Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Financial struggles leading trigger for suicidal ideation
Stress related to financial difficulties was the primary cause of suicidal ideation among Koreans across all age groups, a survey on national public perception of suicide released by the Health Ministry showed Thursday. Nearly 45 percent of respondents pointed to money issues as the main trigger of suicidal ideation, while 42.2 percent said family problems. Other causes included physical illness, emotional difficulty, intimate partner problems and alcohol addiction. Of the 2,807 people who parti
Social Affairs March 28, 2024
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
The Korean Medical Association, a group that represents some 140,000 doctors, said it has picked a pediatrician, known as a hardliner toward the government’s policy, as the group’s new head, dampening hopes for a dialogue to resolve the prolonged medical standoff. Having been elected, the new KMA head Lim Hyun-taek demanded President Yoon Suk Yeol apologize for pushing ahead with the medical student quota expansion plan and fire health minister, saying both are prerequisites for talk
Social Affairs March 27, 2024
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Med student hike, a must for competent regional hospitals: Yoon
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday reiterated his stance that the medical school expansion plan is a prerequisite for improving the quality of care at regional hospitals. At a Cabinet meeting held in his office Tuesday, Yoon said the plan to increase the school quota by 2,000 to 5,058 starting 2025 -- confirmed on March 20 -- is "a minimum requirement" to address the doctor shortage and improve the medical system, especially in remote areas. Under the plan, the students admitted to sch
Politics March 26, 2024
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Professors tender resignations despite Seoul’s offer of dialogue
Medical professors on Monday said they would proceed with their plan of tendering their resignations, a day after the ruling party chief offered to open a dialogue between the government and the medical community. Announcing the plan, the Medical Professors Association of Korea said the government’s unilateral decision to raise the admission quota and allocate new student seats led to the resignations. “The discussions regarding the quota are scientific, so I knew I wouldn’t be
Social Affairs March 25, 2024
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[팟캐스트] (569) ‘반반’ 결혼 어때?
진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot [Weekender] A new equation in sharing costs of marriage 기사 요약: 결혼에 드는 비용을 반씩 부담하는 ‘반반 결혼’ 택하는 사람들 늘어나 [1] Newlyweds, single men and single women interviewed by The Korea Herald generally envisioned an equal partnership founded on equal contributions -- be it financially, in terms of their roles, or both. Yet, in reality, men still pay more to cover the costs of marriage. Women say they are willing to contribute more, but are often limited by practical reasons,
Podcast March 25, 2024
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S. Korea summons Japanese envoy to protest historical distortion in textbooks
South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi to formally protest Japan's approval of history textbooks asserting sovereignty over the Dokdo islets and watering down the coercive nature of its wartime forced labor and sexual slavery. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul also expressed “deep regret” over the Japanese government’s approval of textbooks for middle schools that distort historical facts in a statement issued u
Foreign Affairs March 22, 2024
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Doctors split over allocation plan
The Korean government’s plan to distribute the 2,000 new medical school places across the country appears to have split doctors, who have generally held a united front in opposing the expansion. While the announcement received a cold response from the country’s biggest doctors’ group, the emergency committee representing professors from 20 medical schools shared its willingness to talk with the government. The emergency committee of medical professors at Yonsei University issue
Social Affairs March 22, 2024
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[팟캐스트] (568) 아파트 캥거루족 68%, 결혼 전까지 독립 계획 없다
