[Community Discovery] Mapo-gu completes Seoul experience: district head

Mapo-gu, home to Gyeongui Line Forest Park, World Cup Park, Haneul Park and vibrant university areas, is set to enhance its reputation as a premier cultural and tourist destination, becoming a must-visit hot spot for tourists from overseas, according to the current district office head. “If you haven’t traveled all over Mapo-gu, you haven’t truly experienced Seoul,” said Park Gang-su, 65, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The district’s cultural vibrancy is evi

July 30, 2024

S. Korea's seaport container cargo up 6.4% in Q2

The amount of container cargo processed at South Korean seaports increased 6.4 percent in the second quarter, data showed Tuesday, driven by stronger shipments to the United States and China. The container cargo handled at the country's ports nationwide amounted to 8.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the April-June period, up from 7.61 million TEUs recorded a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The volume of container cargo handled for exports and

July 30, 2024

[Contribution] Achieving gender equality through sports: Reflections on Paris 2024

By Philippe Bertoux and Jeongshim Lee The 2024 Paris Olympic Games mark a historic milestone in sports, featuring an equal number of male and female athletes competing for the first time. This should go without saying: After all, women constitute half of the world’s population. In historical context, the 50/50 gender allocation at Paris 2024 is truly significant. In 1900, also in Paris, women competed in the Olympic Games for the first time, but constituted only 2.2 percent of all athlet

July 29, 2024

Teens spend most of digital social lives on Instagram: data

Instagram has emerged as the social media app South Korea's teens spend the most time on, outpacing KakaoTalk by more than double, data showed Monday. According to data from mobile marketing and data analysis company IGAWorks, Korea's smartphone users under 20 spent a total of 94.1 million hours scrolling on Instagram in June, making the app the leading social media platform in popularity for the age group. This figure was nearly double the time they spent on the next most popular

July 29, 2024

Heat wave, tropical nights to persist this week

Heat wave warnings and tropical night phenomena are expected to persist throughout this week, with sporadic rain continuing in the Greater Seoul area and some parts of Gangwon Province until the end of the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. On Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach as high as 36 degrees Celsius, with precipitation ranging between 5 to 30 millimeters for parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province and 5 to 10 mm for much of Grea

July 29, 2024

Amid prolonged doctors' strike, Korea faces critical cardiology shortage

South Korea's health care system is grappling with a severe shortage of cardiology residents as a nationwide doctors' strike enters its seventh month. Recent data from The Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery reveals that only 12 of the country's 107 cardiology residents are still on duty. The study, conducted over three days last week, shows 75 residents have resigned and 20 have pending resignation requests. Several major regions, including Gangwon and North Ch

July 29, 2024

Korea to tackle wedding charges, housing regulations to boost birth rate

The government announced new measures to boost marriages for young people and support housing for families with children, as a follow-up measure after a "demographic national emergency" was declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month. The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy held its second meeting since its launch in June on Monday to review and accelerate the implementation of over 150 challenges and measures designated to address the aging society and low

July 29, 2024

Police chief nominee blasted for alleged special treatment of son in conscription

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Cho Ji-ho, the nominee for chief of South Korea's National Police Agency, got off to a rough start Monday, with the main opposition party criticizing him over several allegations, including claims that he had assigned his conscripted son to work at his workplace. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers confronted Cho on reports that he had used his position and power to give his eldest son special treatment for military servic

July 29, 2024

6 in 10 workers commute despite dangerous weather: survey

A survey released Monday showed that six out of 10 South Koreans reported braving the weather to arrive at work on time, despite government recommendations to work from home or adjust commuting hours due to safety concerns over natural disasters like typhoons and heat waves. According to the survey conducted by the civic group Workplace Gapjil 119, about 15.9 percent of respondents also expressed concern about facing workplace disadvantages for being late during natural disasters. The survey ask

July 29, 2024

No return of trainee doctors pushes hospital overhauls

As the deadlock within South Korea's medical community extends into its sixth month, with no sign of trainee doctors returning to hospitals, the government is set to finalize a structural transformation plan by next month that will allow advanced general hospitals to operate without junior doctors. The government plans to transform advanced general hospitals, which have traditionally depended heavily on trainee doctors, into physician-centered institutions focused on critical and emergency

July 28, 2024

Fire put out at S-Oil plant in Ulsan

A fire at a plant of S-Oil Corp., a major refiner, was completely extinguished Sunday, about five hours after it started, according to firefighters. No casualties were reported as the fire erupted at 4:47 a.m., with photos showing dense flames rising from the plant. Fifty-six vehicles and some 300 personnel were mobilized to extinguish the blaze. The fire is presumed to have broken out in a heating facility used to produce xylene. Fire authorities are investigating the exact cause and scope of t

July 28, 2024

17-year-old who died at church was subject to severe abuse: document

A high school girl who recently died at a church had been subjected to severe abuse by church members including sleep deprivation and physical labor, a bill of indictment provided by the South Korean prosecution showed. Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday revealed the content of the document he received from the prosecutors, which showed details of their investigation related to the girl's death on May 15. Three members of the Incheon church are currently on tr

July 27, 2024

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

July 27, 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

July 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

July 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

July 26, 2024

Medical services scaled back as doctors gather for protest, discussion forum

As the stalemate in South Korea's medical circle enters its sixth month following the government's announcement of a drastic hike in the medical school admissions quota, doctors nationwide once again suspended services on Friday, calling on the government to drop the plan. In the early morning, the emergency committees of medical professors at Kangwon National University and Chungbuk National University Hospitals, joined by trainee doctors, medical students and their parents, held a ra

July 26, 2024

Actor’s excessive airport security sparks probe into human rights violations

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said Friday that it launched an investigation into allegations of excessive security measures involving actor Byeon Woo-seok. The investigation follows a complaint submitted on July 14, accusing the security measures during Byeon’s recent travels of infringing on human rights. The NHRCK will examine whether the airport's security team was complicit in the actions of a private security firm, which included blocking gates and conducting ticket an

July 26, 2024

Assembly defers Supreme Court judge appointment amid nepotism accusations

The National Assembly on Friday postponed the adoption of a report on the confirmation hearing results for one Supreme Court justice nominee, putting the brakes on her appointment amidst growing controversy over allegations of nepotism. The decision by the parliamentary special committee to delay the confirmation of Lee Sook-yeon, a Patent Court judge, came after allegations surfaced involving her daughter. There are suspicions that her 26-year-old daughter benefited significantly from unlisted

July 26, 2024

Mandating suitors to check litigation e-documents within 1 week is constitutional: court

The Constitutional Court of Korea recently ruled in favor of the legal clause that effectively requires suitors in civil cases to check the e-documents related to their litigation within the week of the information being made available to them. In the ruling, Article 11-4 of the Act on the Use of Electronic Documents in Civil Litigations was unanimously ruled constitutional. The article concerns electronic documents related to the civil cases, which are registered to the court system and made av

July 26, 2024