The Korea Times

EXPLAINER Korea’s push for ‘regional doctors’: Reform or gamble?

Korea’s long-running debate over a shortage of doctors outside the Seoul metropolitan area is now centering on a new policy idea: a so-called "regional doctor system" that would require qualified physicians to serve for several years in underserved areas and key specialties. Years of incentive payments, pilot projects and increases in medical school quotas have so far failed to ease the shortage of physicians in emergency rooms, maternity wards and key specialties in smaller cities and rural counties. Health authorities say a mandatory system is now needed to maintain — or at least stabilize — medical services outside the capital region. The regional doctor system has become a key part of President Lee Jae Myung’s health care plan. Last month, lawmakers passed a law that makes the system official and gives the government the power to require doctors to work in hospitals and clinics outside the capital. At its core, the scheme reserves a set share of medical school seats for “regional tracks,” in which students receive government financial support for tuition, dormitory fees

Jan 16, 2026By Jung Min-ho

[EXPLAINER] Korea’s push for ‘regional doctors’: Reform or gamble?

Doctor shortage projections ignite fresh tensions with medical groups

Society

Demographic decline puts dozens of universities at risk, experts warn

As Korea’s annual number of first graders is projected to fall below 300,000 for the first time this year, experts warn that higher-education institutions across the country are headed for a brutal shakeout, with many unlikely to survive the coming decade. Experts say the steep decline in births seen since the 2000s is now moving into the school system, with the number of children entering elementary school set to decrease even faster between now and 2030 than it did from 2020 to 2025. This means the current crisis is “only the beginning” of a much deeper contraction in the student population ― and its impact will shake the higher education system profoundly, they added. Their warning on Wednesday comes a day after a report by the Ministry of Education, which projected that elementary schools nationwide are expected to enroll 298,178 new students this March. This figure is far short of the 450,000 to 500,000 new students that universities and two-year colleges are built to enroll each year, with many already struggling to fill their quotas. According to government data, there a

Jan 14, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Demographic decline puts dozens of universities at risk, experts warn

Society

Seoul commute disrupted by bus strike despite extra subway, shuttle service

Seoul’s bus union brought much of the city’s road transit to a standstill on Tuesday, leaving commuters facing severe disruptions across the capital during the morning rush hour. At bus stops around the city, many people waited in the cold, staring at signs showing buses “waiting to be dispatched” or looking at their phones, hoping to squeeze onto the few buses still operating — many at intervals of 30 to 40 minutes or longer. In the early morning near a bus stop by Gupabal Station in northwestern Seoul, electronic information boards showed many buses that normally arrive in quick succession during rush hour were not yet in service. Some commuters eventually gave up and walked toward the nearest subway station instead. One office worker surnamed Kim, who was heading to Jung District in central Seoul, said the subway was “much more crowded than usual.” “My home is a bit far from the subway station, so I normally take a bus, but today I had no choice but to walk all the way despite the cold,” Kim told The Korea Times. Subway stations quickly turned into bottlenecks as bus

Jan 13, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Seoul commute disrupted by bus strike despite extra subway, shuttle service

Global Community

Korea considers allowing E-9 workers to change workplaces after 1 or 2 years

Korea is weighing significant changes to its employment system for foreign workers, including a proposal that would allow E-9 visa holders to change jobs after one or two years. If implemented, the move would mark a departure from the long-standing Employment Permit System (EPS), under which workers are effectively tied to a single employer. According to activists participating in the government task force launched last month by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to reform policies involving foreign workers, representatives of the government are currently weighing two proposals — including one that would allow EPS workers to change employers after one or two years with their current employer. Under the EPS, workers — mostly employed in agriculture, fisheries, construction and certain service-sector jobs — can change workplaces only under restricted conditions, such as business closure or due to serious labor law violations by the employer. They typically work in small and medium-sized firms that struggle to attract local labor, often under demanding conditions and for relativel

Jan 12, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Korea considers allowing E-9 workers to change workplaces after 1 or 2 years

Health

ADHD ‘study drug’ prescriptions surge among children, teens

Prescriptions for methylphenidate, a central nervous system stimulant primarily used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are rising sharply among children and teenagers in Korea, raising concerns that the drug is being misused as a “study drug.” According to the latest report on medical narcotics use released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the number of young patients prescribed the drug in the first nine months of 2025 has already surpassed the total for 2024. The report shows that 113,263 boys aged 19 or younger received at least one prescription for methylphenidate between January and September 2025 — surpassing the 107,267 boys prescribed the drug in all of 2024. Among girls in the same age group, the pattern is similar: 49,209 were prescribed methylphenidate during the same period, compared with 45,764 for all of 2024. The growth is even steeper over a longer time frame. In 2023, 90,851 boys and 34,888 girls under 20 received methylphenidate prescriptions. In other words, over two years, the number of male teenage patients increased by roughly

