Number of returning resident doctors 'very low'

With the job opening for junior doctors' September training closing Wednesday, the government once again urged them to return to patient care, as many striking trainees remain lukewarm about resuming their duties. During Tuesday's government response meeting, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong made the final plea to trainee doctors to apply for the post, asking them to "take courage" for patients waiting for them. "The government took appeasement steps by providing special co

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

NK trash balloons have landed at over 3,000 sites in South: police

Balloons carrying rubbish sent from North Korea since late May have been discovered at more than 3,000 sites throughout South Korea, a police report showed Tuesday. According to a police report obtained by Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Yang Bu-nam, balloons sent by North Korea were found at 3,359 locations across South Korea between May 28 and July 25, during which 10 balloon campaigns were conducted. South and North Korea have used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

[Community Discovery] Mapo-gu completes Seoul experience: district head

Mapo-gu, home to Gyeongui Line Forest Park, World Cup Park, Haneul Park and vibrant university areas, is set to enhance its reputation as a premier cultural and tourist destination, becoming a must-visit hot spot for tourists from overseas, according to the current district office head. “If you haven’t traveled all over Mapo-gu, you haven’t truly experienced Seoul,” said Park Gang-su, 65, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The district’s cultural vibrancy is evi

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Parliament confirms appointment of new police chief

The National Assembly confirmed the appointment of Cho Ji-ho as the country's new police chief Tuesday. The parliamentary committee on public administration and security adopted a confirmation hearing report on Cho's nomination as the commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency after holding a hearing the previous day. Adoption of the report is seen as parliamentary consent to the appointment, though the National Assembly has no power to reject the nomination and the pres

PoliticsJuly 30, 2024

S. Korea's seaport container cargo up 6.4% in Q2

The amount of container cargo processed at South Korean seaports increased 6.4 percent in the second quarter, data showed Tuesday, driven by stronger shipments to the United States and China. The container cargo handled at the country's ports nationwide amounted to 8.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the April-June period, up from 7.61 million TEUs recorded a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The volume of container cargo handled for exports and

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

NK trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker

North Korea's recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South's main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data. According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent f

North KoreaJuly 30, 2024

[Contribution] Achieving gender equality through sports: Reflections on Paris 2024

By Philippe Bertoux and Jeongshim Lee The 2024 Paris Olympic Games mark a historic milestone in sports, featuring an equal number of male and female athletes competing for the first time. This should go without saying: After all, women constitute half of the world’s population. In historical context, the 50/50 gender allocation at Paris 2024 is truly significant. In 1900, also in Paris, women competed in the Olympic Games for the first time, but constituted only 2.2 percent of all athlet

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Kim Jong-un's daughter under succession training: lawmaker

Kim Ju-ae, the 12-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is seen as being groomed for succession, a lawmaker who attended a meeting of the intelligence committee of the National Assembly told reporters Monday. "(According to the National Intelligence Service,) Kim Ju-ae is being suggested as the most likely successor in the regime, as her succession training is currently underway," said Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the meeting Monda

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

Teens spend most of digital social lives on Instagram: data

Instagram has emerged as the social media app South Korea's teens spend the most time on, outpacing KakaoTalk by more than double, data showed Monday. According to data from mobile marketing and data analysis company IGAWorks, Korea's smartphone users under 20 spent a total of 94.1 million hours scrolling on Instagram in June, making the app the leading social media platform in popularity for the age group. This figure was nearly double the time they spent on the next most popular

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Heat wave, tropical nights to persist this week

Heat wave warnings and tropical night phenomena are expected to persist throughout this week, with sporadic rain continuing in the Greater Seoul area and some parts of Gangwon Province until the end of the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. On Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach as high as 36 degrees Celsius, with precipitation ranging between 5 to 30 millimeters for parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province and 5 to 10 mm for much of Grea

