More medical professors announced Monday plans to go on an indefinite walkout starting later this month to protest the government's medical school expansion plan. The emergency committee of medical professors at Korea University, who also serve as senior doctors at Korea University Asan Hospital, said they would go on strike beginning July 12, demanding that the government back off from pressuring medical students and trainee doctors and engage in dialogue. "The medical sector sought a

Social Affairs July 1, 2024

Local government authorities and LGBTQ+ campaigners are at odds over hosting the first pride festival in the Chungcheong region on July 6, with the two sides showing little signs of backing off. The organizing committee for this year's queer culture festival in Daejeon said Friday that it would host the event "as planned" under the theme "Love is you, we are here (unofficial translation)," noting that it has already reported to the Daejeon Metropolitan Police of its plan

Social Affairs June 28, 2024

The 23 deaths in the battery plant fire this week were found to have been caused by asphyxiation, according to officials on Thursday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police's investigation team for the accident at local battery manufacturer Aricell, the operator of the lithium battery plant, said that they received a verbal autopsy opinion from the National Forensic Service that it believed the victims had died of asphyxiation due to the fire. Asphyxiation happens when a substance such as car

Social Affairs June 27, 2024

Hangeul Party, an event aimed at promoting the beauty of Hangeul, which has played a crucial role in shaping Korean culture, was held in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City from June 21 to 24. The event was hosted and organized by the nongovernmental organization Hangeul Planet and The Korea Herald and sponsored by HiteJinro, South Korea's dominant soju and beer seller. At the Hangeul Party, students who major in Korean language at two Vietnamese universities -- the University of Economics and

Social Affairs June 26, 2024

The emergency committee of medical professors at Yonsei University said Wednesday afternoon it would walk out indefinitely in protest against the government's medical reform policies starting Thursday, fading hopes of an end to months of disruption in the country. A total of 531 out of 735 professors -- who double as senior doctors at Severance Hospitals in Seoul's Seodaemun-gu, Gangnam and Yongin in Gyeonggi Province -- voted in favor of striking. They said they would withdraw from th

Social Affairs June 26, 2024

Parasites were found in the balloons full of manure and trash North Korea sent to South Korea in May and June in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, the Unification Ministry said Monday. According to the analysis conducted by officials specializing in filth, different types of parasites, including roundworms, whipworms and pinworms -- all of which are parasitic worms that can infect humans -- were detected in the trash-filled balloons. Officials explained that human genes wer

North Korea June 24, 2024

Hopes are growing for an end to months of medical disruption in South Korea after medical professors at the nation's most prestigious hospital decided to end their indefinite walkout, a week after they went on strike to protest medical reforms. The emergency committee of medical professors at Seoul National University, who were the first among doctors to walk out without a time limit last week, announced the withdrawal from its strike on Friday afternoon. The group said doctors could not tu

Social Affairs June 23, 2024

South Korean doctors launched a pan-alliance committee comprised of medical professors, junior doctors, students, and community doctors Thursday, seeking to take unified action against the government's plan to expand medical school quotas. "The medical circle's demands, including rediscussing the quota hike, remain unchanged. If the government dismisses such, the committee will collect the opinions of hospitals and clinics nationwide on staging walkouts and discuss them during its

Social Affairs June 20, 2024

Observers expressed skepticism on Wednesday about the likelihood of doctors being able to sustain their current walkout indefinitely, citing the financial strain on those who run their own clinics and the logistical challenges of rescheduling treatments. Physicians who run local clinics are unlikely to join the move due to the financial impact they would bear if they shut down their practices and the potential loss of trust from their patients, they said. Fewer than 10 percent joined the previou

Social Affairs June 19, 2024

Thousands of doctors affiliated with the largest coalition of neighborhood practitioners in South Korea launched a full-scale, one-day strike on Tuesday, despite the government's return-to-work order and threat to disband the organization. The Korean Medical Association, representing some 140,000 doctors, mostly self-employed practitioners, pleaded to the public that it is the "last chance" to salvage the nation's health care from the brink of collapse. Some 50,000 people wer

Social Affairs June 18, 2024

Reaching a new height in the monthslong confrontation between the government and doctors, a group of protesting medical professors at South Korea's most prestigious medical institution, Seoul National University Hospital, began an indefinite strike Monday, calling for the complete abandonment of the government's medical school expansion plan. They were the first among doctors in South Korea to go on a walkout without a time limit. The Korea Medical Association, representing some 140,00

Social Affairs June 17, 2024

Apologizing to patients for the inconvenience caused by an indefinite strike to begin Monday, the emergency committee of medical professors at Seoul National University said late Friday that its decision was a "last resort" to address the country's unsustainable medical crisis. Reading an apology statement to patients, Kang Hee-gyung, a medical professor specializing in pediatric kidney transplantation who heads the committee, said SNU professors could "no longer endure"

Social Affairs June 14, 2024

Professors at 40 medical schools, along with private practitioners, have decided to join a one-day shutdown of services on Tuesday, organized by the largest doctors' group here, with the scope of the impact on South Korea's health care system as yet unknown. While some doctors will not participate in the strike and instead fill medical vacancies, widespread disruptions are still expected. Apart from the June 18 full shutdown of services, a handful of emergency committees of professors

Social Affairs June 14, 2024

Amid growing concerns about significant disruptions expected in South Korea's medical services due to a nationwide doctor strike next week, the government warned Thursday of a stern response, saying that such collective action would be considered an illegal "refusal to provide medical care." The Korea Medical Association, Korea's largest doctors' group, has announced a one-day general strike for Tuesday, while medical professors at major hospitals have decided to initiat

Social Affairs June 13, 2024

A backlash is coming from South Korea's pregnant women over the Health Ministry's decision not to allow the simultaneous use of epidurals and a continuous local anesthetic colloquially referred to as a "pain buster" here during childbirth starting next month, lambasting the government for restricting womens' right to choose. The ministry has recently announced that pregnant women will no longer be able to use epidurals and pain busters, also known as severe pain reliever

Social Affairs June 12, 2024