ReWorld Forum to urge business collaboration for carbon neutrality

South Korean firms will be urged to come up with effective green energy strategies and to work together on building a decarbonization ecosystem, according to the SDX Foundation on Wednesday. Also known as the ReWorld Forum 2024, the non-profit organization’s forum aims to persuade participating firms -- regardless of their size and capacity -- to work with one another in responding to the strengthening of net-zero regulations around the world. The forum will be held on April 24 at the HW C

April 17, 2024

Police in standoff with man threatening to jump off bridge

Police on Wednesday morning were talking to a man standing atop a Han River bridge, trying to persuade him to come down. As of 10:00 a.m., the unidentified man is standing on the upper structure of the Hangangdaegyo bridge in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, apparently threatening to jump. Local police said he is protesting against the government, and has been on the bridge since 5:50 a.m. Police and rescue authorities are attempting to persuade him to come down, but the man is refusing to coopera

April 17, 2024

[Graphic News] Users of high-speed trains KTX, SRT hit record Q1 figures

The number of passengers on South Korea’s bullet trains, the KTX and SRT, hit a record high during the first quarter this year, the trains’ operators said. From January to March, the number of KTX users jumped to 19.26 million from 17.91 million during the same period last year, according to Korea Railroad Corp. SR Inc. said the number of SRT users rose to 6.43 million from 6.3 million during the same period. The operators said pent-up travel demand after years of the COVID-19 pand

April 17, 2024

Govt., doctors differ widely on how to resolve medical reform stalemate amid prolonged walkout

Despite ongoing efforts to find a breakthrough regarding the prolonged walkout by doctors, the government and doctors differ widely on how to discuss medical reform plans, as doctors have demanded one-on-one talks rather than discussions within a consultative body for public consensus. More than 90 percent of South Korea's 13,000 trainee doctors have walked off the job in protest since Feb. 20 in protest of the government's push to increase the number of medical school seats by 2,000 s

April 16, 2024

Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary

A series of memorial events were held across the country Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy, in remembrance of the 304 lives lost in Korea's worst maritime disaster. At a ceremony held at the Hwarang Public Garden in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon vowed to remember the 304 victims forever. Kim also lamented that no senior officials were held accountable for the failed disaster response. "Another tragedy followed this tragedy. It is

April 16, 2024

Detention of foreigners ordered deportation to be limited to 3 yrs

Foreigners who are ordered to leave South Korea because they have been in the country illegally or have committed a crime will have to be deported within 36 months starting next year. The Justice Ministry has proposed an amendment to the Immigration Act that would limit the maximum period of accommodating foreigners ordered with compulsory evacuation to 36 months. This follows the Constitutional Court's decision in March of last year that the indefinite detention of foreigners subject to de

April 16, 2024

‘0’ in job ads highlights generation gap

An online row has erupted after viewers interpreted "0" in a job posting made by a South Korean comic YouTube channel as offering literally zero openings, when it was meant to signify an unspecified number of positions. The sketch comedy channel “Nerdult," with approximately 1.85 million subscribers, posted a recruitment notice on their YouTube community page on Friday, seeking an undisclosed number of new actors. In the post, they left the number of available positions as

April 16, 2024

Color vision deficient people to be allowed to become cops

A recent revision of ordinances related to hiring police officers will allow anyone who is not completely colorblind to join the police, the National Police Agency said Tuesday. The Korean National Police Commission on Monday passed the law revision that would allow those with color vision deficiency to apply to become police officers. The revision will go through the deliberation process at the Ministry of Government Legislation, after which it will be finalized and become effective as early as

April 16, 2024

Yellow dust to impact S. Korea throughout Wednesday

With a thick blanket of yellow dust over South Korea on Tuesday, fine dust concentrations are expected to spike to "very bad" levels across the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The national weather agency had forecast the yellow dust from the Inner Mongolia region and Gobi Desert to flow into the country early Tuesday, leading to murky skies. Fine dust levels will rise to "bad" across Greater Seoul, Gangwon, the Chungcheong Provinces and North Gyeongsang

April 16, 2024

Seoul says will cut power to porn festival planned on Han River

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would deal sternly with a festival planned for this weekend featuring Japanese adult film stars, including cutting off electricity to the venue. The warning message came after the city formally issued a ban Sunday on the adult industry exposition advertised as “2024 KXF The Fashion,” organized by Play Joker and to be held on the Han River. The city government also sent a formal letter to the operator of the venue, Us Cruise, located at Jamwon

