Understaffed, overwhelmed: S. Korean ERs in emergency mode

Seven months into South Korea's medical sector standoff, fatigue and backlogs of patients are hammering emergency departments nationwide as emergency medicine physicians are reeling from the mass walkout of medical interns and residents in February, with some deciding to leave their jobs for good. Seven out of 14 ER doctors at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, have tendered their resignations, putting the emergency unit under immense pressure as it grapples with personne

Aug. 28, 2024

[Community Discovery] Gwanak transforming from 'goshi town' to youth innovation hub

Gwanak-gu, home to South Korea's most prestigious university Seoul National University, has been a key incubator for the nation's top elites for decades. Located in the southwestern part of Seoul and nestled within Gwanaksan, the district is home to numerous cram schools, small residential units, and affordable eateries. These support those preparing for South Korea’s notoriously competitive civil service exams, which facilitate significant social mobility and early career advanc

Aug. 28, 2024

[Herald Interview] Hwaseong, Korea's newest special city, aims to become sustainable metropolitan hub

As Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun reaches the midpoint of his term, he reflects on both the progress he has made and his ambitious plans for the city's future. "On Jan. 1, 2025, Hwaseong is set to debut as South Korea's fifth special city officially, ‘Hwaseong Special City,’" Jeong told The Korea Herald. "We are fully preparing to make it more livable, work-friendly, and enjoyable." Achieving special city status requires surpassing a population of 1 mi

Aug. 28, 2024

Long-lost woman reunited with daughter after 40 years

A 71-year-old woman has been reunited with her daughter with the help of the police, 40 years after she ran away from home due to the domestic violence of her husband. Daejeon police on July 29 were investigating the woman related to an argument that had occurred between her and a customer in the small corner store she had been managing, according to the Jungbu Police Station in Daejeon. Investigators found that she had been registered as deceased for decades, after going missing in 1984. Back

Aug. 28, 2024

Overdue apology issued to fishers wrongly accused of being NK spies

A former chief of a local police station has apologized for an illegal police investigation that occurred over half a century ago into fishers were then wrongly convicted of being spies for North Korea. Lee Eun-sil, the recently retired chief of Goseong Police Station in Gangwon Province, visited the fishers and offered her apology, according to the victims' group based in the province. This was among her last actions as police chief, and marked the first time an incumbent head of an inve

Aug. 28, 2024

Police use translator app to help child of foreign nationality

Seoul police recently helped a lost child of foreign nationality locate her parents, according to its official YouTube channel. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday posted a video of the child's rescue, as part of the ongoing effort to promote its activities. A child was wandering near a police precinct station affiliated with the Gwangjin Police Station in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on an unspecified date in August. The station's officers invited her in, but the crying child did not sp

Aug. 28, 2024

A major Korean webtoon, web novel pirate site shut down

South Korean authorities shut down Agitoon, a major piracy platform of Korean webtoons and web novels, and arrested its operator on charges of copyright infringement, officials announced Tuesday. According to the Daejeon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, which led the crackdown with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Agitoon, at two different sites, shared unauthorized copies of over 2.5 million web fiction titles and 740,000 webtoon series. Based on the volume of pirated co

Aug. 28, 2024

More than 3 out of 10 deepfake victims are minors

Three out of 10 deepfake victims who sought help from a state agency tackling digital sex crimes were minors, officials said Wednesday, underlining the seriousness of such crimes. A total of 781 deepfake victims asked for help from the Advocacy Center for Online Sexual Abuse Victims between Jan. 1 and Sunday, and 288 of them, or 36.9 percent, were minors, according to the Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea under the gender ministry. The number of underage victims of deepfake crimes rep

Aug. 28, 2024

Yoon vows crackdown on deepfake porn as digital sex crime surges

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday called for a thorough investigation and identification of digital sex crimes involving deepfake pornography, amid growing concerns over the rapid spread of sexually explicit content made using artificial intelligence. “Recently, deepfake videos targeting an unspecified number of people have circulated rapidly on social media,” Yoon said at a Cabinet meeting. “Anyone can be a victim of such digital sex crimes. I urge all authorities involved

Aug. 27, 2024

93% of parents in Korea's youngest city oppose shared kick scooters

Some 93 percent of the parents of children and teens living in Sejong say they do not need any electric kick scooter sharing systems in the city, a survey showed Tuesday. Kim Hyo-sook, city council member of South Korea's youngest city in terms of average age, commissioned the survey from the Sejong City Office of Education of 4,325 parents in the area whose children are currently in kindergarten, elementary, middle or high school. A total of 4,025 said they do not need shared kick scoote

