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☆ South Korea gives protesting doctors end-February deadline to return to work
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

South Korea's government on Monday told young doctors they had until the end of February to return to work or risk being punished for staging a week-long protest that has disrupted services for patients at several major hospitals. South Korea's government on Monday told young doctors they had until the end of February to return to work or risk being punished for staging a week-long protest that has disrupted services for patients at several major hospitals. "If you return to the hospital you left behind by Feb. 29, you won't be held responsible for what has already happened," he said. "We urge you to remember your voice will be heard loudly and most effectively when you are by the side of patients." The young doctors who are protesting say the government should first address pay and working conditions before trying to increase the number of physicians.

Persons: Lee Sang, soo Organizations: Monday Locations: Korea's, South

☆ South Korea: Itaewon crush haunts survivors one year after Halloween crowd disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Hye Minyi can still vividly recall what happened in Itaewon, South Korea, on the night of October 29, 2022. Whether the disaster in Itaewon last year will put a dent in this growing popularity is yet to be seen. “We are extremely concerned that there could be a repeat of the Itaewon tragedy,” said Shibuya mayor Ken Hasebe. The Itaewon crowd crush was South Korea’s worst peacetime disaster since the sinking of a ferry in 2014 killed 304 people – among them 250 students and teachers from the Danwon State High School. Lee is certain of one thing, however – that she is “never going back to the area again.”“For me, Halloween and the Itaewon tragedy are (inextricably) linked,” she said.

Persons: CNN — Hye, Amy, Hye, ” Hye, ”, “, Anthony Wallace, expats, Ken Hasebe, Hasebe, ” Hasebe, overtourism, Yuya Shino, Critics, Jung Yeon, Yoon Suk, Kim Kun, Chung Sung, Lee, Kim Ho, Lee Sang Organizations: CNN, Getty, “, Reuters, Danwon State High School, South Korean, Seoul Metropolitan Government, South, City, Facebook, Interior, Safety Locations: Itaewon, South Korea, Seoul, AFP, Asia, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, Shibuya, “, Tokyo's Shibuya, Guangzhou, China, South, Danwon, Yongsan

[1/6] Park Young-soo, whose son died in the Halloween crowd crush a year ago, visits the memorial park where her son's ashes were buried in Pocheon, South Korea, October 24, 2023. She says she may not be able to move on with her life until she sees some kind of accountability from the government. Park is one of more than 100 family members who say the authorities have done little to hold those responsible to account. Relatives of the victims want a special law that would allow an independent and comprehensive investigation into the cause of the crush. "Nothing is reported to us nor communicated to us," said Nari Kim from Austria, who lost her younger brother in the crush.

Persons: Kim Soo, soo, Lee Nam, Lee, Yoon Suk, Lee Sang, Kim Young, Kim, Nari Kim, Jong, Woo Paik, Hyunsu Yim, Daewoung Kim, Heejung Jung, Jimin Jung, Josh Smith, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Interior, National Assembly, Power Party, Korean Society, Thomson Locations: Pocheon, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, Itaewon, Hamilton, Seoul, North Korea, Seoul's, U.S, Japan, Iran, Austria, Korea

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min secured the exemption after his Korean team won gold at the last Games in Jakarta in 2018. K-pop star Suga, songwriter and rapper for the boy band supergroup BTS, began the enlistment process for mandatory military service last month, making him the third BTS member to go off to perform the military duty. The military service law was amended several years ago to allow selected K-pop megastars to defer their service to aged 30, but not to avoid it entirely, with a large section of the population against giving stars like BTS special treatment. "We have players (in the current squad) who have been exempt from military service by winning gold medals in past editions of the games, but... we also several players who have not yet avoided military service. "But of course, because a gold medal gives one an exemption, and we have many who haven't done their service yet... we should perform at our best and get the gold."

