About 11 pct of med students register for 2025 state licensing exam

About 11 percent of medical students have registered for next year's state licensing examination amid a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors over medical reform plans. According to the health ministry Saturday, 364 out of some 3,200 medical students eligible for the licensing examination registered before the deadline. Many medical students have been collectively boycotting classes in protest against the government's increase of the nationwide medical school quota by some 1,500 seats f

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2024

S. Korea demands meeting with IOC chief over opening ceremony gaffe

The South Korean sports ministry said Saturday it is seeking a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach over a gaffe during the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics in which South Korea was incorrectly introduced as North Korea during the parade of athletes. In a statement, the ministry said Jang Mi-ran, the second vice minister of sports who attended the ceremony in the French capital Friday, has asked the IOC to arrange a meeting with Bach over the incident, and

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2024

N. Korean leader says 'kindred' ties with China to be 'firmly' carried forward

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said "kindred" relations with China will be "firmly" carried forward as he visited a monument symbolizing bilateral ties, state media reported Saturday, amid suspected signs of strain between the traditionally friendly countries. On Friday, Kim visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, which was erected to commemorate China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and paid tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers during the war, a day ahe

North KoreaJuly 27, 2024

Retail investors pay huge chunk of stock transaction tax in 2023

Retail investors paid 4.57 trillion won ($3.29 billion) in stock transaction tax last year, accounting for 75 percent of the total, industry data showed Saturday. The government collected around 6.06 trillion won in stock transaction tax last year, and foreign investors paid nearly 1 trillion won in the tax last year, according to the Korea Securities Depository on Saturday. The data came as the government is seeking to scrap a capital gains tax on financial investments while cutting the tax o

MarketJuly 27, 2024

'Games Wide Open': 33rd Summer Olympic Games kick off in Paris

PARIS -- The first Summer Olympic Games in Paris in 100 years kicked off Friday with a one-of-a-kind opening ceremony held on the city's main artery celebrating the cultural diversity of France, a marathon of a show that pushed the boundaries of what is possible in Olympic ceremonies. Some 6,800 athletes from 205 national delegations, including the Refugee Olympic team, marked the start of the 17-day competition by riding boats equipped with cameras on a 6-kilometer floating parade on the

More SportsJuly 27, 2024

Parliament passes broadcasting bill, ruling party lawmakers exit in protest

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed one of the four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters Friday, with lawmakers of the ruling party leaving in protest. The passage followed the main opposition Democratic Party ending the ruling People Power Party's filibuster during a plenary session after 24 hours. The bill was then put to a vote and passed in a 183-0 vote, in which only lawmakers from opposition pa

PoliticsJuly 26, 2024

2 YouTubers in 'mukbang' star blackmail case arrested

A local court on Friday issued arrest warrants for two YouTubers accused of blackmailing and extorting "mukbang" YouTube star Tzuyang. The Suwon District Court issued the warrants after questioning Lee Jun-hee and Jeon Kuk-jin, known by their YouTube channel names, Gujeyeok and Jujakgambeolsa, respectively, on charges of blackmail, threats and extortion against Tzuyang. The court cited the gravity of their charges, as well as concerns over secondary victimization of the YouTube s

Social AffairsJuly 26, 2024

SK hynix confirms W9.4tr investment in Yongin Cluster's 1st fab

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said it has decided to invest about 9.4 trillion won ($6.77 billion) in building the first manufacturing plant and business facilities of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in a board meeting on Friday. The chipmaker plans to start construction of the first fab in the Yongin cluster in March next year, and complete it in May 2027. The envisioned manufacturing plant will produce next-generation DRAM, including High Bandwidth Memory, a rep

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

Shinhan Financial Group to enhance corporate value by 2027

Shinhan Financial Group on Friday unveiled a corporate value enhancement plan detailing specific targets and strategies to boost profitability. According to the plan, the financial giant aims to achieve a 10 percent return on equity, a 50 percent shareholder return rate and reduce its shares by 50 million by 2027. To reach a 50 percent shareholder return rate, Shinhan plans to decrease the number of shares through ongoing stock buybacks and cancellations. Last year, the company's shareholde

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

National Theater Company's 'Hamlet' delves into political drama

Three distinct interpretations of the Shakespearean tragedy "Hamlet" are coming to Korea's stages in the coming months, showing that a timeless classic can still be made new. Prince Hamlet is Princess Hamlet in the production by the National Theater Company of Korea, whereas Seensee's production directed by Sohn Jin-chaek and currently running at the Hongik Art Center turns to contemporary mise-en-scene for new inspiration. October will see yet another "Hamlet," dir