진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot 68% of Korean adults living with parents won’t move out until marriage 기사요약: 결혼 전까지 독립 계획이 없는 미혼 남녀들 많아졌다 [1] A recent survey showed that the vast majority of South Korean adults living with their parents in apartments have no plans to move out until they are married. * Recent: 최근의 * Majority: 다수 * Move out: (살던 집에서) 이사를 나가다 [2] Finances were a major factor, as 32 percent said the “cost of housing is too high,” while 23 percent said, “I’m conc
Podcast March 21, 2024
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Seoul piles pressure on doctors by finalizing medical school plans
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Wednesday announced the regional allocation for 2,000 new slots for students at medical schools across the country, finalizing administrative procedures for the plan it has pushed for months, despite doctors staging a large-scale walkout. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reaffirmed that the government’s plan, which was announced in February, fell in line with the Ministry of Education’s decision to allot 82 percent of the quota to medical schools outsid
Social Affairs March 20, 2024
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Med professors resigning could lead to medical void
Medical professors’ decision to tender resignations starting next week will lead to a massive medical vacuum next month, setting off a worst-case scenario where only nurses would be left to fill the void, according to experts on Tuesday. The emergency committees of medical school professors at Seoul National University and Yonsei University announced late Monday that they would submit their resignation letters next Monday. This follows Saturday’s announcement by the committee represe
Social Affairs March 19, 2024
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Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday urged the medical community to engage in dialogue and to trust the government, rather than refusing to bend on plans to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota. The president made the remarks during his visit to the pediatric ward of the Asan Medical Center earlier in the day. There, he met with hospital officials, including Park Seung-il, the head of the hospital and Lee Je-hwan, the vice director of medical services, to encourage medical workers wh
Politics March 18, 2024
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Private physicians mull reducing night service, weekend openings
Private practitioners nationwide are mulling whether to reduce night services and weekend openings in protest against the government’s medical reform policies. Kim Dong-seok, an obstetrician who heads the Korean Medical Practitioners Association, a group representing private physicians, said during a spring medical academic conference Sunday afternoon that private medical practices are considering taking action to support junior doctors and medical professors’ walkout by shortening t
Social Affairs March 18, 2024
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Med professors to resign starting March 25
South Korea’s healthcare system faces yet another challenge as medical professors announce they will submit their resignations autonomously starting March 25, ending their involvement in patient care and surgical procedures. The medical professors, often juggling dual roles as physicians in hospitals, have filled the void left by trainee doctors to mitigate disruptions in medical services following a month-long period of junior doctors’ walkout in protest of the government’s ex
Social Affairs March 17, 2024
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Patients, families on edge as more doctors consider resigning
Oh Myung-jin, 44, who has to care for two critically ill family members, blew a fuse after hearing the news of medical professors considering leaving their hospitals too, joining junior doctors in their protest against the government increasing the medical school student quota. “If professors also walk out, (patients) won’t be able to get the same treatment starting this month or even next week. (My daughter and father) including myself are living in constant fear,” she told Th
Social Affairs March 14, 2024
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[인터뷰] 세계의사협회 회장 “의대 증원, 필수-지역 의료 해결 못해.. 한국 의대들 준비 안돼”
[코리아헤럴드=박준희기자] 세계의사협회 루자인 알코드마니(Lujain Al-Qodmani) 회장은 최근 본지와의 서면 인터뷰에서 한국 정부의 일방적인 의대 증원 결정이 특정 분야 의사 부족 현상과 지역의료를 살리는 해결책이 아니라며 오히려 정원 확대 정책은 미래 의사의 역량을 하락시킬 수 있다고 우려했다. 이어 알코드마니 회장은 “연간 60%가 넘는 증원 규모는 대한의사협회와 같은 이해당사자들의 협상을 거치지 않은 채 증원됐다”며 이는 한국 의료계에 "적신호"를 보내고 있다고 말했다. 또한, 의대 증원이 "명확한 근거 없이 일방적으로 결정됐다"고 진단했다. 한국 정부의 결정은 “의학 교육과 의료 서비스 제공을 간과했다”면서, 이는 예기치 않은 결과를 초래할 위험이 있다며 우려를 표명 했다. “(의대 증원만으로는) 소아청소년과, 외과 같은 필수의료 분야와 지역의료를 효과적으로 해결하기 어렵다&rd
한국어판 March 12, 2024
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