Surveillance cameras to be a must in hospital operating rooms

Hospitals will be required to install surveillance cameras in operating rooms and record surgery procedures at the request of patients starting next week, the health ministry said Friday. The revised Medical Service Act, set to take effect Monday, also calls for storing recorded videos for at least 30 days, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Under the revision, medical clinics must install cameras in all operating rooms that handle surgeries where patients are anesthetized or unc

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

Opposition head pleads for support in ‘fight against Yoon dictatorship’

Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Friday made pleas to "salvage democracy" from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, a day after the National Assembly passed a motion to let the court decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for him. In a written statement, he called attention to the country’s history of fighting military dictatorships, and the monthslong protests that led to the impeachment of the Park Geun-hye administration. “As history is a guide, it

PoliticsSept. 22, 2023

'Despicable act of betrayal' — Democratic Party feud deepens after arrest motion approval

Leading figures of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea lashed out at party rebels Friday, after the previous day's unexpected approval of a hearing on a warrant to arrest the party's leader, Lee Jae-myung. The hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday. The result of the vote came as a shock, as Lee's party holds 168 out of the 298 seats in the National Assembly. The outcome suggests that dozens of Democratic Party lawmakers cast dissenting votes. At the Supreme Council meet

PoliticsSept. 22, 2023

S. Korea, US conduct underwater search operation for downed jet, Korean War remains

Seoul and Washington embarked on their inaugural joint underwater search operation, aiming to locate the wreckage of a US fighter jet and the remains of American pilots who lost their lives during the 1950-53 Korean War in the waters of the East Sea on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery Identification (MAKRI) and the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) commenced a three-week retrieval operation on Sept. 7 in the wate

DefenseSept. 22, 2023

Ministry uncovers 1,802 Youth Protection Act violations

More than 1,800 breaches of the country’s Youth Protection Act were found during a nationwide government inspection of downtown areas to examine whether operations met requirements. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday it had detected 1,802 violations of the act, and that it had asked the local governments responsible to investigate 65 of those cases and issued corrective orders for the rest. The inspection was conducted from July 17 until Aug. 18 at places such as beache

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

N. Korea's Politburo discusses implementing Kim's Russia trip outcomes

North Korea held a Politburo meeting on Wednesday to discuss leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Russia and subsequent actions required to put the trip's outcomes into effect, state-run media reported Friday. Kim made his first public appearance following his extensive 10-day overseas trip by participating in a Political Bureau meeting at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. During the meeting, Kim Song-nam, the director of the In

North KoreaSept. 22, 2023

Koreans prefer cash in Chuseok gifting for parents

More Koreans are expressing a preference for offering cash instead of gift sets to their parents during the Chuseok holiday, data showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by KB Kookmin Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's KB Financial Group, among a total of 420 survey participants, 91 percent are planning to prepare gifts either in monetary or non-monetary form for their parents, with almost 80 percent opting for cash while 43 percent are considering product purchases. In terms

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

PM to meet with Xi on sidelines of Asian Games in Hangzhou

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, later this week, an official said Friday. Han will depart for China on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony, which is set to take place later in the day. The meeting with Xi is most likely to occur before the event. "It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place, and we are currently finalizing the location and timing," the

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

Biden rebukes Russia for turning to N. Korea, Iran for more arms

US President Joe Biden slammed Russia on Thursday for seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea for use in its war in Ukraine, reiterating such an arms transfer would flout UN Security Council resolutions. Biden made the remarks during a White House summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which he announced a $325 million military assistance package, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense capabilities. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace. He could end

Foreign AffairsSept. 22, 2023

Yoon revs up efforts to promote Expo bid in back-to-back New York summits

President Yoon Suk Yeol held another round of back-to-back summits with world leaders in New York on Thursday as he rampped up his push to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Since his arrival in New York on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly, Yoon has held dozens of two-way summits in a last-ditch effort for the Expo bid. In a morning summit, Yoon met with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and said that bilateral talks on the signing of a strategic econ

