Out of over 3,000 juvenile offenders who were found guilty of sex offenses and placed under juvenile law protection, only 143 were sent to juvenile detention centers, a report showed Friday. According to the Supreme Court's judicial yearbook, a total of 3,701 juveniles were tried for sex crimes out of the 50,094 juvenile protection cases filed last year. Among them, 2,963 were placed under probation after judges found them guilty. When one under age 19 commits a crime, law enforcement agenc

Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2024

South Korea will use 10 trillion won ($7.6 billion) of health insurance financial reserves by 2027 to reorganize tertiary hospitals to reduce nonessential medical care functions and enhance their critical care, the government unveiled Friday. Tertiary hospitals operate as general hospitals that provide highly specialized medical services for treating serious diseases under the Medical Services Act. The government will increase the proportion of severe medical treatment in tertiary hospitals from

Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2024

To support the growth and development of science and technology talent, the South Korean government and the ruling party announced Thursday that it will launch a new program to provide 5 million won ($3,800) a year to 1,000 masters in science and engineering. The government and the People Power Party held a consultation meeting at the National Assembly to discuss the “Strategy for the Growth and Development of Science and Technology Talents.” According to the plan, the party will pro

Politics Sept. 26, 2024

The number of elementary, middle and high school students reporting being bullied at school increased for the fourth straight year, pushing the corresponding rate to 2 percent for the first time in 11 years. With 1 out of 50 children having experienced school violence, the proportion of victim students was higher among younger students. The modality of violence became more insidious and adroit as the ratio of verbal and cyber violence took over physical bullying, according to the report by the M

Social Affairs Sept. 25, 2024

To cope with the rapidly changing landscape of education since the pandemic and the increasingly prevalent use of digital tools in schools, educational officials from 17 countries gathered Tuesday in Seoul to discuss challenges and strategies in digital transformation and present a new paradigm for future classrooms. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Education and the World Bank, the Digital Education Global Forum 2024 takes place at Coex for three days. It brings together some 100 education experts

Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2024

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho sat down Monday with his Zimbabwean counterpart Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, to enhance academic cooperation between the two nations. During the meeting, the ministers reviewed the state of education in both countries and explored avenues for deeper collaboration. Key areas discussed included expanding international student exchanges, promoting Official Development Assistance in

Social Affairs Sept. 23, 2024

While South Korea is on track to become a "super-aged society" by 2025, with over 20 percent of the population aged 65 years or older, one in five households in South Korea will have a breadwinner aged 80 or older, recent data showed. Future household projections for the period of 2022 to 2052 by Statistics Korea revealed Sunday that the number of households with a primary caregiver aged 80 or older is expected to increase from 1.194 million in 2022 to 4.876 million in 2052, markin

Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2024

Hospitals in South Korea, recognized among the world's best, are predominantly concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, showing a significant disparity in healthcare accessibility and quality between the capital area and the rest. According to Newsweek's World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2025 rankings, seven South Korean medical institutions have secured spots in the top 100 for cancer treatment or oncology, which is a subspecialty of medicine dedicated to the investigation,

Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2024

The medical community Friday said it will not be participating in any multilateral dialogue with political parties and the government, amid the ongoing standoff against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's plan to hike the medical school admissions quota. Choi Anna, a spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association, said, "We believe that it is premature to participate in the bipartisan consultative body at this point in time since there has been no change in the government's atti

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2024

Twenty-eight-year-old Janell Ng from New Zealand, who is visiting Korea with her family, knows her priority. Their first stop is a hair salon in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where each family member hopes to experience a trendy Korean-style makeover. "It's our first time visiting Korea. We are here for a week, and the first thing on the itinerary is to get our hair done at a Korean hair salon," she said while having her hair permed at Suin Style Hair and Spa in Samseongdong, southern Seoul. The

weekender Sept. 14, 2024

Ahead of the massive exodus expected ahead of Chuseok, one of the biggest traditional holidays in South Korea, the amount of trash dumped on highways per day during the autumn holiday is found to be more than twice the average per day during the rest of the year, new research showed. According to data released by Democratic Party Rep. Min Hong-chul on Friday obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, a total of 47,737 metric tons of garbage was collected from private and

Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2024

South Korean military demolished more than 1,300 closed-circuit TV cameras that were installed in frontline barracks, after an inspection revealed that they were Chinese-made, and not domestic devices as previously thought. According to military authorities on Friday, a joint inspection with intelligence agencies in late July over the equipment delivered to the military confirmed that the cameras were made in China and had security issues. The cameras were revealed to be designed to send the cap

Defense Sept. 13, 2024

Amid a monthslong stalemate between the government and medical communities over the state's decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota, South Korea said it will inject about 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) by 2030 to improve medical education conditions. In line with the expansion of medical schools, the Ministry of Education and related ministries announced an investment plan Tuesday, including increasing the number of professors at national universities by 1,000 over three yea

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2024

South Korea and Kazakhstan launched the Global Education and Innovation Alliance to foster international partnerships in education and research. Lee Ju-ho, South Korea's deputy prime minister and minister of education, and Sayasat Nurbek, Kazakstan's minister of science and higher education, discussed possible educational cooperation while emphasizing Korkyt Ata University and SeoulTech's successful collaboration on the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence Institute as a mo

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2024

Funding education is crucial in developing countries, particularly for those vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. According to Charles North, Deputy CEO of the Global Partnership for Education, a World Bank-supported initiative focused on enhancing education in low-income nations, investing in education not only builds a future workforce but also strengthens communities' resilience and ability to recover and progress in the face of adversity, as evidenced by the experience

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2024