Apr. 26

• ●More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay (The Korea Herald)
  With concerns only deepening over the disruption of the health care system in South Korea, amid the standoff between doctors and the government conitnuing for 10 weeks over the government's plan to hike the medical school enrollment quota, medical professors at the country's "big five" hospitals decided on Friday to suspend treatment for one day a week.

Apr. 28

• ●Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year (The Korea Herald)
  Medical schools that have been allocated additional seats anticipate opening a minimum of 1,500 new slots for the upcoming year, as they are set to make final decisions on their admissions availability following the govenment's decision to grant flexibility in the quota allocation.
  
  

• ●Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns (The Korea Herald)
  The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it will provide housing subsidies to couples who don't own houses and who have been newborns from 2025, to mitigate the trend of couples forgoing parenthood due to the city's high housing costs and enable more married couples with newborns to continue living in Seoul.
  
  

• ●Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue (The Korea Herald)
  The incoming head of South Korea's leading doctors' lobby group reiterated on Sunday the call for the government to scrap the planned medical school quota hike in order to initiate dialogue with the medical community.

Apr. 29

• ●Gov't boosts hospital staffing, incentives for essential medical fields (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  As staffing shortages in hospitals are expected to worsen due to medical professors' resignations, the government on Monday decided to dispatch additional health workers and incentivize doctors in essential medical fields.
  
  

• ●New immigration policies needed as Korea turns truly multicultural (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  For a business owner in Korea, foreign workers are essential to keep his factory going.
  
  

• ●Medical tourists to Korea rises to record high of 606,000 (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea attracted a record number of 606,000 foreign natonal patients in 2023, mainly for dermatological treatments and plastic surgery, the Health Ministry said Monday.
  
  

• ●Gov't survey on providing 100 mil. won birth subsidy triggers debate (The Korea Times)
  The government's survey on providing a birth and child-rearing subsidy worth 100 million won ($72,564) per child has caused a heated debate.
  
  

• ●Govt. to deploy more medical staff as senior doctors at 5 major hospitals take weekly breaks (The Korea Herald)
  Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Monday that the government plans to deploy more medical staff as senior doctors at five major hospitals in Seoul decided to take a weekly day off starting this week.
  
  

• ●[Graphic News] Korean farming households fall below 1m for first time in 2023 (The Korea Herald)
  The number of farming households in South Korea fell below 1 million for the first time ever in 2023, and half of farmers were aged 65 or older, data showed.
  
  

• ●Korea sees record high in inbound medical tourists (The Korea Times)
  More than 600,000 foreigners traveled to Korea last year for medical procedures, marking a record high in the history of the country's medical tourism industry, the health ministry said Monday.

Apr. 30

• ●University hospitals suspend appointments Tuesday as doctors walk out (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Seoul National University Hospital and Severance Hospital suspended outpatient appointments and surgeries on Tuesday after their medical professors walked off in support of junior doctors on strike against the government's plan to increase medical recruitment.
  
  

• ●Korean workers turn to side gigs amid rising costs (The Chosun Daily)
  Kim, a 39-year-old with a full-time job, has taken to delivering food in his spare time this year.
  
  

• ●Around 50% of people with disabilities aged 65 or above: report (The Korea Herald)
  As South Korea is predicted to soon become a super-aged society, more than half of the population with disabilities were found to be age 65 or above for the first time in 2023, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics (The Korea Herald)
  Some medical professors at the country's three major hospitals, Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital and Korea University Hospital, suspended surgeries and outpatient clinics on Tuesday for one day, as previously announced, to protest the government's plan to expand the number of new medical students by 2,000 a year.
  
  

• ●S. Korea ramps up parental education (The Korea Herald)
  The Ministry of Education unveiled measures Tuesday to strengthen support and education for parents, understanding that the capabilities of parents, who are in charge of educting children, should be reinforced for the healthy growth of students, according to officials.
  
  

• ●Dermatology, plastic surgery drove record medical tourism to Korea in 2023 (The Hankyoreh)
  The number of foreign medical tourists visiting South Korea exceeded 600,000 for the first time last year.
  