April 16, 2024

[Contribution] 6 reasons why medical school expansion isn’t the answer

I’m Ryu Ok Hada, a trainee doctor who resigned from the Catholic Medical Center on Feb. 16. Recently, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the medical community should come up with a unified proposal on an appropriate increase in the annual medical school admissions quota based on scientific and rational grounds. A survey I conducted on 1,581 trainee doctors and medical students between March 29 and April 1 showed that 96 percent of the respondents think that the increase in the medical schoo

April 16, 2024

3 out of 5 young couples went through a rough patch

A recent survey on married couples in their 20s and 30s have shown that 65.4 percent of them have experienced a severe decline in contentment of their marriage. The survey was conducted on 500 married women last month by a local matchmaking company Duo, to see how many of the young South Korean couples go through "gweontae-gi," which roughly means a period when a couple find each other tiresome. It is similar to the seven-year itch in the Western culture, a belief that happiness in lon

April 16, 2024

Man commended for rescuing driver suffering from epilepsy

A 33-year-old man who saved a woman suffering from an acute case of epilepsy while driving was commended by the city rescue authorities on Monday. Jeon Ji-hun received a certificate of appreciation from the Ulsan Nambu Fire station for his role in saving a 50-something-year-old driver in Nam-gu, Ulsan, on March 28. At around 10:26 p.m., her car had stopped in the middle of the road, not responding to honking of other cars for a full three minutes. Jeon, who was driving the car behind her, steppe

April 16, 2024

A decade lost: Sewol survivors on life after tragedy

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province -- On April 16, 2014, 325 students and 14 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province were aboard the Sewol ferry heading to Jeju Island for a field trip. Cho Mun-jeong was one of the students on the trip and was hoping to enjoy a brief reprieve from preparing for college entrance exams. After a loud "bang" echoed through the ferry, an announcement was made over the intercom, urging passengers not to move and to wait patiently for rescue. But C

April 15, 2024

Recording of boss cursing in office ruled legal

An employee of a state-run company who recorded his boss swearing loudly inside the office has been cleared of criminal charges, a local court said Monday. The 35-year-old defendant had been accused of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, which bans anyone from recording or listening to a conversation of other people that was not public. The boss in question claimed that the recording was a private conversation with a specific employee, who was not the defendant. The prosecuti

April 15, 2024

[From the Scene] Search for truth about Sewol ferry disaster continues

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province/JINDO, South Jeolla Province -- Time appears to stand still in a classroom in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The classroom is one of several replica classrooms built in memory of the students and teachers of Danwon High School who lost their lives on a school trip to Jeju Island on April 16, 2014, aboard the Sewol ferry. It is filled with the desks, chairs, blackboards, windows and doors used by the teachers and students before the ferry sank off Jindo in South Jeolla Provinc

April 15, 2024

S. Korea to allocate $276m for classroom digitization

The Ministry of Education announced plans Monday to digitally transform traditional public education. Dubbed the "classroom revolution," the initiative focuses on strengthening the capabilities of teachers who would take on pivotal roles in turning classrooms digital. The ministry has allocated some 381.8 billion won ($276 million) to support teachers. As traditional teaching and learning methods were top-down or one-way, the new plan aims to cultivate creative and active learners, enc

April 15, 2024

Education an increasing driver for people moving to Seoul

Despite soaring home prices and uncertainties in the real estate market driving Seoulites out of town, the number of South Koreans who moved to Seoul last year for education reached a record high, government data showed Monday. According to the latest Korean Statistical Information Service data on the number of people who moved to Seoul from other cities and provinces, more than 1.2 million people relocated to Seoul last year. Of the total, some 92,000 people said their main reason for relocatio

April 15, 2024

Seoul police officer accused of stealing from lost wallet

A Seoul police officer in his 20s is accused of stealing money from a lost wallet, according to the Seoul Seodaemun Station on Monday. The officer is alleged to have pocketed 200,000 won ($145) from a lost wallet that had contained 203,000 won, in December last year. The officer documented the wallet as only having 3,000 won in a lost property report. He has been referred to prosecutors on charges of embezzlement in the line of duty. The police officer’s alleged crime came to light when th

April 15, 2024

Woman curses at prosecutor for requesting jail term for her son

A South Korean woman was recently sentenced to six months in prison for causing a disturbance during a court hearing, in which she cursed at a prosecutor who requested a jail term for her son. Seoul Northern District Court found the defendant in her 50s guilty of contempt of court and special obstruction of public duty for her actions in August last year. The August hearing was for the defendant's son, who was being tried for special intimidation, which refers to intimidation with a weapon

April 15, 2024