Apr. 20

[WHY] To snip, or not to snip? Korean society and circumcision (Korea JoongAng Daily)
Jeong In-hwan, 35, can't exactly remember what made him agree when his mother suggested cutting off a part of his genitals when he was eight years old.

Apr. 21

• ●Medical school deans call for admissions quota freeze (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Deans of medical schools nationwide on Sunday asked the government to freeze the admissions quota for the upcoming 2025 enrollment and discuss the future of increasing medical personnel through a consultative body.
  
  

• ●Doctors' association rejects govt. proposal on flexible expansion of med school quota (The Korea Herald)
  The Korean Medical Association, the country's biggest lobby group for doctors, on Saturday rejected the government's proposal to grant universities autonomy in deciding their medical school quota by a range of 50 to 100 percent for the 2025 academic year.

Apr. 22

• ●Restaurant boycotts doctors on medical strike (The Korea Herald)
  A Seoul-based restaurant recently posted a notice on its Instagram page that it will not serve anyone taking part in the nationwide medical strike, which has been continuing since the mass walkout by the country's trainee doctors in February.
  
  

• ●Govt. rules out discussions on scrapping plan to hike medical school admissions (The Korea Herald)
  Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Monday the government will not hold discussions on potentially scrapping a plan to boost medical school admissions, renewing a pledge to accomplish medical reform despite a fierce protest by doctors.
  
  

• ●Gimpo proposes mandating notification on elementary school enrollment for foreign national children (The Korea Times)
  Gimpo, west of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, has proposed the central government mandate notifying parents of information regarding elementary school enrollment for their foreign national children in a bid to improve immigrants' lives here, according to the city government, Sunday.
  
  

• ●S. Korean med schools reject govt's compromise on quota increases (The Chosun Daily)
  The South Korean government on April 19 allowed each university to autonomously decide between 50 to 100% of the planned increase of 2,000 medical school seats for next year, stepping back from the original plan to increase by 2,000 seats.
  
  

• ●Health minister says gov't will not scrap medical reform plans (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government on Monday underscored its determination to carry out its medical reform, stating that "scrapping the current scheme or postponing medical schools' admissions hike for a year is out of perspective."
  
  

• ●Seoul first locality to provide parental leave benefits to self-employed, freelancers (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Self-employed workers and freelancers in Seoul will receive parental leave benefits starting next year, a measure that aims to address the city's staggeringly low birthrate.
  
  

• ●Support fund for multicultural families to kick off in May (The Korea Herald)
  Low-income multicultural families with children aged 7 to 18 can apply for state funds starting from May through September at some 230 family centers across South Korea.
  
  

• ●Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea entered another round of medical standoff as doctors refused to accept a government proposal to allow medical schools to reduce their enrollment quotas for next year, or join a presidential committee on medical reform.
  
  

• ●70% of new hires at smaller firms age 40 or older: report (The Korea Herald)
  About 70 percent of those newly hired by small and medium-sized enterprises here are aged at least 40, government data showed Monday, highlighting the younger population's tendency to avoid smaller companies and the country's overall rapid aging.
  
  

• ●Korean government's compromise plan for medical reform swiftly rejected by doctors (The Hankyoreh)
  Despite South Korea's government putting forth a plan that would allow medical schools to lower quotas for new students by up to 50%, physicians on walkout say that the measure is not enough, and are continuing to call for the enrollment expansion plan to be taken back to the drawing board.
  
  

• ●'Not many' medical school professors submitted resignations: education ministry (The Korea Times)
  "Not many" medical school professors involved in actual teaching have submitted resignations, the education ministry said Monday, amid concerns their resignations, if they take effect, could further worsen the medical vacuum caused by a walkout by trainee doctors.

Apr. 23

• ●SNU med professors considering taking day off every week amid prolonged doctors' walkout (The Korea Herald)
  Medical school professors at Seoul National University are reviewing taking a day off every week as they have been thinly stretched amid the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, officials said Tuesday.
  
  

• ●[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent (The Korea Herald)
  A recent survey from the employment platform Catch revealed that around 8 out of 10 Koreans in their 20s and 30s were still economically dependent on their parents.
  
  

• ●Korea sees rise in abuse cases involving migrant children (The Korea Times)
  Korea is seeing a growing number of abuse cases against children from migrant backgrounds, government data showed Monday.
  
  

• ●S. Korea proposes direct cash support to boost birth rates (The Chosun Daily)
  The South Korean government has launched a national survey to assess public opinion on a new policy proposal that offers a cash payment of 100 million won ($72,491) to families with newborn children to address the country's declining birth rates.
  
  

• ●Med professors to resign this week amid prolonged doctors' walkout (The Korea Herald)
  Medical professors at major hospitals in South Korea will resign later this week and have a day off next week as they have been thinly stretched amid a prolonged walkout by traniee doctors, officials said Tuesday, deepending concerns over further disruptions in the country's health care system.
  