Persons: Lee, Kelley L Cox, Son Heung, Kwon, Suga, Faker, Lee Sang, Baek, chul, Kim Woomin, I’m, ” Kim, Choo Il Seung, I'm, Heo Hoon, Martin Quin Pollard, Eduardo Baptista, Ian Ransom, Toby Davis Organizations: DRX, League of, Chase Center, USA, Rights, South, Hangzhou Asian Games, North, Asian Games, Tottenham Hotspur, Korean, BTS, League, China, Qatar, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, USA, Rights HANGZHOU, China, North Korea, South, Jakarta, Korea, Hangzhou, Qatar, Beijing

☆ Asian Games: South Korea's Esports stars target medal success -- and a military exemption
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

For South Korean male participants, winning a gold medal in the Asian Games or Olympic Games not only brings honor but also grants them a military exemption. However, the mandatory duty can be waived for some athletes, in particular those who win an Olympic medal or a gold medal in the Asian Games. Seven games will be featured as official medal events at the 19th Asian Games, building on the success of the pilot event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. The venue for the Asian Games esports competitions is state-of-the-art and an impressive sight to see. With its inclusion as an official Asian Games medal event, the possibility of esports becoming a part of the Olympic Games is a topic of growing debate.

Persons: Suga, Oh, Wang Zhao, Son Heung, ” Shin, ”, esports, ” Kim Sa, “, ” Lee Kyung, Kwak, hyouk, it’d, ” Kwak, Thailand’s Teedech, Lee Sang, –, Michael Chow, Yoonjung Seo, Michael Jordan, ” Chow, Faker, JUNG YEON, Philip Fong, Rowan Crothers, “ I’m, I’ll, ” Crothers, Jess Bolden, Chow, Niko, Young Organizations: CNN, Gaming, Hangzhou Asian Games, Asian Games, Games, BTS, Asian, Getty, Premier League soccer, Tottenham Hotspur, Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, “ Times, CNN Sport, FIFA, Hangzhou, South Korea, Believer Company, Riot, South, Team Korea, League, “ League, SK Telecom, Riot Games, Microsoft Studios, Xbox, Studios, International Federation of, Phonographic Industry, EA Sports FC Online, PUBG, of Valor, of, Olympic, International Olympic Committee, Maekyung Media, Paralympic, IOC, Kodikara, International Federations, Niko Partners Locations: South Korea, Hangzhou, AFP, Seogwipo, Jeju, Republic of, Seoul, esports, Jakarta, South, . South Korea, Palembang, Asia

Earlier the Bangladesh women's cricket team beat Pakistan in the bronze match to claim the country's first Asian Games medal since 2014 at Incheon, South Korea. Cricket, which has hopes of becoming an Olympic sport, returned to the Asian Games this year after being omitted from the last edition in Indonesia in 2018. The South Korean did not disappoint his legions of fans on Monday, helping his Korean team beat Kazakhstan 1-0 in one of the preliminary matches in the 'League of Legends' category. GROUP PHOTOElsewhere on day two of competition, three North Korean marksmen refused to join their South Korean rivals in a group photo of medal winners after narrowly missing out on gold in a men's team shooting competition. "It was really fun," she said after her seventh-placed finish in the women's park, an event won by Japan's Hinano Kusaki.

Persons: India's Divyansh Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil, Dylan Martinez, Lee Sang, Anna Prakaten, Panipak Wongpattanakit, Guo Qing, Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey, it’s, I’m, Japan's Hinano, Martin Quin Pollard, Ian Ransom, Peter Rutherford, Ken Ferris Organizations: Sports Centre, India, Hangzhou Asian Games, Games, Sri, Asian Games, Bangladesh women's, Pakistan, Cricket, Olympic, Korean, Kazakhstan, League, North, South, Tokyo, Russian Olympic Committee, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, China, HANGZHOU, Sri Lanka, Guangzhou, Bangladesh, Incheon, South Korea, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Philippines

☆ South Korea evacuates thousands of scouts ahead of typhoon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Participants gather under the shade as they prepare to leave the camping site of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, August 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiBUAN, South Korea, Aug 8 (Reuters) - South Korea on Tuesday started evacuating thousands of teenage participants at the World Scout Jamboree from a campsite in the southwest of the country to safer areas mainly around the capital Seoul ahead of an approaching typhoon. Typhoon Khanun, which has already wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is expected to hit southern areas of South Korea on Thursday before tracking up the peninsula, bringing strong winds and rain, according to weather forecasters. Seoul and its surrounding province of Gyeonggi would host more than 16,000 scouts, with others fanning out to six other areas of South Korea, he said. Poland is due to host the next World Scout Jamboree in 2027, but President Andrzej Duda cancelled plans to visit the event in South Korea this week due to the typhoon, an official at the Polish Embassy in Seoul said.

