Debate grows over charging foreign day laborers health insurance premiums

Debate on whether to charge health insurance to day laborers of foreign nationality was sparked on Monday as local media reported that the government is reviewing such a plan as a new funding source for the national health insurance system amid Korea's low birth rate. The government is developing strategies to bolster its health insurance funding as Korea rapidly becomes a super-aged society, according to local reports. According to reports, this plan concerns expanding the income categorie

Nov. 4, 2024

270 busted in medical insurance fraud

About 270 individuals, including medical professionals, brokers and fake patients, have been busted by police for their alleged involvement in an insurance fraud scheme to falsely claim a combined 1 billion won ($729,000) in payouts by faking cosmetic procedures as medical treatments. The Financial Supervisory Service on Sunday said Busan Nambu Police Station had apprehended the scammers last month. The scheme was uncovered after the FSS received several reports on the insurance fraud to its rep

Nov. 4, 2024

Ex-official, disgruntled over ruling to split pension with ex-wife, found dead

A retired government official was found dead inside his car in the parking lot of a Gwangju court on Saturday, after he had left a note expressing his frustration with the court's order to give half of his pension to his ex-wife. The two had recently divorced. The body was found at around 8 p.m. in the car parked outside the Gwangju Family Court in Seo-gu, Gwangju, which had handled the divorce lawsuit for the man. It had ruled that the man should give half of the payout from his Government

Nov. 4, 2024

Gangnam Station ramming suspect to face detention

The court will review an arrest warrant for a woman who rammed into seven cars and drove the wrong way along a boulevard near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. The review will be held in Seoul Central District Court at 3:30 p.m. Monday, after police requested the warrant the previous day. The woman in her 20s was caught driving without a license after causing an accident on the street near Exit No. 12 of Gangnam Station at 1:39 p.m. on Saturday, according to local media. She was reportedly pull

Nov. 4, 2024

TechCamp Korea 2024 promotes safe, ethical AI use

The US Embassy in Seoul said it hosted “TechCamp Korea 2024,” a three-day event focused on fostering the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence. Held from October 31 to November 3 at the Kyowon Vision Center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, the camp was part of the US Department of State’s global tech leadership initiative and marked the first time the program has been held in Korea. Aimed at strengthening ties among Korea’s next generation of AI leaders, the camp

Nov. 3, 2024

[Herald Interview] Beyond weather forecasting, KMA seeks to empower climate action

Weather forecasting has become essential to daily life, yet climate change is making it more unpredictable than ever. Amid growing uncertainty in weather prediction, Chang Dong-eon, administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration, believes that the agency’s mission goes beyond delivering accurate forecasts. It also aims to empower individuals to take climate action and to enhance the nation’s overall resilience in facing the climate crisis, he said. “Just this summer,

Nov. 3, 2024

Will South Korea go back to banning phones in classrooms?

South Korea is mulling banning smartphones in schools, as the government weighs in on a bill proposed by the ruling party that would prohibit students from using personal digital devices during class. According to the National Assembly and education circles on Sunday, Rep. Cho Jung-hun of People Power Party introduced a bill in August to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to restrict the use of smartphones in schools, adding Article 20.3 on guidance on the student's use of cel

Nov. 3, 2024

Domestic, sexual abuse consultations hit all-time high

The number of people consulting with the state-run counseling centers for domestic, sexual abuse and domestic conflicts was the highest on record last year, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family data showed Sunday. A total of 337,171 calls were made in 2023 to the national counseling centers for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, along with other forms of domestic conflicts and crimes such as stalking. The figure was up 15.1 percent from the previous year, according to the ministry's

Nov. 3, 2024

Court backs school that expelled student for attacking classmate with knife

Gwangju court on Sunday said it has ruled against the parents of a high school student who challenged local education authorities for authorizing the boy's expulsion from a school, after he attacked a classmate with a weapon. The student in question attacked the victim with a stationery knife, which he attached to his hand with a glue, during a class trip to the Uleungdo Island in May of last year. He told police that he was "infuriated" that the victim was kicking his seat, and t

Nov. 3, 2024

Man hides father's body in freezer for over a year 'because of inheritance'

A man was found to have hidden his dead father's body inside a freezer for over a year due to unspecified inheritance issues, local police said Sunday. Officials at the Icheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province are investigating a man in his 40s for violation of the Article 161 of the Criminal Act, which covers damaging, destroying, concealing or taking possession of a corpse. The suspect turned himself in on Friday to local police, who found the body of the deceased inside the suspect&#

