KIHASA Update
Window on Korean Society: July 6-12
- Date 2024-07-08
- Hits 126
July 6
●4% of teenagers asked to send sexual images: survey (The Korea Herald)
Amid growing concerns over digital sex crimes in South Korea, 3.9 percent of middle and high school students nationwide have experienced being asked to send or share sexual images, a state survey showed.
July 7
●'No update since 2019': Korea's inaction on abortion issue leaves women in limbo (Korea JoongAng Daily)
It was November 2021 when Kim, a woman in her 30s living in one of the seven largest cities in Korea, terminated her pregnancy at four weeks.●Deadly City Hall car crash fuels hatred toward senior drivers (The Korea Herald)
Following the deadly car crash near central Seoul on July 1, debate has rekindled over whether seniors aged 65 and up should be eligible to drive, with some openly expressing hatred toward older drivers online.●1 in 5 S. Korean women threatened with sexual extortion: study (The Korea Herald)
An international study claims that one in five women in South Korea has faced threats of intimate images of them being released, the highest share among the 10 countries surveyed.●Govt. expectd to announce measures against defiant trainee doctors this week (The Korea Herald)
The government is expected to announce measures to deal with trainee doctors who refuse to return to hospitals in protest of medical reforms as early as this week, officials said Sunday.●How Korea's laws block adoptees' descendants from finding their families (The Korea Herald)
Korean-Dutch Marrit Kim van der Staaij teared up as she read a long-awaited email confirming that there were records of her mother's adoption that she had never seen.
July 8
●Govt. to halt administrative steps against striking trainee doctors for breakthrough (The Korea Herald)
The government is likely to halt the suspension of licenses and other administrative steps against striking trainee doctors in an effort to seek a breakthrough in monthslong medical service disruptions, officials said Monday.●S. Korea borrows record $66 billion from BOK amid tax shortfall (The Chosun Daily)
South Korea's government borrowed over 91 trillion won ($66 billion) from the Bank of Korea (BOK) in the first half of this year, the largest amount ever recorded.●Gov't backs off threat to punish striking junior doctors (Korea JoongAng Daily)
The government on Monday said it would not impose administrative penalties on striking junior doctors regardless of whether they return, retreating from its original threat to punish them severely.
July 9
●Gov't tells hospitals to process resignations or risk losing trainee slots (Korea JoongAng Daily)
The government will downsize the recruitment quota of junior doctors if training hospitals fail to approve their resignations by next Monday.●Suicide prevention education mandated (The Korea Herald)
Starting on Friday, suicide prevention education in schools, workplaces, public institutions and hospitals will be made mandatory once a year as part of the country's efforts to tackle the devastating suicide rates and increase help-seeking behaviors for those struggling, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.●Of the emergency patients being turned away by hospitals, 40% were due to doctor shortage (The Korea Herald)
Of cases in which hospitals refused to take emergency patients, 41.9 percent occurred because the hospital lacked the necessary medical staff to take care of the patient, fire agency data has shown.●Korea requires all students to receive suicide prevention education (The Korea Times)
All students in elementary, middle and high schools, along with employees at public institutions in Korea, must now undergo annual sucide prevention education, as part of stepped-up government efforts to address sucide, which is the leading cause of death among young Koreans, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Tuesday.
July 10
●Seoul sees 64% jump in teens seeking ADHD medication from 2021-2023: data (The Korea Herald)
The number of teenagers seeking medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is growing markedly in Seoul and other major cities, government data shows.●1 in 650 Korean seniors pick up cardboard: data (The Korea Herald)
Older local residents pushing carts laden with discarded cardboard on the street have become a poignant symbol of South Korea's elderly poverty crisis.●Seoul sees record-low No. of students amid plummeting birthrate (The Korea Times)
Seoul has seen a record low in the number of students amid the declining birthrate and rising housing prices in the capital, a government report showed Wednesday.
July 11
●Doctor shortage fears grow as medical students boycott licensing exam (Korea JoongAng Daily)
Over 95 percent of medical students in a recent survey said they refused to take the annual doctors' license exam, a decision that could worsen the health care vacuum by yielding fewer doctors.●95% of medical students refuse to take license tests as quota feud continues (The Korea Times)
A vast majority of Korea's medical students graduating next year have vowed not to take the medical license tests to become doctors as the feud continues over the government's decision to hike the nation's medical school enrollment quota.
July 12
●List doxxing junior doctors who have returned to work released on social media (Korea JoongAng Daily)
A list of junior doctors, medical students and fellows who allegedly have resumed work and studies was shared through a Telegram chatroom on Thursday in an apparent bid to shame them.●Minimum wage for 2025 exceeds 10,000 won threshold for first time (The Korea Herald)
The minimum wage for 2025 has been set at 10,030 won ($7.30) per hour, surpassing the 10,000 won mark for the first time since the system was introduced in 1988 and eliciting mixed reactions from business owners and employees.●Medical circle attacks non-protesting, returning medics by creating blacklist (The Korea Herald)
The medical circle once again appears to be at odds as some are drawing up a "blacklist" of doctors who have refrained from joining the strike and returned to their workplaces amid the ongoing dispute with the government over the medical school expansion plan.●1 in 5 S. Koreans aged 65 or above: ministry (The Korea Herald)
The number of South Koreans aged 65 or above has surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time, making up nearly 20 percent of the total population, government data showed Friday.●Population over age 65 surpasses 10 million (The Korea Times)
The population aged 65 or older has surpassed 10 million, accounting for 19.5 percent of the total officially registered population, the interior ministry said Thursday.●South Korea's population to halve in 60 years, OECD warns (The Chosun Daily)
South Korea's population is projected to halve in 60 years due to low birth rates and a rapidly aging population, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned on July 12.●South Korea's slower life timeline: Start careers in 30s, marry and have kids in 40s (The Chosun Daily)
An assistant manager at a conglomerate is set to marry next month.