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

[KH Explains] Korea-Japan breakthrough? Watershed weekend faces challenges

Last weekend marked a significant turning point for South Korea and Japan, as the Yoon Suk Yeol government attempted to move beyond one of the longstanding historical disputes stemming from Imperial Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Simultaneously, the defense chiefs of Seoul and Tokyo, meeting on Japanese soil for the first time in 15 years, committed to revitalizing military exchanges and signed an agreement institutionalizing trilateral security cooperation wi

Foreign AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Amid prolonged doctors' strike, Korea faces critical cardiology shortage

South Korea's health care system is grappling with a severe shortage of cardiology residents as a nationwide doctors' strike enters its seventh month. Recent data from The Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery reveals that only 12 of the country's 107 cardiology residents are still on duty. The study, conducted over three days last week, shows 75 residents have resigned and 20 have pending resignation requests. Several major regions, including Gangwon and North Ch

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Korea to tackle wedding charges, housing regulations to boost birth rate

The government announced new measures to boost marriages for young people and support housing for families with children, as a follow-up measure after a "demographic national emergency" was declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month. The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy held its second meeting since its launch in June on Monday to review and accelerate the implementation of over 150 challenges and measures designated to address the aging society and low

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Police chief nominee blasted for alleged special treatment of son in conscription

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Cho Ji-ho, the nominee for chief of South Korea's National Police Agency, got off to a rough start Monday, with the main opposition party criticizing him over several allegations, including claims that he had assigned his conscripted son to work at his workplace. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers confronted Cho on reports that he had used his position and power to give his eldest son special treatment for military servic

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

6 in 10 workers commute despite dangerous weather: survey

A survey released Monday showed that six out of 10 South Koreans reported braving the weather to arrive at work on time, despite government recommendations to work from home or adjust commuting hours due to safety concerns over natural disasters like typhoons and heat waves. According to the survey conducted by the civic group Workplace Gapjil 119, about 15.9 percent of respondents also expressed concern about facing workplace disadvantages for being late during natural disasters. The survey ask

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Tax delay for virtual assets, regulating 'dark pattern'

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act Proposed by Rep. Song Eon-seog (People Power Party) ● Under the current Act, income from the transfer or lease of virtual assets will be classified as “other income” and be subject to taxation from January 1, 2025. This aims to achieve tax parity between physical assets, such as cash and real estate, and virtual assets, such as cryptocurrency. However, given the deteriorating sentiment towards investment in virtual assets due to

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

DP criticizes Yoon govt. as Japan's Sado gold mine gains UNESCO status

The main opposition Democratic Party on Monday criticized the government for failing to prevent a Japanese gold mine associated with Korea's wartime forced labor from being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On Saturday, the UNESCO World Heritage committee decided to add the controversial mine as a cultural heritage site after South Korea, which had initially opposed Tokyo's bid, gave last-minute consent to the listing. "The Sado mine was listed as World Heritage, backed by t

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

Opposition-controlled parliament unilaterally passes contentious broadcasting bill

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed one of the four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters Monday, with lawmakers of the ruling party walking out in protest. The main opposition Democratic Party led the bill's passage in a 187-0 vote after passing a motion to forcefully end a filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). The revision to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act aims to increase the number

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

Seoul's support for UNESCO listing of Sado mines sparks backlash

Controversy has rekindled in South Korea over whether the government's decision to support Japan's bid for the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Sado Island gold and silver mines will compel Tokyo to acknowledge the forced labor of Koreans there. Among the criticisms is Japan's failure to recognize an estimated over 1,500 workers from the Korean Peninsula at the Sado mine as forced labor, as well as its omission of a museum featuring exhibitions on the Korean workers and the harsh, discrimina

Foreign AffairsJuly 28, 2024

Filibuster, veto: Assembly stalemate expected to continue

Gridlock is expected to persist in South Korea's legislature, as the rival parties remain locked in a cycle of the ruling party filibustering opposition-led bills, with the president then vetoing them, with no efforts to find bipartisan consensus. The latest in this ongoing political tug-of-war centers on a series of broadcasting bills to curb government influence over public broadcasters. On Sunday, the opposition-led National Assembly passed the second of four such bills, overriding a fil

PoliticsJuly 28, 2024