Over 3,700 high-income employees subscribed to the state-run health insurance scheme are earning more than 110 million won ($82,300) per month, paying a medical premium of 4 million won monthly, data showed Monday. The figure translates into an income of at least 1.32 billion won annually. As of October last year, 3,791 people were categorized as employed subscribers paying the maximum amount for health insurance premiums in the data on the status of health insurance subscribers and monthly prem

진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot [Weekender] Behind the rise of unstaffed stores in Korea 기사 요약: 늘어나는 무인점포들, 왜일까? [1] Choi Seung-hoon, 32, a regular patron of self-service venues in Korea, recently broadened his experiences in unstaffed shops by purchasing a takeaway sashimi dinner set for one. * Patron: 고객, 후원자, 홍보 대사 / Customer, Client, Buyer * Self-service: 자급식 판매 방법 / Do-it-yourself * Broaden one’s experience: 시야를 넓히다, 알거나 경험한 것들의 범위를 넓히다 / Expand; Widen * Unstaffed: 무인의 / Unmanned [2] Unstaffed

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday acquitted former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae of all 47 charges related to his alleged abuse of judiciary power, including allegations that he deliberately delayed a ruling on Japan’s forced labor victims for then-President Park Geun-hye, who had sought to stabilize ties with the country. Yang, who headed the top court from 2011 to 2017, faced multiple allegations of abusing his judiciary power. After 1,810 days since the prosecution&

Surgeons at Korea University Anam Hospital have offered pro bono surgery to a 30-year-old neurofibroma patient named Rasoanandrasana Vaosolo from the Republic of Madagascar, the hospital said Thursday. KUAH, one of the leading health institutions here, said that it decided to conduct the operation as well as cover the patient’s medical expenses as the developing country lacks healthcare infrastructure. A neurofibroma is a type of peripheral nerve tumor that forms soft bumps on or under the

A woman in her 40s was handed a four-month prison term with two years of probation and 40 hours of community service for throwing her dogs from an apartment balcony, according to the Yeongwol Branch of Chuncheon District Court on Thursday. The 49-year-old, whose identity has been withheld, was charged with breaching the Animal Protection Act, which stipulates that killing an animal without justification shall be punished. It was reported that the woman threw two of her one to two-month-old puppi

진행자: 박준희, Ali Abbot Escape winter’s chill, dive into paradise in Vietnam 기사 요약: 한국인들한테 인기 많은 다낭부터 요즘 뜨고 있는 푸꾸옥 섬까지, 가지각색의 매력을 지닌 베트남 여행지 [1] If the abounding lush green paddies and the Trump-Kim Hanoi summit click in your mind about Vietnam, you’re missing out on a big part, because the country has much more to offer. *Abounding: 풍부한, 많은 / Flourish, Be plentiful, Abundant *Click in your mind: 떠오르다 / Come to mind; Stick in your mind; pop up; cross your mind *Miss out on: ~를 놓치다 / Ov

Following an amendment to the Health Insurance Act that goes into effect on April 3, foreign nationals and overseas South Koreans must reside in the country for at least six months to receive health insurance coverage as dependents of the actual subscribers. The new measures, however, will allow children under the age of 19 or spouses of foreign workers to be covered by the national health insurance before residing in Korea for six months so that families of diplomats and expatriate employees ca

The Gangwon 2024 Organizing Committee’s decision to make 3,000 condoms freely available to some 1,800 athletes aged between 13 and 18 participating in this year’s Youth Olympics has sparked debate, with some arguing that it encourages teenagers to have sex, while others say it is an effective part of safe sex education. The committee said Tuesday that it had distributed 2,500 condoms to the Gangneung-Wonju National University athletes village, while the remaining 500 were sent to the

South Korean middle and high school students regard politicians and presidents as the least trusted professions, while they view teachers as the most, a survey showed Sunday. Although poor working conditions have taken a toll on waning teachers’ rights, some 86.8 percent of middle and high school students said they have trust for teachers when asked how much they trusted the profession, according to a poll conducted by the Korean Education Development Institute on students’ education