  

• ●Tension soars as medical professors mull partial strike (The Korea Herald)
  Patients in life and limb care are again left to deal with the fallout of the protracted medical standoff as resignations by medical professors due to take effect from Thursday.
  
  

• ●Senior doctors cut hours, prepare to resign as government refuses to scrap medical reform plan (The Hankyoreh)
  The South Korean government said it cannot accept physicians' calls for postponing a planned increase in the nationwide medical school admission cap or starting discussions over on the matter.
  
  

• ●Seoul studies W100m cash incentive for each child born (The Korea Herald)
  In a bid to bolster abysmal birth rates, South Korea is exploring what would be its most generous incentive ever -- 100 million won ($72,500) in cash per baby born.

Apr. 24

• ●Childbirths in Korea hit another low in February (The Korea Times)
  The number of babies born in Korea fell below the 20,000 level for the first time for any February this year, data showed Wednesday, amid deepening woes about the country's demographics amid rapid aging and the ultra-low birthrate.
  
  

• ●Over 80% of people filing bankruptcy in Seoul in their 50s and older (The Korea Times)
  More than 8 out of 10 people who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were in their 50s and older, with many of them found to be male and people living alone, data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●South Korea sees surge in seniors filling elderly care roles (The Chosun Daily)
  A 78-year-old certified nursing assistant (CNA) named A, residing in Buchoen, Gyoenggi Province, commutes to a nearby elderly woman's home every weekday at 9 a.m.
  
  

• ●Medical professors to begin resignations Thursday, weekly days off amid protracted strike (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Medical professors at major hospitals in Korea will begin resigning on Thursday as planned and take one day off weekly starting next week, arguing that they have been pushed to their limits from overwork with the junior doctors' strike extending over two months.
  
  

• ●[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professoionals from overseas' (The Korea Herald)
  As South Korea grapples with a shrinking population, it is increasingly turning to foreign workers to fill crucial roles.
  
  

• ●SNU profs to suspen treatment for one day (The Korea Herald)
  Amid an intensifying standoff between doctors and the government, professors at Seoul National University Hospital, said Wednesday they would suspend treatments for one day on April 30, with some in leadership roles saying they would resign on May 1.
  
  

• ●Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy (The Korea Herald)
  Nearly 90 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were aged at least 50, with a substantial portion of the number being male or living alone, Seoul government data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Thursday to mark start of resignations by senior doctors amid standoff with government (The Hankyoreh)
  Professors at medical colleges throughout Korea are ratcheting up the pressure on the government in protest of the state's plan to increase the admissions quota for medical schools by warning that they will stop seeing patients one day a week or resign from their posts at the end of the month.
  
  

• ●Population mobility falls for first time in six months in March (The Korea Times)
  The number of Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the first time in six months, data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Patients brace for resignations of medical professors, weekly shutdowns (The Korea Times)
  Patients are growing increasingly anxious as medical professors vow to resign or suspend treating patients once a week, amid a protracted health care standoff with the government over the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's plan to increase the medical school admissions quota starting next year.
  
  

• ●Looming weekly closure of major hospitals feared to worsen medical service crisis (The Korea Times)
  More medical professors affiliated with major hospitals in Korea are considering taking weekly breaks amid the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, officials said Wednesday, sparking fears of exacerbating the country's health care crisis and financial difficulties of hospitals.

Apr. 25

• ●Presidential committee on medical reform launched amid prolonged walkout by doctors (The Korea Times)
  A presidential committee on medical reform was formally launched on Thursday with the aim of seeking a breakthrough over a prolonged walkout by doctors, as their labor action has disrupted public health services for more than two months.
  
  

• ●Doctors snub first meeting of presidential medical reform committee (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  A special presidential committee on medical reform was launched on Thursday as medical professors' resignations began taking effect.
  
  

• ●Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors (The Korea Herald)
  A pan-national consultative group was launched Thursday to open a dialogue for South Korea's medical reform but without doctors attending as they protest the government's plan to expand the medical student quota by 2,000.
  
  

• ●Korea sees more deaths than births for 52nd consecutive month in February (The Hankyoreh)
  The number of live births in Korea fell below 20,000 in February, a record low for the month.
  
  

• ●'Weddingflation' breaks the bank for Korean couples-to-be (The Hankyoreh)
  A 36-year-old prospective groom surnamed Lee who is planning for a wedding next spring was shocked recently at the price of wedding hall rentals.
  
  

• ●Seoul to provide 170 home-like elderly care facilities by 2030 (The Korea Times)
  The Seoul city government said Thursday it will provide 170 home-like elderly care facilities by 2030, shifting away from the conventional dormitory-style facilities.