Jan 11, 2026By Jung Min-ho

ADHD ‘study drug’ prescriptions surge among children, teens

Society

UNESCO raises censorship concerns over Korea’s ‘anti-fake news’ law

UNESCO has expressed concerns over Korea’s “anti-fake news” law, warning that efforts to fight disinformation must not come at the expense of freedom of the press or encourage censorship. In a statement recently sent in response to a Korea Times inquiry about the controversial law, UNESCO stressed that journalism needs to be “free, independent and pluralistic” and that “journalists must be able to work without fear of reprisals.” UNESCO is the primary U.N. agency with a specific mandate to foster freedom of expression, press freedom and the safety of journalists, viewing these causes as crucial for democracy and human rights. “UNESCO is concerned by the recent trend of growing self-censorship worldwide,” a spokesperson said, noting the sharp increases in media self-censorship in the Asia-Pacific region. “UNESCO stands ready to work with its member states to ensure that policies aimed at addressing mis- or disinformation are aligned with international standards on freedom of expression, including Article 19 of the human rights declaration,” the spokesperson said. Arti

Jan 11, 2026By Jung Min-ho

UNESCO raises censorship concerns over Korea’s ‘anti-fake news’ law

UN envoy signals scrutiny over 'fake news' law as lawyers condemn 'state censorship'

Foreign Affairs

Committee chair’s protest against Trump raises concern at PM Office

Senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are voicing concern over Park Seok-woon, a committee chairman under its authority, after he joined protests criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration over American military operations in Venezuela. Park, a longtime liberal activist, took part in a rally on Monday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, following an American military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, and his wife Cilia Flores. As the first speaker at the gathering, which was organized by 267 civic and political organizations, Park delivered a sharply worded speech denouncing Trump and Washington. “It’s a violent atrocity that will horrify humanity around the world,” Park said, branding the military operation that has left as many as 80 people dead as “murder.” Participants accused the Trump administration of violating international law and called for the immediate release of Maduro. Organizers have also unveiled plans for a larger anti-U.S. demonstration near Gwanghwamun Square this Saturd

Jan 9, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Committee chair’s protest against Trump raises concern at PM Office

Global Community

Gov’t orders nationwide crackdown on labor exploitation of migrant workers

Korea is launching a nationwide crackdown on the exploitative trafficking of seasonal migrant workers, a move prompted by a high-profile case late last year in which Filipino farmworkers reported severe mistreatment. From Thursday through March 31, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Justice will carry out joint inspections with local governments, mainly targeting agricultural and fisheries workplaces that employ foreign seasonal workers, officials said Wednesday. This is the first time the two ministries have carried out a joint inspection specifically aimed at protecting foreign workers from abuses associated with human trafficking. This comes amid a jump in trafficking cases, many of them involving forced labor. According to a senior official at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of confirmed cases surged from just 3 in 2023 to 12 in 2024 and 42 in 2025. All victims were foreign nationals. Among all the cases, labor exploitation was the most common type of abuse with 43 victims, followed by 10 cases of sexual exploitation. In those exploitative

Jan 7, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Gov’t orders nationwide crackdown on labor exploitation of migrant workers

Society

Seoul approves Hyundai Motor’s revised headquarters plan

Seoul city officials have approved a redesign of Hyundai Motor’s planned headquarters in the southern part of the capital, reviving a project that had been mired in delays by setting a new 2031 completion target and replacing the original single-tower plan with three separate buildings. Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Tuesday that negotiations triggered by the company’s request to alter the original plan wrapped up on Dec. 30, clearing procedural hurdles that had kept the Global Business Complex (GBC) project in limbo. The development on the former Korea Electric Power Corporation site near COEX was originally envisioned as a single 105-story “super tall” tower that would house offices, a hotel and cultural facilities. But objections from the military over potential interference with operations, combined with changing market conditions, pushed Hyundai to abandon the plan in favor of slimmer and shorter office towers. The negotiations resulted in an agreement that allows for three buildings on the 79,341 square meter plot, each 49 stories and about 242 meters high, Kim

Jan 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Seoul approves Hyundai Motor’s revised headquarters plan

Society

Seoul moves to broaden use of autonomous buses to fill late-night transit gaps

Seoul is expanding its self-driving bus network to bolster late-night public transportation and improve transit in underserved neighborhoods, as city officials move this year to transition semiautonomous services from pilot projects into a permanent part of the public transportation system. So far, the city’s autonomous bus operations have been limited to a small number of pilot routes, including services in specially designated zones such as Sangam-dong. Now, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is scaling up the number of both vehicles and routes, focusing on time periods and areas where conventional bus services are insufficient. One of the most visible changes will be the expansion of autonomous buses operating in the predawn hours. Currently, the A160 — which stands for Autonomous 160 — runs once a day ahead of the normal 160 bus, servicing early morning commuters. The A160 leaves Dobongsan Station Metropolitan Transfer Center at 3:30 a.m. and travels to Yeongdeungpo Station, covering about 50 kilometers. What began as a single route is being expanded to four that will link key r

Jan 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

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EXPLAINER Korea’s push for ‘regional doctors’: Reform or gamble?

Demographic decline puts dozens of universities at risk, experts warn

Seoul commute disrupted by bus strike despite extra subway, shuttle service

Korea considers allowing E-9 workers to change workplaces after 1 or 2 years

ADHD ‘study drug’ prescriptions surge among children, teens

UNESCO raises censorship concerns over Korea’s ‘anti-fake news’ law

Committee chair’s protest against Trump raises concern at PM Office

Gov’t orders nationwide crackdown on labor exploitation of migrant workers

Seoul approves Hyundai Motor’s revised headquarters plan

Seoul moves to broaden use of autonomous buses to fill late-night transit gaps

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