched by the state-run Northeast Asian History Foundation, brings together a total of 2,212 maps facilitating easier access to thousands of old maps scattered among different institutions. The maps date as far back as 1592 and users can see how various maps published later

April 23, 2024

Another endangered Siberian tiger dies at Seoul Zoo

A male Siberian tiger named Taebaek died at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, officials said Tuesday. According to Seoul Grand Park, the 6-year-old tiger was pronounced dead Friday at its zoo due to critical health conditions suspected to be related to liver disease. Zoo officials said they plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the precise cause of death. Born in May 2018 alongside siblings Baekdu, Halla and Geumgang, Taebaek appeared to be in good health until recently, when a significa

April 23, 2024

Tension soars as medical professors mull partial strike

Patients in life and limb care are again left to deal with the fallout of the protracted medical standoff as resignations by medical professors due to take effect from Thursday. Concerns over the health care system are also growing as professors were considering reducing work hours and the number of surgeries in a show of protest. Medical professors at eight hospitals affiliated with the Catholic University of Korea’s medical school said Tuesday afternoon that they will submit their resig

April 23, 2024

Korean woman loses W70m in Elon Musk deepfake scam

A Korean woman was persuaded to invest 70 million won ($50,770) after seeing a deepfake video of what appeared to be Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, according to local reports on Tuesday. Jeong Ji-sun, whom KBS has agreed to refer to by a pseudonym, shared how she became a victim of a romance scam on KBS's "In-Depth 60 Minutes." On the April 19 episode, Jeong opened up about how she first started talking with the con artist, who claimed to be Musk. “I experienced something like

April 23, 2024

New slogan for DDP unveiled

The Seoul Design Foundation announced Tuesday that it has decided on a new slogan for the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the first rebrand since opening to the public ten years ago. The new slogan, “Amazing Tomorrow,” will replace the DDP's old slogan, “Dream, Design, Play.” According to the Seoul Design Foundation, the new slogan reflects the foundation’s commitment to delivering experiences that will amaze visitors to the DDP through its exhibitions, futuristic bui

April 23, 2024

[Community Discovery] Eunpyeong-gu rebrands as nature-friendly, healthy district

Eunpyeong-gu in northwestern Seoul has rebranded itself as a nature-friendly district, as it looks to boost its image and foster a healthy, inclusive community. The district has seen a rise in the number of visits to its parks and green spaces by "those who wish to take a break from their busy city lives,” said Kim Me-kyung, head of the Eunpyeong District Office. Eunpyeong-gu is located near Bukhansan, a mountain boasting popular hiking trails, and the Bulgwangcheon also runs through

April 23, 2024

Seoul studies W100m cash incentive for each child born

In a bid to bolster abysmal birth rates, South Korea is exploring what would be its most generous incentive ever -- 100 million won ($72,500) in cash per baby born. The state-run Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission on Wednesday commenced a survey to gauge public opinion on the idea. "Through this survey, we plan to re-evaluate the country’s birth promotion policies to determine whether direct financial subsidies could be an effective solution,” the commission said in a

April 23, 2024

Med professors considering taking day off every week amid prolonged doctors' walkout

Medical school professors nationwide are reviewing taking a day off every week as they have been thinly stretched amid the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, officials said Tuesday, deepening concerns over further disruptions in the country's health care system. The emergency committee for national medical professors will hold a general meeting later in the day and discuss the potential suspension of all surgeries and treatment for outpatients once a week, according to its officials. Det

April 23, 2024

[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent

A recent survey from the employment platform Catch revealed that around 8 out of 10 Koreans in their 20s and 30s were still economically dependent on their parents. According to the survey conducted on 1,903 job-seekers in their 20s and 30s, 77 percent replied that they were still economically dependent on their parents, and only 23 percent replied that they were independent. At a closer look, 43 percent of the participants replied they still live with their parents and 41 percent said they re

April 23, 2024

Minor quake hits off southern island of Jeju

A minor earthquake hit off the southern island of Jeju on Monday, with no damage expected from the tremor in the region, the state weather agency said. The 2.0 magnitude quake occurred at 6:47 p.m. in waters about 51 kilometers off the east of Seogwipo, the southern city on the resort island, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The epicenter was at a depth of 20 kilometers. The quake is not expected to cause any damage, the KMA said. (Yonhap)

April 22, 2024

1 killed in car crash at senior welfare center south of Seoul

An elderly woman was killed and three others injured Monday after a car driven by a 91-year-old man rammed into people at a senior community center in a city south of Seoul, police said. The crash happened at around noon at a parking lot in a senior community center in Bundang, when the driver, only identified by his last name Park, was reversing and his vehicle instantly ran over four elderly people who were walking toward the building, the police said. An 80-something-year-old woman was taken

April 22, 2024

Suspect in murder of girlfriend's mugshot, name made public

The personal information of a 26-year-old South Korean man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death and injuring the victim's mother was released online Monday. Kim Re-a's full name, age and mugshot were posted by the Suwon District Public Prosecutors' Office on its homepage, after its deliberation committee on revealing information of suspects reached a decision earlier this month. The suspect has been indicted on charges of murdering his 21-year-old girlfriend on March 25, an

April 22, 2024

Festival featuring adult film stars vows to return

Organizers behind “2024 KXF The Fashion,” an adult industry exposition featuring Japanese adult film stars, announced Monday that it would return on a “bigger scale” in June, four days after announcing that they were canceling the event due to “safety concerns.” The event, which was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, was marked as South Korea’s biggest sex festival by its organizer Play Joker. It was originally scheduled to be hel

April 22, 2024

Lawmaker's stalker indicted

A man who falsely claimed to be engaged to Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party has been indicted for stalking, according to the ruling party lawmaker's office on Monday. The suspect in his 50s, surnamed Choi, faces charges of stalking and spreading falsehoods against Bae, who recently was elected for her third term as a National Assembly member. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on Friday arrested and indicted the suspect, against whom Bae had filed a complaint las

April 22, 2024

Support fund for multicultural families to kick off in May

Low-income multicultural families with children aged 7 to 18 can apply for state funds starting from May through September at some 230 family centers across South Korea. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Monday that it will launch a pilot project to support educational activities for school-aged children from multicultural families who earn less than the median income in the country. Multicultural families are defined in the Multicultural Families Support Act as consisting of

April 22, 2024