From a naturalized South Korean doctor of US missionary descent to a four-time Olympic pistol shooting champion and the former chief executive officer of the country’s largest business conglomerate, several new faces are pursuing a second career in politics through the April 10 general election. New to the National Assembly is Kwak Sang-eon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who won an Assembly seat for Seoul’s Jongno constituency against the incumbent Rep. Choi Jae-hy

Politics April 11, 2024

Voter turnout for this year’s parliamentary elections tentatively reached 67 percent, marking the highest turnout for general elections in 32 years, according to the election watchdog on Wednesday evening. Approximately 29.66 million out of 44.28 million eligible voters headed to 14,259 polling stations nationwide were open for 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to elect the new 300-member National Assembly, according to the National Election Commission in a statement released at 7:30 p.m. The

Politics April 10, 2024

Wednesday’s general election was to pick the 300 members for the next four-year session of the National Assembly, but voters who spoke with The Korea Herald said their ballots extend beyond the next parliament, embodying their hopes and expectations for Korean politics as a whole, with President Yoon Suk Yeol included. Here are their voices. ‘It's all a mess’ says 87-year-old voter leaning on cane Cherry blossoms had burst into full bloom just outside a Hangangno-dong

Politics April 10, 2024

The medical community appears to be facing a rift over coming up with a unified proposal for the expansion plan a day after the government requested it, as it seeks a breakthrough in the prolonged medical standoff through dialogue. Lim Hyun-taek, the newly appointed president of the Korean Medical Association -- the largest coalition of doctors’ groups here, with some 140,000 members -- demanded Kim Taek-woo, the chair of the KMA’s emergency response committee, step down Tuesday. Lim

Social Affairs April 9, 2024

The presidential office said Monday that it has no plan to defer the medical school admissions quota hike, fueling confusion both in the government and medical community, which briefly saw the possibility for dialogue over the matter. “The government has never reviewed postponing the plan for a year, nor will it do so in the future,” an official from the presidential office told reporters during a closed-door briefing, reiterating that the government remains unchanged on its medical

Politics April 8, 2024

Hopes for a breakthrough in the protracted medical standoff are fading after the meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Park Dan, the head of the Korean Intern Resident Association, ended without agreement Thursday, with the two sides still far apart. Amid the impasse, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during Friday’s government response meeting that the government would continue to “communicate flexibility” with junior doctors but “based on principles.” “

Social Affairs April 5, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that he would respect junior doctors’ position on the medical student quota expansion plan when discussing the matter with the medical community in the future, his office said, after he met with the head of the group. Yoon met with Park Dan, the head of the Korean Intern Resident Association, two days after he had offered to talk with the trainee doctors, saying he was willing to hear their voices. At the meeting held at the presidential office lasting

Social Affairs April 4, 2024

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday said it would secure some 7.23 million doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines for winter this year for individuals at a higher risk of developing the illness as variants of the virus continue to pose a risk to public health. Additionally, the government has decided to convert a portion of homegrown COVID-19 vaccines into NovaVax’s synthetic antigen vaccine, totaling between 300,000 to 500,000 doses. The synthetic antigen vaccine ha

Social Affairs April 4, 2024

진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot Han So-hee, Ryu Joon-yeol part ways 2 weeks after going public with relationship 기사 요약: 배우 한소희와 류준열, 공개 연애 2주 만에 결별 [1] South Korean actors Han So-hee and Ryu Joon-yeol have decided to “go their own ways” after two tumultuous weeks surrounding the stars’ admissions of dating and accusations of impropriety in Ryu dating Han so soon after his breakup from his longtime partner, singer and actor Hyeri. * Go your own way: 서로 갈 길을 가다 * Tumultuous: 떠들썩한; 격동의 * A

Podcast April 4, 2024

Eyes are on whether junior doctors would engage in talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol to seek a breakthrough in the ongoing medical standoff and the expansion plan, as senior doctors on Wednesday encouraged them to accept his offer of dialogue. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Korean Medical Association -- the country’s largest doctors’ group with some 140,000 members -- said it “gladly welcomes” the decision and “believes the possibility of talks is high.&

Social Affairs April 3, 2024

The Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction request filed by 33 representatives of the Medical Professors Association of Korea against the government’s planned hike in medical school enrollment quotas, as well as the administrative lawsuit against the health and education ministers, respectively. The court said in its ruling that the medical professors are not eligible to file an injunction request, but the presidents of universities can. The economic damage asserted

Social Affairs April 2, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that he is open to talks with doctors if they can suggest a more plausible option than his administration's plan of adding 2,000 more medical students a year, seeking a breakthrough in a prolonged medical standoff that has apparently been affecting the ruling party's election campaign. Pointing to doctors' failure to refute his administration's plan to increase the school quota by 2,000 to 5,058 per year starting in 2025, Yoon said in a tel

Politics April 1, 2024

Patient anxiety over health care disruptions is growing as medical professors and private physicians started reducing their work hours to protest against the medical school quota expansion plan on Monday, shrugging off the government’s efforts to facilitate talks. The Medical Professors Association of Korea said medical professors, who are senior doctors at major hospitals, began shortening their work time to 52 hours a week to cope with fatigue from trainee doctors’ walkouts. They p

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

Clouds are hovering over the government’s attempts to seek a breakthrough with medical circles, a week after it left the door open for talks, as doctors refuse to bend and as the government locks horns within the ruling bloc over the expansion plan. Amid a monthlong standoff, the Health Ministry on Sunday expressed regrets over the medical community’s nonchalant attitude toward talks and medical professors’ decision to reduce their working hours to 52 weekly starting Monday, on

Social Affairs March 31, 2024

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