High income has become the top reason elementary and middle school students choose becoming a medical doctor as their desired career path, a study by a state-run research institute showed Thursday. The scholars at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training analyzed government surveys on students across the country and compared the responses of students who said they hoped to become a doctor in the 2018 and 2022 reports. The data was from the joint annual survey conducte

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A 30-something man currently on trial for physical abuse against his girlfriend has been nabbed for allegedly attacking the victim again, this time with a weapon. Ulsan Dongbu Police said Thursday that the suspect has been arrested after attacking the victim at around 12:30 a.m. at an apartment in Ulsan. The suspect fled the scene in a car after calling the police to report that he knocked her unconscious. Officials arrived on the scene to find the victim bleeding from her abdomen. She was taken

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A 60-something man in Busan in the early hours of Thursday fell out of the bed and injured himself, shaken not by the 4.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked nearby Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province but ironically by a state-issued emergency mobile alert about the tremor. The man, who lives in Haeundae-gu, Busan, received the notification, together with its loud warning alarm, on his phone at 5:39 a.m. and fell, injuring his face, resulting in him getting rushed to a nearby hospital for medical t

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

The photo capturing the moment when giant panda Fu Bao's twin sisters were born has been selected as one of Time magazine’s Top 100 Photos of 2023. The list, announced last week, includes the photo of the mother Ai Bao with her newly-born female twin pandas taken on July 7 after their birth. It marked the first time twin pandas were born in South Korea after their older sister Fu Bao became the first giant panda to be born in the country. Fu Bao and her giant panda family are among th

Culture Nov. 30, 2023

A coalition of civic groups in Paju, northern Gyeonggi Province, said Thursday that they oppose plans to bury the remains of Chun Doo-hwan, a former president who rose to power through a military coup, in the city. The family of the former military strongman is seeking to bury Chun's remains in Jangsan-ri, in accordance with his last wishes to be buried in a place with a view of North Korea. "Residents of Paju have been fiercely proud of the new era of reconciliation between South an

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A waste disposal center in Yesan-gun, South Chungcheong Province has come under fire for refusing to hire a woman, local media reported Wednesday. During a meeting of Yesan-gun's Resident Support Council, a 69-year-old female member and resident of the district asked what the qualifications for the post of resident monitor were. But a high-ranking member of the group answered that they cannot hire women. Resident support councils are groups formed by regional governments to aid functions re

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

A dog shot and severely injured by an arrow has made full recovery and will head for his new home in New York at 8:35 p.m. tonight, a Jeju Island-based animal protection group said Wednesday. According to Hondidorang, the dog, who received the name Cheonji, has been adopted by an American woman in her 30s, who took in another stray dog in the past. The decision was made Nov. 22 after a monthlong deliberation, the group said. Cheonji, formerly a stray, made headlines in August 2022 when he was

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

A Buddhist monk has been arrested for driving into eight parked cars and causing damage, police said Wednesday. The monk was reported to have been acting out of frustration over a land compensation dispute between him and real estate developers. The unidentified monk in his 70s, from a temple located in Songha-dong, Gwangju, got into an argument with officials from the developer around 8:20 a.m., Tuesday. The development project involves land on which his temple is located. The monk got in his c

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

On the morning of May 23, 2009, the South Korean public received shocking news that altered the country’s political course for years to come: Former President Roh Moo-hyun died after throwing himself off a cliff near his retirement home in Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. The deceased leader, then 62 years of age, had been under investigation concerning corruption allegations of his family members and those around him. While there was no conclusive evidence suggesting

Hashtag Korea Nov. 29, 2023

South Korean police said Wednesday that it is investigating two doctors on suspicion of overprescribing anorexiant, abuse of which can be prosecuted as a drug crime. According to the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, overseeing the police activities in South Chungcheong Province, a 50-year-old private practitioner and his 59-year-old partner is being questioned by police on possible violation of the Narcotics Control Act and the Medical Service Act. The suspects allegedly prescribed 10 female p

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday handed down a fine of 8 million won ($6,200) to the chief of the Hamilton Hotel, holding him responsible for an illegal structure next to the hotel is thought to have exacerbated last year's deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul. The owner, identified by his surname Lee, has been charged with violating South Korea's Building Act by adding a structure to the hotel building without a proper permit. The structure resulted in the alley adjacent to

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

A 66-year-old taxi driver whose passenger jumped out of his moving taxi and was then killed after being hit by another car has been cleared of traffic accident charges, according to media reports on Tuesday. The Daegu District Court also cleared the 43-year-old driver of an SUV that hit the woman and killed her, saying it was impossible for the driver to evade the victim. The incident occurred in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 4, 2022, when the 20-year-old victim got on the taxi in

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2023

Seoul police said Tuesday that it is investigating a YouTuber suspected of livestreaming after taking sleep-inducing medication zolpidem, unprescribed use of which can be punished by South Korean law. The woman in her 20s, whose identity was withheld by authorities, is believed to have taken the unprescribed drugs on Monday while broadcasting from a motel in Sinchon, western Seoul, according to Seoul Seodaemun Station. Police raided the scene after one of her viewers reported that she seemed to

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2023

A man working at Incheon International Airport has been indicted on charges of stealing 366 million won ($280,000) worth of items from passenger luggage, local prosecutors said Tuesday. Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said it has indicted a 41-year-old man on 208 accounts of larceny from November 2021 to Oct. 6 this year. He is accused of having taken high-end bags, jewelry and other expensive items from passenger luggage while working as a baggage handler in the airport's termina

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2023

An umbrella group for those in the dog meat industry in South Korea has vowed to hold a protest Thursday against the government's move to ban dog meat consumption, while allegedly threatening to release 2 million dogs around the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Daehan Yukgyeon Hyephoi (Dog Meat Federation), a group consisting of dog meat farm operators and dog meat restaurant owners across the country, has recently decided to hold a protest in front of the War Memorial of Korea in

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2023