South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea’s shortage of core medical services to worsen as new clinics focus on dermatology, plastic surgery

Korea’s health care system continues to grapple with persistent shortages in core medical services, underscoring the need for effective solutions. Although new clinics run by general practitioners are on the rise, 83 percent focus on dermatology, further deepening the shortfall in primary medical services. The number of new clinics opened by primary care physicians this year reached 176 as of July, according to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service received by Rep. Jeon Jin-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday. The figure marks a 36.4 percent increase from 129 during the same period last year. General practitioners are licensed doctors who have passed the national board exam but have not completed a residency. Physicians become specialists after finishing residency training and passing an additional certification exam. The number of general practitioners opening clinics has surged since the conflict between the government and the medical community started in February last year. The government aimed to address health care shortages in rural areas and c

Sep 8, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Korea’s shortage of core medical services to worsen as new clinics focus on dermatology, plastic surgery

Korea’s gender pay gap widens to over 30%

Korea’s gender pay gap widened last year, with the average difference between wages for men and women rising to 30.7 percent, up from 2023. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family analyzed 2,980 companies required to disclose gender wage data and found that the average annual salary for men was 97.8 million won ($70,248), compared with 67.73 million won for women. This resulted in a gender wage gap of 30.7 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from 2023. While average wages declined for both men and women from 2023, women’s earnings dropped by 6.7 percent — far sharper than the 0.8 percent decline for men — contributing to the widening gap. The divide was especially stark in industries employing large workforces. In manufacturing, the gap widened from 20 percent in 2023 to 29.1 percent last year. In information and communications, the gap rose by 4.3 percentage points, while the gap increased by 1 percentage point in the finance and insurance sector. By industry, the largest gender pay gaps were recorded in wholesale and retail trade and in construction, both exceeding 40 percent,

Sep 6, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Korea’s gender pay gap widens to over 30%

Suicide rate among young Korean women nearly 4 times global average

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Korea has long carried the stigma of being the OECD country with the highest suicide rate, a problem previously seen as primarily affecting the elderly. However, a recent study reveals a troubling shift: Korean women in their 20s and 30s have the highest suicide rate in the world, while young Korean men rank second globally, raising concerns of a deepening mental health crisis among the country’s younger generations. A research team led by Lee Yo-han of Korea University's College of Medicine analyzed suicide data from 55 countries between 2001 and 2020, using statistics from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. The findings were published in the international journal Preventive Medicine. According to the study, South Korean women aged 20 to 39 had a suicide rate of 18.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020, the highest among all surveyed nations. This rate far exceeds that of Japan (12.0), the United States (6.8) and other advanced economies. Since 2016, suicide rates among young Korean women have surged by more than 8 percent

Sep 6, 2025By Kormedi.com

Suicide rate among young Korean women nearly 4 times global average

Fatal stabbing at Seoul pizza shop exposes strains in franchise industry

Three people were fatally stabbed at a pizza restaurant in southwestern Seoul on Wednesday, after a dispute between the franchise’s headquarters and the shop owner over menu changes and renovation costs turned violent. The episode underscores the mounting strain on Korea’s small business owners, who operate under a franchise system often criticized for imposing heavy costs while offering little support. In a country with a rapidly aging population, many retirees with limited job prospects turn to running small shops and franchise outlets, making their struggles a barometer of widening inequality and a source of social tension. According to Statistics Korea, self-employed and unpaid family workers accounted for 22.9 percent of Korea’s workforce last year — the seventh-highest share among members of the OECD. As of 2023, the country had some 301,000 franchise outlets, employing more than 1 million people. The widespread presence of small-business ventures, however, can create profound social and economic pressures — a reality that surfaced tragically in Seoul earlier this week. P

Sep 5, 2025By Park Ung

Fatal stabbing at Seoul pizza shop exposes strains in franchise industry

Soldiers, fire trucks, Coast Guard ship deployed to supply water to drought-hit Gangneung

Full-scale efforts have been launched to supply water to the eastern coastal city of Gangneung battling its worst-ever drought on record, with soldiers, helicopters, fire trucks and a Coast Guard patrol ship deployed, officials said Friday. Last Saturday, the government declared the city's drought as a state of disaster after the water storage level of Obong Reservoir, which supplies 87 percent of household water to the Gangneung area, fell to a record low of 15.7 percent. The reservoir's water level has continued to decline, reaching 13.2 percent as of 11 a.m. Friday, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous day. In a bid to replenish Gangneung's water supply, the National Fire Agency has mobilized 71 fire trucks, while the Coast Guard has dispatched a 5,000-ton vessel tasked with patrolling the East Sea to carry water into the city. The defense ministry has also deployed some 800 troops and around 400 water tankers, while 10 helicopters were mobilized Friday to drop water into Obong Reservoir. Authorities poured 26,416 tons of water into the reservoir on Thursday and plan to supply

Sep 5, 2025By Yonhap

Soldiers, fire trucks, Coast Guard ship deployed to supply water to drought-hit Gangneung