Persons: Kim Hong, Ji BUAN, Khanun, Lee Sang, Ahmad Alhendawi, Yoon Suk, Andrzej Duda, Hyunsu Yim, Hyun Young Yi, Ed Davies, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Tuesday, UK Scouts, Reuters, World Organization of, Scout Movement, Polish Embassy, Games, Japan, South Korean, Thomson Locations: Buan, South Korea, Seoul, Japan, Gyeonggi, Poland, Polish, Busan

☆ Too hot for K-pop as South Korea scrambles to save scout jamboree
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Jack Kim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A British participant who left a camping site of the 25th World Scout Jamboree arrives at a hotel in Seoul, South Korea, August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A K-pop music concert scheduled for Sunday at a World Scout Jamboree in South Korea was postponed due to heat safety concerns as the host pressed on with the meet despite extreme temperatures that led three national contingents to pull out. Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said the jamboree organisers "accepted the concerns over safety-related incidents" if the show was held on Sunday night. Temperatures at the jamboree site have hovered above 33 Celsius (91.4F). But the jamboree host and the government of South Korea said they had consulted with participating scouting contingents and decided the jamboree should continue.

Persons: Kim Hong, Ji, Lee Sang, Lee, Jacob Murray, Jack Kim, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, of Interior, World Organization of, Scout Movement, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, American, Singapore

☆ Safety concerns mount for scout gathering amid South Korea heatwave
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Participants for the 25th World Scout Jamboree gather at a water supply zone of a camping site in Buan, South Korea, August 1, 2023. The 25th World Scout Jamboree kicked off on Tuesday as authorities issued the highest-level warning for extreme temperatures for the first time in four years. Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min has ordered more ambulances, shuttle buses and air conditioners to remain on standby to ensure the safety of the scouts, his office said. About 43,000 scouts from around the world are expected to take part in the jamboree, scheduled to run to Aug. 12. The organising committee for the global scout jamboree was not immediately available for comment.

Persons: Lee Sang, Yoon Suk Yeol, Bear Grylls, Soo, hyang Choi, Miral Organizations: Yonhap, REUTERS, Fire Service, Safety, Thomson Locations: Buan, South Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, British

☆ Anger in South Korea as court rejects removing minister over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Judges of South Korea's Constitutional Court sit for the ruling on the National Assembly's impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, at the constitutional court in Seoul, South Korea, July 25, 2023. Yonhap via REUTERSSEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's top court on Tuesday ruled against a parliamentary vote to impeach the interior minister over a botched government response to a deadly Halloween crush in Seoul last year, sparking anger and dismay among relatives of the victims. Dozens of relatives and supporters gathered in front of the court chanting "condemn the constitutional court that gave immunity to Lee Sang-min!" Choi Sun-mi, the mother of Park Ga-young, one of the victims, described the court ruling as "truly devastating." The Itaewon district in South Korea’s capital is known to revellers as a place of fun, freedom and openness.

Persons: Lee Sang, Lee Jong, Lee, Yonhap, Choi, Yoon Suk Yeol, partygoers, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Lincoln Organizations: South, South Korea's Constitutional, Yonhap, REUTERS, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: South Korea's, Seoul, South Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, Itaewon, South Korea’s

[1/3] Foreign tourists participating in DMZ tour walk past a military fence near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiPAJU, South Korea, July 19 (Reuters) - Only hours after U.S. Most infamously, axe-wielding North Korean soldiers in the DMZ in 1976 murdered two U.S. soldiers who were cutting down a tree to secure a clear view. In 2017, a North Korean soldier was riddled with bullets by his comrades, but ultimately survived as he made a dash into the South. He must have done it not knowing exactly what North Korea is like," Lee told Reuters at the observation point.