Aug. 27, 2024

Top-earning delivery rider dies after traffic accident

A food delivery rider, who had risen to internet stardom as the highest-earning delivery driver in the nation, died Sunday night, a month after he was struck by a bus while riding his motorcycle. According to the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station on Tuesday, the fatal accident took place at 2:30 p.m. in Yeonsu-go, Incheon, July 31, when an intra-city bus collided with the delivery worker in his 40s at a crossroad. Investigations revealed that the bus driver had violated a traffic signal, striking th

Aug. 27, 2024

Crisis in medical system builds as hospital workers plan walkout

Amid a prolonged medical standoff, concerns are again looming large as more than 22,000 unionized hospital workers plan to strike beginning Thursday if the ongoing arbitration by the labor relations committee fails to reach an agreement on a pay raise and the normalization of hospital operations. The planned walkout comes after 91 percent of the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union -- which has some 30,000 nurses, caregivers and other medical workers at 61 hospitals as members -- vote

Aug. 27, 2024

Half of S. Koreans have chronic anger issues: study

About half of the South Korean population seems to be suffering from long-term repressed anger issues, with nearly 1 in 10 being severe cases, a local study revealed Tuesday indicated. You Myoung-soon, a professor in Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, conducted a study on the social and psychological well-being of Korean nationals, based on the survey her team conducted of 1,024 adults June 12-14. The team asked the respondents to rank their level of pent-up ang

Aug. 27, 2024

Seoul Metro to replace 3 removed Dokdo models with video displays

After stirring controversy by removing models of the Dokdo islets from three of Seoul subway stations over the past few months, Seoul Metro said Tuesday that it has decided to install TVs in the stations that will play promotional videos of the South Korean islets. According to the subway operator which is owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the videos will be played at the wall-mounted TVs that will be installed at Jamsil Station, Anguk Station and Gwanghwamun Station by early September

Aug. 27, 2024

Off-duty firefighter puts out flames at barn with no gear, prevents forest fire

An off-duty firefighter stopped what could have become a sizeable forest fire by extinguishing a barn fire that he encountered on his way home, a local fire station said Monday. Lt. Han Jeong-hyeon of the Hwacheon Fire Station was driving home at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday when he saw smoke rising near a mountain in Sinbuk-eup of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. The 42-year-old firefighter headed toward the site, where he found an senior man trying to extinguish a fire in his barn. The elder man w

Aug. 27, 2024

Fear of deepfake porn chat rooms on Telegram targeting indiscriminate women grips nation

Numerous chat rooms on Telegram suspected of creating and distributing deepfake pornographic material with doctored photos of ordinary women have been discovered recently, stoking fear and outrage across the country. Many victims in these chat rooms -- one of which was found to have over 133,000 members -- were believed to be minors, including middle and high school students, as well as university students, teachers and even military personnel. Through reporting, Yonhap News Agency has learned o

Aug. 26, 2024

In Andong, $1,500 accidentally thrown in trash returns to owner

In Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, $1,500 in US dollar banknotes were accidentally dumped in the trash. Thanks to impressive civil services and a stroke of luck, the cash was retrieved and returned to its owner, according to Andong City Government on Monday. It all started with an urgent call to Andong City Hall at around 1 p.m. Friday. The call was from a citizen who reported accidentally discarding the US dollar bills, meant for upcoming overseas travel, with their trash. Upon realizing the

Aug. 26, 2024

Rise in multinational recipients of basic pension spurs review of eligibility

The number of elderly individuals with multiple nationalities receiving South Korea's basic pension has jumped fivefold over the past decade, according to government data released Monday. The data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that the number of pension recipients with multiple nationalities has steadily risen, from 1,047 in 2014, the first year of the pension’s introduction, to 5,699 in 2023. Their proportion also grew from 0.02 percent in 2014 to 0.09 percent last ye

Aug. 26, 2024

Heat wave to end later this week

A temporary end to the scorching heat could be near, as the Korea Meteorological Administration stated Monday that high temperatures will decrease in some parts of South Korea from Wednesday. According to the KMA, the Tibetan and North Pacific high pressure systems -- which brought hot and humid temperatures into Korea -- has shrunk, opening a gap for cold, dry air from the north to enter into the atmosphere above Korea. The weather agency added that while ocean surface temperatures around the

Aug. 26, 2024

Emergency alerts now available in 5 languages

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Monday that emergency alerts sent through the “Emergency Ready App” will now be available in five different languages. According to the Interior Ministry, the application formally sent out its emergency alerts through the app in English and Chinese only. However, starting Monday, the app will also begin to issue its alerts in Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. The Emergency Ready App is an application run by the Ministry of Interior and Safet

Aug. 26, 2024