PerformanceJuly 26, 2024

Seoul Summer Beach invites people to splash in Seoul’s center

Seoul City’s signature summer festival “Seoul Summer Beach” has returned to Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul, with a larger swimming zone than last year and new facilities to help beat the heat. The second edition of the festival began its 17-day operation Friday afternoon with an opening ceremony, according to its operator the Seoul Tourism Organization. Seoul Summer Beach consists of a water zone, Gwanghwa Waterpark, and a zone in front of the Statue of King Sejong the Grea

TravelJuly 26, 2024

Kia posts record operating profit in Q2

Kia logged another record profit in the second quarter on Friday, driven by an enhanced product mix, higher average selling price and favorable exchange rates. During the April-June period, Kia achieved two new records -- 3.64 trillion won ($2.63 billion) in operating profit and a 13.2 percent operating profit margin -- in second-quarter earnings, continuing to break records for two straight quarters. The automaker’s quarterly operating profit increased by 7.1 percent in comparison to the

MobilityJuly 26, 2024

Over 100 heat-related illness cases reported in 3 days: govt.

With the monsoon season coming to an end, South Korea has seen a surge in the number of days with scorching heat, leading to a rapid increase in the number of cases of heat-related illnesses. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Friday, 507 medical institutions equipped with emergency rooms reported to the agency that they saw 124 patients with heat-related illnesses from Monday to Wednesday, 55 of which were from Wednesday alone. The KDCA added that 16.3 percent of th

Social AffairsJuly 26, 2024

Liberation Day eve concert with Song Ga-in at Gwanghwamun

A concert titled "8.15 Seoul My Soul" will be held at Gwanghwamun Square at 7 p.m. on Aug. 14, to celebrate Liberation Day, with "queen of trot" Song Ga-in performing the finale. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is organizing the event to commemorate the 79th anniversary of Liberation Day. The concert will begin with a performance by male percussion group Tago. Also performing will be Seodo Band, who describe

PerformanceJuly 26, 2024

Match made in temple

Buddhist monks in South Korea are increasingly embracing a new role -- matchmaking. “To us, monks helping singles match up isn’t all that new. We launched a templestay program for singles in early 2012. It just hadn’t made headlines like today,” an official of the Korean Buddhist Foundation for Social Welfare said Friday. The official at the foundation, run by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, was referring to a long-running program where participants learn about tradit

CultureJuly 26, 2024

Hana chief cleared of severe punishment in DLF crisis

After a four-year legal battle, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo has escaped regulatory punishment imposed for internal control failure involving the misselling of derivatives-linked funds. On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's decision to cancel the major disciplinary action taken by financial authorities on Ham over the losses from the overseas interest rate-linked derivative fund incident in 2019. The top court confirmed the lower court’s ruling, wh

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

First lady skips parliamentary hearing

First lady Kim Keon Hee’s absence at an opposition-led parliamentary hearing on Friday sparked a protest by opposition parties, while the ruling party came to her defense. Kim and her mother failing to appear as witnesses at the hearing organized by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee Friday morning, to review an online petition with some 1.4 million signatures calling for the impeachment of her husband President Yoon Suk Yeol. The impeachment motion against Y

PoliticsJuly 26, 2024

Cash-crunched Tmon begins refund process for customers

Tmon, an online marketplace platform owned by Singapore-based e-commerce company Qoo10, on Friday, started issuing refunds to customers who did not receive their products purchased on the platform hit by a liquidity crisis. This move comes a day after the CEO of WeMakePrice, another affiliate of Qoo10, offered an apology and began issuing refunds as hundreds of consumers visited the headquarters of the online marketplace platform. Tmon and WeMakePrice, which were acquired by Qoo10 in 2022 and 20

CompaniesJuly 26, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Treasure to publish magazine for debut anniversary

Treasure has put together a magazine to mark the fourth anniversary of its debut, according to label YG Entertainment Friday. The magazine will be available from Aug. 7 and include a 188-page photobook and sticker book as well as a set of photocards and a poster. A postcard bearing the message from the bandmates along with pictures drawn by them will also be part of the publication. Separately, the ten members are set to host a concert in Seoul on Aug. 15. It will be the final gig for their seco

K-popJuly 26, 2024

Pet daycare, English kindergarten more costly than private four-year colleges: report

The annual tuition to a private South Korean university last year was lower than that of pet daycare and English kindergarten, according to research published Tuesday. A report analyzing private education costs at different levels of schooling published by the Korean Association of Private University Presidents found the average annual school fee for private four-year colleges in 2023 was 7.32 million won ($5,283.67), or an average of 610,000 won per month. The cost of daycare facilities for pe

Social AffairsJuly 26, 2024