  

• ●Months and months of overdue wages are pushing migrant workers in Korea into debt (The Hankyoreh)
  Mei (pseudonym), a 21-year-old from Cambodia, began working on a strawbery farm in Nonsan, South Chungchoeong Province, in December 2022.
  
  

• ●Two major hospitals in Seoul set to suspend outpatient clinics, surgeries (The Korea Times)
  Two major general hospitals in Seoul were set to suspend outpatient clinics and surgeries Tuesday, as their senior doctors began taking a weekly day off amid a protracted walkout by junior doctors in protest of the government's medical reform.

May 01

• ●Medical schools to add around 1,550 admissions seats, less than gov't plan (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Korean medical schools will add around 1,550 seats to their incoming class for the 2025 academic year, falling short of the government's original plan to increase admissions by 2,000 seats.
  
  

• ●Seoul offers free, anonymous AIDS testing at community health centers (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The Seoul city government on Wednesday said anyone can receive free and anonymous testing for AIDS at community heath centers in the city.
  
  

• ●Mask mandate for hospitals lifted as Covid-19 alert lowered (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Visitors and staffers at hospitals and other medical facilities will not be required to wear face masks starting Wednesday as most remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
  
  

• ●New hard-line leadership of doctors group prepares for govt. dialogue (The Korea Herald)
  The Korean Medical Association, the largest group in the medical community representing some 140,000 doctors nationwide, inaugurated its new leader Wednesday, seeking to unite the voices of doctors in preparation for a possible dialogue with the government.
  
  

• ●S. Korea lowers COVID-19 warning level, lifts last-remaining antivirus mandates (The Korea Herald)
  Wearing marks at hospitals in South Korea is not a must anymore as the government downgraded the infection level of COVID-19 and lifted most last-remaining antivirus regulations.
  
  

• ●Korea's medical crisis expected to worsen after Yoon-Lee meeting (The Korea Times)
  As President Yoon Suk Yeol and Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), found common ground on the necessirty of medical reform during their meeting, the government is expected to take emboldened steps forward with its planned increase in medical school admissions.

May 02

• ●Gov't dangles carrot before doctors with 'one-on-one' talks offer (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government is willing to engage in "one-on-one" dialogue with doctors, separate from a presidential special committee inqugurated last week, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Thursday.
  
  

• ●Govt. to spend W95b to support reforms at 41 public hospitals in H1 (The Korea Herald)
  The health ministry said Thursday it will spend 94.8 billion won (US$68.8 million) in the first half of the year to help normalize operations and support management reforms at 41 public hospitals across the nation.
  
  

• ●Medical schools to increase up to 1,509 seats for 2025 (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea will see an increase of additional seats in medical school admission next year ranging from 1,489 to 1,509, said the Ministry of Education Thursday, less than the 2,000 slots the government had initially allocated.
  
  

• ●Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey (The Korea Herald)
  Over 60 percent of South Koreans supported an initiative of providing a 100 million won ($72,500) cash incentive for each newborn, aiming to tackle the country's low and declining birth rates, a government survey showed Thursday.
  
  

• ●60% of young Koreans see no need to have kids after marriage (The Hankyoreh)
  The percentage of young Koreans who see marriage as necessary has fallen by 12.5 points over the past six years, a new survey finds.

May 03

• ●Two major Seoul hospitals halt services as professors picket for policy change (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Two of the capital's largest hospitals will shut down their services on Friday.
  
  

• ●Some trainee doctors return to hospitals amid protracted walkouts (The Korea Times)
  Some trainee doctors have returned to their worksites, a senior health ministry official said Friday, amid prolonged walkouts by medical interns and residents against the government's plan to boost the number of medical students.
  
  

• ●65% of children spend 'excessive' hours on studies: survey (The Korea Times)
  Six out of every 10 Korean school-year children spend more hours studying than recommended, a survey by a children's welfare foundation showed Thursday.
  
  

• ●4 out of 10 Koreans don't want to get married: report (The Korea Herald)
  Four out of 10 South Koreans have no intention of getting married or have not put thought into it, according to a report released by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy on Thursday.
  
  

• ●Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry (The Korea Herald)
  More than 590 resident doctors who left their hospitals in protest of the government's medical school quota expansion have returned, the Health Ministry said Friday, without providing the names of the hospitals, citing the possibility of future disadvantages from the medical circle.