InterviewJesuit roots, global classrooms: Sogang University welcomes world

Sogang University, Korea’s only Jesuit institution of higher learning, cultivates a campus culture grounded in personal care. Its “friend-to-friend” ethos permeates daily life, shaping interactions and becoming a defining feature of the university’s identity. Founded in 1960, Sogang University emerged from postwar discussions among Catholic bishops who viewed higher education as vital to the nation’s reconstruction. Supported by the Society of Jesus, the university was built on a strong international network, giving it a distinctly global outlook from the start. "From the very beginning, Sogang was built on an international network," Sogang University President Sim Jong-hyeok said during an interview with The Korea Times. "That foundation enabled many of our early graduates to pursue careers on the global stage, fueling the school’s rapid growth — a model that continues to guide our internationalization strategy today." Leveraging its global Jesuit network, the university has built active exchange channels with universities abroad, especially in the United States, includin

Sep 5, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Jesuit roots, global classrooms: Sogang University welcomes world

President seeks to ease tensions over controversial labor law

In an effort to ease tensions over the recently passed "yellow envelope law," a pro-labor bill at the center of ongoing labor-management disputes, President Lee Jae Myung hosted leaders of the country’s major labor unions on Thursday, emphasizing that his government’s approach is rooted in basic human rights rather than a pro-labor or anti-business agenda. Lee emphasized that a society that respects labor and a country favorable to business “are not mutually exclusive, but can and must coexist,” underscoring that the new law is not intended to confront companies. The law is highly controversial because it restricts a company’s ability to sue striking workers for damages. While businesses fear it will embolden unions and lead to costlier strikes, supporters argue it is a vital measure to protect workers from devastating lawsuits, highlighting a deep-seated friction between labor and management. During the meeting, Lee welcomed Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) President Kim Dong-myeong and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) President Yang Kyeung-soo, urging both

Sep 4, 2025By Anna J. Park

President seeks to ease tensions over controversial labor law

Seoul draws record number of foreign medical tourists, spending hits $860 mil.

Nearly 1 million foreign visitors traveled to Seoul for medical treatments in 2024, the highest number on record, underscoring the capital’s growing status as a global destination for advanced health care. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that just over 999,600 patients received care at hospitals and clinics in the capital last year, out of about 1.17 million people from 202 countries who came to Korea for medical treatments. The number of foreign patients in Seoul more than doubled from 2023 and was over three times higher than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, medical tourism also reached a record last year, the highest since Korea launched the initiative in 2009. Foreign patients spent 1.2 trillion won ($860 million) on medical services in Seoul last year using overseas-issued credit cards — 85.7 percent of the national total. Among medical specialties, dermatology topped the list with just over 665,000 patients, accounting for 64.2 percent of the total, followed by plastic surgery and primary care. By district, Gangnam attracted nearly 380,000 fore

Sep 4, 2025By Park Ung

Seoul draws record number of foreign medical tourists, spending hits $860 mil.

734 Korean newborns start life with $72,000 in assets

More than 700 newborns received gifts averaging nearly 100 million won ($72,000) at birth last year, highlighting the economic disparities that exist from the very start of life and drawing renewed attention to wealth inequality across Korean society, according to an opposition party lawmaker Thursday. Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party cited gift tax records submitted by the National Tax Service, which show that a total of 734 gifts amounting to 67.1 billion won were made to infants in 2024, an average of 91.41 million won per baby. Compared with the previous year, the number of gifts to newborns rose by 98, while the total value of bestowed assets grew by 5.6 billion won, signaling a gradual increase in wealth transfers at the earliest stage of life. Breaking down the gifts by asset type, financial assets led with 554 cases totaling 39 billion won, followed by securities at 156 cases worth 18.6 billion won. Land accounted for 20 gifts valued at 2.6 billion won, while buildings represented 12 gifts, also worth 2.6 billion won. Per-person gifts to minors was hi

Sep 4, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

734 Korean newborns start life with $72,000 in assets

Incheon braces for surge in Chinese group tours with visa-free entry from Sept. 29

Incheon Port and Incheon International Airport are preparing for a surge in Chinese group tourists after the Korean government announced it will temporarily allow them visa-free entry starting Sept. 29. The policy, which will run through June 30 next year, is expected to drive traffic ahead of China’s National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7. The move follows Beijing’s decision last November to restore visa-free entry for Korean travelers, with Seoul now offering reciprocal measures to revive its struggling tourism sector. Port operators anticipate the policy will revive passenger numbers for Korea-China ferries and cruise ships, which remain below prepandemic levels. Ferries linking Incheon with Chinese cities such as Qingdao and Weihai carried 227,509 passengers from January to July, a 1.5 percent dip from the same period last year and about half of 2019 numbers. However, figures are starting to rebound. After four months of decline earlier this year, ferry passengers rose by 27.7 percent year-on-year in May, 77.1 percent in June and 54.6 percent in July. Cruise traffic has also surge

Sep 4, 2025By Hankookilbo

Society