Nov. 3, 2024

Handball players commended for rescuing car accident victim

The city of Busan last week presented a certificate of appreciation to three handball players who rescued a driver pinned under the car after an accident. Kim Da-young, Shin Jin-mi and Jeong Ga-hee of South Korea's Division 1 H-League were commended last Thursday for providing assistance in the aftermath of a car accident at around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 11. The three players found a car that had overturned after colliding with a guardrail in Yangsan city, South Gyeongsang Province, and blocked

Nov. 3, 2024

6 in 10 wage workers leave jobs within a year

Six out of 10 newly hired employees leave their jobs within the first year in South Korea, government data showed Sunday. The report, from the Korea Employment Information Service under the Labor Ministry, shows that only 40.1 percent of wage workers -- those subscribed to employment insurance schemes after being hired -- retained their positions for more than a year as of 2021. The rate of employees staying in their jobs for over a year has been steadily declining, from 42.2 percent in 2021

Nov. 3, 2024

[Weekender] Welcome to S. Korea’s first ‘vegan village’

INJE, Gangwon Province -- In the village of Sinwol-ri, nestled between the mountains of Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, sits “New Moon Village,” now home for five rescued cows that are driving up hopes to rejuvenate a remote village suffering from population decline. Dubbed the “Flower Cows,” the male Holstein cows had been raised as livestock for beef, and were discovered at an unlicensed dog farm in Incheon in late 2020. As the farm was forced to shut down the same year, th

Nov. 2, 2024

Temperatures to significantly drop from Monday

Following heavy rainfall focused on the southern region of South Korea, average nationwide temperatures will begin to significantly drop Monday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Thursday. During Thursday’s press briefing, the KMA explained it anticipates temperatures to significantly drop from Monday as the continental anticyclone from the north expands above the Korean Peninsula, bringing in cold, northwesterly winds into the country. On Monday, average morning low

Nov. 2, 2024

No evidence of 'unintended acceleration' in cars: NFS

Cars accelerating out of a driver’s control is a common fear among South Korean drivers, with suspected cases frequently highlighted in the local media. However, a forensic analysis of 364 alleged incidents found no cases with sufficient evidence to confirm sudden unintended accelerations had occurred. In all 321 cases where analysis was possible, drivers had pressed the accelerator – contrary to their claims of hitting the brake. In its report Wednesday, the National Forensic Serv

Nov. 2, 2024

Heaviest November rain in 101 years drenches Jeju

Over 300 millimeters of rain has pummeled the southern island of Jeju over two days this week, marking the heaviest November downpour in 101 years for the region, the weather agency said Saturday. Rainfall ranging from 150 mm to 347 mm has drenched Jeju from Friday to early Saturday morning, including 333 mm in the northern mountainous regions, according to the Jeju branch of the Korea Meteorological Administration. On Friday alone, the island's northern regions received 238.4 mm of rain, m

Nov. 2, 2024

S. Korea seeks to boost cooperation in Asia on AI-incorporated legal tech: minister

South Korea looks to bolster cooperation with Asian nations to adjust and deal with the spread of legal services utilizing artificial intelligence, an official said Friday. Lee Wan-kyu, minister of government legislation, highlighted the growing incorporation of AI technology in legal services across the world and the need for Asian nations to join heads to brace for future growth, at the 12th Asian Legislative Experts Symposium held in Yeouido, western Seoul. “As you are witnessing the si

Nov. 1, 2024

Seoul bans doctors, dentists' self-prescription of propofol

The Korean government is pushing to ban medical professionals from prescribing propofol for themselves to reduce the risk of misuse, officials said Friday. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will propose an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Narcotics Control Act to prohibit doctors and dentists from prescribing or administering propofol to themselves and receive public opinion on the policy until Dec. 10. Propofol is a sedative used mostly during cosmetic procedures or when pe

Nov. 1, 2024

Yoon's approval rating falls to 19%, all-time low: survey

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has fallen to 19 percent, the lowest level since he took office in May 2022, a recent poll by Gallup Korea showed Friday. According to the pollster's survey, conducted on between Oct. 29-31 on 1,005 people aged 18 and older, the positive assessment of the president's performance, which remained at 20 percent in the previous surveys taken in the second week of September and the fourth week of October, respectively, dropped to a new record

Nov. 1, 2024

No typhoons recorded in S. Korea for the first time in 7 years

For the first time since 2017, South Korea did not experience a typhoon landfall this summer, a stark contrast to the powerful storms that hit the country in the past two years, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. Typhoon Khanun in 2023 caused floods and forced some 14,000 people to evacuate and Typhoon Hinnamnor in 2022 caused 14 casualties and six injured, as well as 244 billion won ($177 million) in property damages. In contrast, Typhoon Krathon approached South Korea from th

Nov. 1, 2024