The number of South Koreans aged 65 or above has surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time, making up nearly 20 percent of the total population, government data showed Friday. According to data provided by the Interior Ministry, the population of senior citizens reached 10,000,062 as of Wednesday, which accounted for 19.51 percent of the officially registered population of nearly 51.27 million. The figure shows a sharp increase from the corresponding figure from January 2013, when the reg

Social Affairs July 12, 2024

Prosecutors said Thursday that South Korean footballer Hwang Ui-jo will stand trial on charges of filming his sexual encounters with two women without their consent. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's Criminal Division 1, which handles gender-related crimes, said it charged the 31-year-old Hwang, who has played 62 international matches for the South Korean national soccer team, for his alleged breach of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. The pr

Social Affairs July 11, 2024

Tzuyang, a South Korean YouTuber with over 10 million subscribers, has revealed she suffered years of abuse from her late ex-boyfriend, including sexual assault and blackmail. The YouTuber, widely known for "mukbang" -- shows in which streamers talk to their audience while eating -- claimed in a live-streamed video that her former boyfriend had abused her physically and sexually, repeatedly threatened her and extorted money from her. "I tried to break up with him after witnessing

Social Affairs July 11, 2024

A 22-year-old male medical student went missing during a heavy downpour in the southwestern city of Iksan, North Jeolla Province Wednesday, Jeonbuk Provincial Police said Thursday. A search operation was underway but bore no fruit as of press time. Authorities said emergency number 112 received a report at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday that the missing student had gone outside their guesthouse in Iksan, early in the morning and had not been heard from since. There were reportedly 24 medical studen

Social Affairs July 11, 2024

Record heavy rains hit South Korea's southern regions Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, leaving at least four dead and one missing, with weather authorities saying it was the most intense downpour in 200 years. Heavy rains battered parts of North Jeolla Province starting early Wednesday. Gunsan received 131.7 millimeters of rain within one hour to 2:24 a.m., the heaviest hourly downpour recorded nationwide. The hourly precipitation accounted for over 10 percent of the city's avera

Social Affairs July 10, 2024

Starting on Friday, suicide prevention education in schools, workplaces, public institutions and hospitals will be made mandatory once a year as part of the country's efforts to tackle the devastating suicide rates and increase help-seeking behaviors for those struggling, the Health Ministry said Tuesday. The strengthened suicide awareness and prevention training comes after the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a partial amendment to the Act on the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of Cultu

Social Affairs July 9, 2024

The Seoul High Court recently turned down an injunction filed by professors and students at South Korea's only university teaching Go, calling for the suspension of the decision to shut down the department, according to legal professionals on Tuesday. The court ruled that students planning or preparing to enroll in the major faced an unexpected situation following the department's decision to close. However, the court also pointed out that upholding the injunction to halt the closure w

Social Affairs July 9, 2024

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

Social Affairs July 8, 2024

진행자: 박준희, Elise Youn US troops in S. Korea could be reduced, but not withdrawn, Trump allies tell Seoul lawmaker 기사 요약: 위성락 더불어민주당 의원, “트럼프 당선 시 주한미군 철수 가능성 배제 못 해” [1] Rep. Wi Sung-lac, Seoul’s former ambassador to Russia and a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, said Thursday some key Donald Trump allies have told him they think US troops in South Korea could be reduced -- although not completely withdrawn -- if the former president wins in November. * Former: 과저, 이전의 / Pr

Podcast July 8, 2024

진행자: 박준희, Elise Youn [Weekender] VIB treatment: Luxury market surges for ‘very important babies’ 기사 요약: 저출산 시대지만 유아동룩 시장은 프리미엄 아동룩 엎고 호황 중이다. [1] Despite South Korea’s notoriously low birth rate, its childrenswear market shows no sign of abating, especially led by the binge spending of young parents. * Notoriously: ~을 못하기로 악명 높다 * Abating: [강도가] 약해지다, [강도를 약화시키다, 줄이다 * Binge: 한동안 흥청망청하기 [2] “Most parents that I know think that putting a luxury onesie that costs hundr

Podcast July 7, 2024

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

Social Affairs July 7, 2024

A district court on Thursday turned down police's request for an arrest warrant against the driver of the deadly car accident in central Seoul late Monday that killed nine people and left seven injured. Namdaemun Police Station investigating the car crash said Thursday that the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the request to arrest the 68-year-old driver surnamed Cha, citing the low risk for the man not appearing for police questioning. It was also difficult to assert the necessity of

Social Affairs July 4, 2024

Namdaemun police investigating the deadly car crash that killed nine people on Monday evening said Wednesday that the vehicle began speeding from a hotel entrance after exiting its underground parking lot. In an initial analysis of an event data recorder -- a device installed in vehicles that records technical vehicle and occupant information for a brief period before, during and after a crash -- the police were said to have found that the driver was driving at high speed after leaving a hotel n

Social Affairs July 3, 2024

In search of solutions to achieve healthy aging as countries around the globe are set to join the "super-aged" club, the 2024 Health Ageing Forum on Tuesday shed light on the value of disease prevention to increase the number of years lived in good health. The forum, hosted by the British Embassy in Seoul and GSK Korea, was attended by health care experts, scholars and business representatives from Korea and overseas. In his opening remarks, British Ambassador Colin Crooks underscored

Social Affairs July 3, 2024

Police on Tuesday opened an investigation into a 68-year-old man for a car accident late Monday that claimed the lives of nine people and left four injured in central Seoul. They said they had mobilized forensic scientists and investigators to determine the cause of the crash, which the driver says was caused by a vehicle fault, a claim experts have cast doubt on. Police are seeking a warrant to arrest the driver on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death, according to Chung Yong-woo,

Social Affairs July 2, 2024