Persons: Kim Hong, Ji PAJU, Travis T, King, Felicia, Lee Sang, Lee, Soo, hyang Choi, Gyun Kim, Hongji Kim, Ed Davies, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Joint Security Area, South Korean, United Nations Command, UNC, ITC, North, American, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paju, South Korea, North Korea, Korea, U.S, North Korean, Seoul, Minwoo

☆ Exclusive: Seoul mayor calls for South Korean nuclear weapons to counter threat from North
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon added new fuel to a growing debate over how South Korea should arm itself as the North races to perfect its capability to strike the South with tactical nuclear weapons. "North Korea has nearly succeeded in miniaturising and lightening tactical nuclear weapons and secured at least dozens of warheads," Oh said. Oh, an influential member of President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative People Power Party, is one of the highest-profile officials to actively advocate for a South Korean nuclear weapons programme. He dismissed opponents who warned of punishments from other countries, including sanctions, saying a South Korean nuclear programme would send a message to countries like China to curb the North's military buildup. "If North Korea’s nuclear threat becomes more visible and South Korea takes its own path to nuclear development, it will signal the start of a nuclear domino effect in Asia."

☆ South Korean romance reality shows boom, but marriage no longer the end game
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Choi Seo-eun, a participant in Single's Inferno 2 takes a selfie with her fans during a fan meeting event in Seoul, South Korea, February 11, 2023. While official statistics on their numbers are not kept, unmarried couples living together no longer raise eyebrows in South Korea. And while romance reality shows may be all the rage, a substantial number of Koreans also appear prepared to eschew relationships altogether. Even on dating shows like Netflix's (NFLX.O) hit "Single's Inferno" which transports young people to a deserted island, most of the shows' content revolves around long conversations between participants. The conversations in and around dating and relationship shows are good for South Korea, says Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University.

☆ South Korea's parliament votes to impeach minister over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - South Korean lawmakers voted on Wednesday to impeach the interior minister over his responses to a deadly Halloween crush, setting the stage for him to become the first cabinet member ousted by the legislature. The Democrats and other opposition parties had pushed for expulsion of the interior minister, Lee Sang-min, urging him to take responsibility for botched responses to the crush. A presidential official said there was no evidence that the minister had severely violated the constitution or any law. In 2017, President Park Geun-hye became South Korea's first elected leader to be expelled from office when the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment. The court dismissed an impeachment motion in 2004 for President Roh Moo-hyun.

☆ Some 500 people are evacuated from fire in South Korea shanty town
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - About 500 people were evacuated on Friday after fire broke out in a shanty town in the South Korean capital, Seoul, fire authorities said. The fire erupted at 6:27 a.m. (0927 GMT) in Guryong Village in southern Seoul, which is home to more than 660 households. [1/4] Smoke rises from a fire at Guryong village, the last slum in the glitzy Gangnam district, in Seoul, South Korea, January 20, 2023. Plans for redevelopment and relocation have made little progress amid a decades-long tug of war between land owners, residents and authorities. Seoul said Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the village and asked officials to draw up measures to relocate families affected by the fire.

☆ South Korean police seek manslaughter charges over deadly Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Police in South Korea are seeking charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, including law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge last year that killed nearly 160 people. Despite anticipating a Halloween weekend crowd of more than 100,000, Seoul police had assigned 137 officers to the capital’s nightlife district Itaewon on the day of the crush. Those officers were focused on monitoring narcotics use and violent crimes, which experts say left few resources for pedestrian safety. Son Je-han, who headed the National Police Agency’s special investigation into the incident, said Friday his team will now send the case to prosecutors. However, Son said the special investigation team will close its investigations of the Interior and Safety Ministry, the National Police Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, saying it was difficult to establish their direct responsibility.

☆ South Korea lifts ban on imported sex dolls
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has formally lifted a ban on the import of full-body sex dolls, ending years of debate over how much the government can interfere in private life. The customs service said it will still ban the import of child-like sex dolls or others embodying certain people. It said other countries like the United States, Australia and Britain also ban child-like sex dolls. It said South Korea must reform other regulations that have a negative impact on the economy. Customs officials said they still most likely held more than 1,000 sex dolls that had been sent to South Korea since 2018.