Public medical facilities that took on a greater share of COVID-19 patients also bore the brunt of the financial fallout due to poor financial support from the government, a filing showed Thursday. On the other hand, the best-resourced private hospitals appeared to have benefited from government relief provided to secure more beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients while keeping existing patients suffering from other diseases at the same time. The financial aid varied by hospitals depending on

INCHEON -- Blue lights flashed on a walk-through screening machine after a man with drugs strapped to his left abdomen and his right thigh stepped into the checkpoint at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. A group of airport security personnel immediately rushed in to check the substances hidden on the man’s body. The scripted demonstration arranged by the Korea Customs Service officials painted how the latest scanning technology has become a quintessential part of the airport's drug

Calls are growing from South Korean police for clear guidance on how to deal with drunk people after two policemen were fined for the death of an intoxicated man they escorted home. The Seoul Northern District Court recently fined two Seoul police officers 5 million won ($3,755) and 4 million won for occupational negligence, according to reports on Tuesday citing legal professionals. The two officers working at the Mia District Unit of the Seoul Gangbuk Police Station reportedly took an intoxica

Middle-aged men accounted for more than 85 percent of so-called “lonely deaths” in South Korea, while it took an average of more than three weeks for the bodies to be discovered, a study showed Monday. The Act on the Prevention and Management of Lonely Deaths defines the term as one in which a person dies alone after falling out of contact with friends or family, with his or her body remaining undiscovered for at least three days. The phenomenon is also referred to as a “solita

A bikini-clad woman who roamed the streets of central Seoul in a cardboard box was referred to the prosecution on charges of obscene exposure, according to the Seoul Mapo Police Station on Friday. The woman, reportedly a model by the name of Ain, reportedly walked the streets of Hongdae, one of the country’s famous nightlife districts, sporting a scanty outfit which was hidden from view by a cardboard box in September 2023. She is alleged to have repeated a similar act in Apgujeong, a posh

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that the political ideology of the suspect in the stabbing of the main opposition leader led to the knife attack. “The attacker had vented resentment toward the Democratic Party leader and wanted to stop Lee from becoming president and prevent him from securing a majority of seats in the upcoming general election by giving nominations to specific persons,” said Woo Cheol-moon, head of the Busan Police Agency, as he briefed the press

One in nearly six or seven Korean women in their 20s are underweight, and almost half of these young women weighing less than average or classified as normal weight attempt to lose more weight to cater to Korea’s strict beauty standards idealizing thin bodies, a report showed Monday. According to a study published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the percent of South Korean adults who attempt to lose weight and related factors using the Body Mass Index classification,

While classrooms are shrinking in South Korea as a consequence of waning fertility rates, classrooms in Seoul have been seeing a steady rise in the number of students with multicultural backgrounds. Data released by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Sunday indicates that at least 4 in 10 students at nine elementary schools in Seoul have at least one parent of non-Korean nationality or who is naturalized. Among the schools, two of them have more than 7 out of 10 students with multicul

HANOI, Vietnam -- If the abounding lush green paddies and the Trump-Kim Hanoi summit click in your mind about Vietnam, you’re missing out on a big part, because the country has much more to offer. From waves gently hitting the shores and palm trees swaying in the distance to natural wildlife experiences, Vietnam aims to be South Korean travelers’ most sought-after destination this year, with its unique blend of traditions, cuisine and customs. The country had welcomed over 11.2 milli

Main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was on the mend after being stabbed in the neck during his visit to Busan on Tuesday morning, a surgeon who operated on him at Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday. Lee sustained a knife wound on the left side of his neck that was about 1.4 centimeters wide and had surgery to close the wound, according to vascular surgeon Min Seung-kee, who performed the surgery. “About 60 percent of the anterior part of the internal jugular vein was c

Despite an overall decline in the number of suicides in South Korea, more than 43,000 people visited emergency rooms nationwide in 2022 for reasons related to suicide attempts and self-harm, a report showed Wednesday. Out of 7.7 million emergency room visits recorded nationwide in 2022, 43,269 were related to self-harm and suicide attempts, according to a report published by the National Medical Center and the National Emergency Medical Center. The figure represented a slight increase from 42,96