PoliticsSept. 22, 2023

US watching closely for possible N. Korea-Russia arms trade: senior US official

The United States is closely monitoring possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, a senior US official said Thursday, after last week's summit between their leaders raised concerns about military cooperation. During a meeting with a group of reporters in Brussels, the official also said South Korea has expressed its willingness to actively support North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries that assist Ukraine in its war against Russia. "Obviously Russia is looking fo

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Russian Embassy voices 'deep regret' over Yoon's warning on growing Pyongyang-Moscow ties

The Russian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday expressed "deep regret" over President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech condemning military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow at the United Nations and accused him of joining Washington's "propaganda campaign." During his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (U.S. time), Yoon warned that any arms deal between the two countries would be considered a "direct provocation" against South Korea, relaying

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Assembly votes to let court decide on opposition chief’s arrest warrant

The National Assembly on Thursday voted to pass the motion for a possible arrest warrant that removed the protective immunity of Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung on day 22 of his hunger strike against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The motion’s passage gives the court the Assembly’s permission to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Lee, who is a criminal suspect in three corruption cases and a defendant in two ongoing criminal trials. In a plenary sess

PoliticsSept. 21, 2023

S. Korea slaps sanction on NK defense minister

The South Korean government on Thursday handed out the world's first unilateral sanction on North Korea's defense minister, who had accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his recent trip to Russia. The financial sanctions also targeted other individuals and entities allegedly involved in illicit arms and financial transactions with third party countries, most notably Russia. The announcement of sanctions appears to be a tit-for-tat response to indications of illicit military tr

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Parliament passes arrest motion against opposition leader, dismissal motion against PM

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a motion seeking parliamentary consent to the potential arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, while also passing another motion calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. In a 149-136 vote during a plenary session, the Assembly passed the motion to lift arrest immunity for Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party (Democratic Party), who faces breach of trust, bribery and other charges in connection with a scandal-ridden land develop

PoliticsSept. 21, 2023

Seoul plans to modernize Dongseoul Bus Terminal

Dongseoul Bus Terminal, located in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, is to be redeveloped into a sailboat-shaped mixed-use development, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s “100-Year Urban Planning Initiative.” The announcement comes after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, part of Manhattan's Hudson Yards, an 11-hectare, $25 billion real estate development on top of a mid-19th-century railyard with housing, office buildi

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023

[News Focus] What are the implications of Yoon naming Russia before NK?

President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday raised the possibility that Yoon has made it official that North Korea now stands behind Russia in terms of Seoul's priority in foreign relations, which could signal a downturn ahead in the inter-Korean relationship. As the South Korean leader warned North Korea not to pursue information and technology from Russia needed to enhance its weapons-of-mass-destruction capabilities, in ret

North KoreaSept. 21, 2023

Russia-NK military ties could lead to sanctions, Seoul says

South Korea will consider imposing unilateral sanctions as a viable course of action should concrete evidence of illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia be confirmed, Seoul's vice foreign minister said Thursday. Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin emphasized that Russia's potential transfer of technologies to enhance North Korea's weapons of mass destruction would constitute a "serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions" if confirmed. "T

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Kim Jong-un’s car escorted by Hyundai van in Russia

North Korean state-run media on Wednesday broadcast a documentary that featured North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's motorcade in Russia, notably escorted by vans manufactured by South Korea's auto giant, Hyundai Motor. The state-controlled Korean Central Television, which primarily targets the North's domestic audience, unveiled an hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "A Historical Moment: Setting a New Milestone in North Korea-Russia Relations," providing a comprehensi

North KoreaSept. 21, 2023

Cooler weather with large daily temperature range expected over weekend, Chuseok holiday season

As the season begins to turn, a large daily temperature range and rain are expected across the country, the weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the nationwide minimum morning temperature would drop to around 15 degrees Celsius on Friday, and to around 10 C in the mountainous areas in Gangwon Province. The weekend is likely to see the greatest daily temperature differences between day and night, with clear skies expected during the daytime -- a typ

Social AffairsSept. 21, 2023