☆ Despite stark gender inequality in South Korea, hostility to feminism is growing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Haeryun Kang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Lee Yunju has poked her head in the feminism aisle of the library at her university in Daegu, South Korea. President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol. In South Korea, it’s the gender issue.”To some, the gender ministry is a symbol of what they see as the excesses of feminism. The gender ministry was founded in 2001 under the Kim Dae-jung administration, South Korea’s first left-leaning government. The gender ministry aims to protect the marginalized in our society.

Ye-jin was among 158 people who died in the disaster on narrow lane in Seoul on Oct. 29. "Children who lost their parents are orphans, but there's no word for parents who lost their children. Dressed as Princess Jasmine from the Disney animated film "Aladdin", Ye-jin had gone for the night out in the capital Seoul with two friends. Last week, some relatives of victims held a news conference demanding a government apology and a thorough investigation. Lee Ju-hee, from a collective of human rights lawyers called Minbyun, said nearly 60 families have joined a campaign for justice.

[1/2] A woman pays tribute near the scene of a crowd crush that happened during Halloween festivities, in Seoul, South Korea, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The initial shock from a deadly crush among Halloween party-goers in South Korea is turning into public outrage over the government's planning missteps, as business owners say police were more focused on crime and COVID than crowd safety. The crush on Saturday night killed 156 and injured 152 as revellers flooded narrow alleyways. Many South Koreans said they were in shock over how a casual night out had turned deadly. I am so sad that I can't even express my sorrow," Kim Keun-nyeo, 54, said an altar near Seoul city hall.

☆ South Korea vows tough action, moving to quell anger over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol walks at the scene where many people died and were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. The death toll from the crush at a crowded Halloween street party on Saturday climbed to 156 with 151 injured, 29 of whom were in serious condition. The country's chief security officer, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, had said deploying more police would not have prevented the disaster. President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a week of national mourning, saying the country had too many safety disasters. On social media, some Koreans said precautions were inadequate for an event that had been expected to draw large crowds.

☆ South Korea's deadly Halloween crush was avoidable, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

District authorities for Yongsan, where Itaewon is located, discussed measures to prevent illegal drug use and the spread of COVID-19 during the Halloween weekend, according to a district press release. But there were only 137 police officers in Itaewon at the time, the city of Seoul said. Moon Hyeon-cheol, a professor at the Graduate School of Disaster Safety Management at Soongsil University, said this type of crush had the potential to happen in any populous city. "We need to take this tragedy and learn to prepare for the risk of disaster," he said. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

That was the last time Aby, a Seoul resident from the Ivory Coast, saw him. Bureaucrats who typically handle birth certificates or housing registrations sought to help hundreds of distraught people seeking details of their relatives. [1/4] Family members of people missing after a stampede during Halloween festivities, gather at a community service center in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. With no sign of news about the son, Aby left the centre for the Ivory Coast embassy. "The families need to get this certificate from the police, then we can release the bodies to the families," the official said.

SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - With "Hooker Hill" and snaking alleyways of bars with signs like "BADASS" around the local landmark Hamilton Hotel, Seoul's Itaewon district was a symbol of freewheeling nightlife in the South Korean capital for decades, before tragedy struck. "This happened right at the moment when we were about to rebound after being hammered by the pandemic," said Lee, who has operated Itaewon businesses for three decades. A mysterious killing called the "Itaewon Murder" and other crimes in the late 1990s painted a dark image of the area. The district has been a recurrent theme in popular culture, with a recent hit drama "Itaewon Class" and K-pop song "Itaewon Freedom". They won't," said Park, who has run businesses in the district for nearly 30 years.

☆ South Korea is turning away Russians trying to escape Putin's military draft by sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russians fleeing Putin's military draft have left via car, train, plane, and less frequently, by boat. All but two Russians known to have sailed into South Korea to avoid the draft have been denied entry. A South Korean lawmaker told NBC News the country must create "dedicated procedures" for those fleeing the conflict. Russia and South Korea have an agreement allowing citizens to enter for up to 90 days visa-free, according to the Korea Herald. "South Korea is already a country that accepts very few refugees," he said.

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