Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Doctors, government lock horns over medical school expansion
Medical circles continue to lock horns with the government following the announcement of an increase in medical school enrollment quotas by 2,000 from the current 3,058, as they mull joint action in protest of the decision. In response, the Health Ministry said Thursday afternoon it had issued orders to prohibit doctors from engaging in collective action and specialists from resigning en masse. The ministry raised the national health crisis level to alert -- the third highest in the four-tier
Social Affairs Feb. 12, 2024
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Doctors, government lock horns over medical school expansion
Medical circles continue to lock horns with the government following the announcement of an increase in medical school enrollment quotas by 2,000 from the current 3,058, as they mull joint action in protest of the decision. In response, the Health Ministry said Thursday afternoon it had issued orders to prohibit doctors from engaging in collective action and specialists from resigning en masse. The ministry raised the national health crisis level to alert -- the third highest in the four-tier
Social Affairs Feb. 8, 2024
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Race for med school heats up after hike in student quota
The race for medical school enrollment has kicked off nationwide following the government’s decision on Tuesday to increase the quota by 2,000 from the current 3,058 to ease the staffing problem and improve access to healthcare services, according to experts on Wednesday. Woo Youn-cheol, a team leader at Jinhak Educational Assessment Research Institute, pointed out that there would be a particular increase in the number of retakers for the Suneung, or the country’s national college e
Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2024
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S. Korea to increase med students by 2,000 despite doctors’ threat to strike
The South Korean government on Tuesday announced it will increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 to address the shortage of doctors in non-metropolitan areas and broaden the reach of healthcare services despite the medical circle’s strong opposition and threat to hold a nationwide strike. According to the plan, approved by the medical policy review body held on Tuesday afternoon, the number of medical students will be increased to 5,058. The hike is the first in 27 years sinc
Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2024
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Gangnam, Seocho districts see rise in first-year middle schoolers
Amid the shrinking school population, the two affluent neighborhoods in South Korea known for their excellent academics saw a spike in enrollment for first-year middle schoolers, reflecting parents’ zeal to provide better educational opportunities for their children, government data showed Monday. A total of 9,654 middle first-year students were assigned to schools in Gangnam and Seocho areas, both south of Seoul, a 1.36 percent increase, or up 130 students from last year’s figure of
Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2024
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Home prices drive Seoulites out of town
More than 5.47 million Seoulites have moved to a different metro area in the last 10 years, government data showed Monday, as home prices and uncertainties in the real estate market drive many to relocate to cities with more affordable housing. Of the total, some 1.74 million people said their main reason for leaving the city between 2014 and 2023 was housing, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service data on the number of people who relocated from Seoul to other cities and provinc
Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2024
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[팟캐스트] (555) 광고할 땐 좋았는데, 연예인 리스크에는 빠르게 ‘손절’
진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot Loved like idols, canceled like demons 기사 요약: 이미지 타격 큰 ‘연예인 리스크’에 사건사고 터지면 발 빠르게 광고 손절하는 업체들 [1] The news that actor Lee Sun-kyun was being investigated for allegations of illegal drug use broke out on Oct. 19. From then on, the actor disappeared from public view, except when he was made to appear in front of the media each of the three times he underwent a police interrogation. The fact that he tested negative for drugs multiple times throughout the monthslong
Podcast Feb. 5, 2024
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Korea to push for ‘fundamental shifts’ in health insurance for sustainability
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare on Sunday rolled out a five-year plan to push for “fundamental shifts” in the national health insurance system to ensure sustainability in the face of a health care supply crisis and rapid population downsizing. The 2024-28 comprehensive plan aims at better compensating essential but undervalued medical services to tackle the shortage of medical professionals in certain sectors, as well as target the issues of overtreatment and overs
Social Affairs Feb. 4, 2024
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2 firefighters die battling blaze at meat packing plant
Two firefighters who were trapped while responding to a fire at a four-story meat processing factory in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, late Wednesday were found dead early Thursday, fire authorities said. The Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters said that officials retrieved the bodies of the two firefighters at 1:01 a.m. and 4:14 a.m., respectively, adding that they were around five to seven meters from each other at the time of the discovery. The two firefighters -- reportedly a 27-year-
Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2024
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[팟캐스트] (554) 옛 연인 소환하는 요즘 예능, ‘쿨’해졌다
진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot Korean TV programs show former couples together amid cultural shift 기사 요약: 옛 연인·배우자 소환하는 요즘 예능...환승연애 3 흥행에 달라진 시대상 반영 [1] South Korean entertainment shows which invite past lovers on the program are gaining popularity. Following a shift in Korean culture towards more openly discussing past relationships, there is an increase in audience demand for shows to more directly fulfill innate desires, according to experts. * Invite: 초대하다, 초청하다 * Shift: 변화, 이동 * Demand: 요구
Podcast Feb. 1, 2024
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Turkmenistan envoy, Korea Herald CEO discuss media cooperation
Turkmenistan Ambassador to South Korea B. Durdyev and Choi Jin-young, the CEO of The Korea Herald, discussed ways of enhancing media cooperation through content during their meeting in Seoul on Tuesday. As part of the bilateral cooperation, the two sides discussed beefing up bilateral cooperation by publishing content about the domestic and foreign policies of Turkmenistan, as well as exchanging news and information on both countries’ current events and achievements. During the meeting, th
Foreign Affairs Jan. 31, 2024
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Korea to digitize personal seals, enhance online gamer protection
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vowed to improve services in digital government administration, online gaming and telemedicine by removing organizational hassle, enhancing protections for gamers and improving the welfare of the people. The plan involves digitizing necessary documents for approximately 1,500 administrative services within the next three years and creating digital stamps in lieu of traditional personal seals, which have been in use in South Korea for 110 years. In cases where p
Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024
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Drug prevention program to target elementary schoolers
A new drug prevention education program for elementary school students aimed at raising awareness of the harmful effects of substance abuse is underway, as South Korea sees a continued rise in adolescent drug use, according to the National Center for Mental Health on Tuesday. This marks the first time the government has come up with a drug education program targeting children in the early stages of development with mental health professionals so that interventions in early childhood can help the
Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024
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Over 3,700 high-income workers make more than W110m monthly: data
Over 3,700 high-income employees subscribed to the state-run health insurance scheme are earning more than 110 million won ($82,300) per month, paying a medical premium of 4 million won monthly, data showed Monday. The figure translates into an income of at least 1.32 billion won annually. As of October last year, 3,791 people were categorized as employed subscribers paying the maximum amount for health insurance premiums in the data on the status of health insurance subscribers and monthly prem
Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2024
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[팟캐스트] (553) 점점 늘어나는 ‘점원 없는 가게’
진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot [Weekender] Behind the rise of unstaffed stores in Korea 기사 요약: 늘어나는 무인점포들, 왜일까? [1] Choi Seung-hoon, 32, a regular patron of self-service venues in Korea, recently broadened his experiences in unstaffed shops by purchasing a takeaway sashimi dinner set for one. * Patron: 고객, 후원자, 홍보 대사 / Customer, Client, Buyer * Self-service: 자급식 판매 방법 / Do-it-yourself * Broaden one’s experience: 시야를 넓히다, 알거나 경험한 것들의 범위를 넓히다 / Expand; Widen * Unstaffed: 무인의 / Unmanned [2] Unstaffed
Podcast Jan. 29, 2024
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