May 04

• ●97% of SNU med professors wish to 'stand by patients': poll (The Korea Times)
  A majority of medical school professors at Seoul National University (SNU) said they wanted to "stand by" their patients but stressed the need to ease excessive workload, a poll showed Saturday, amid the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors.

May 05

• ●Young caregivers battle problems of their own amid daily struggle (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Young caregivers, some even in elementary school, are taking on the burden of looking after their families and houshold chores.
  
  

• ●Korean Constitutional Court rules no-smoking laws in outdoor areas as constitutional (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The Constitutional Court recently ruled that the current law designating public facilities, including crowded outdoor plazas, as non-smoking areas is contitutional, legal sources said Sunday.
  
  

• ●Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report (The Korea Herald)
  The South Korean government downgraded the COVID-19 crisis level to the lowest level on May 1, but a recent report indicates that the years of the pandemic have nonetheless left a lasting mark on people here in the form of depression.
  
  

• ●Seoul's one-to-one postnatal care helps new moms breastfeed (The Korea Herald)
  Seoul's breastfeeding counselors provided assistance to over 5,000 new mothers in the city within nine months since the launch of the postnatal care program last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday.
  
  

• ●Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors (The Korea Herald)
  The government appears to have shelved a plan to take punitive measures against a protracted walkout by trainee doctors and have pulled back slightly from its plan to increase medical school admission quotas amid a standoff with major doctors' associations, according to officials Sunday.

May 06

• ●Gov't tells hospitals to prevent patient harm as doctors resign (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government has asked hospitals to roll out measures to prevent harm to patients resulting from the resignations of medical professors.
  
  

• ●Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis (The Korea Herald)
  As the medical void prolongs in South Korea with doctors continuing their walkout against the government's medical school expansion plan since February, the number of major general hospitals struggling financially is on the rise.
  
  

• ●Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea's working-age population is projected to shrink by a quarter in the next two decades, a report warned Monday, suggesting a grim outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy which is struggling to find a breakthrough from its historically low birth rate.
  
  

• ●Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence (The Korea Herald)
  The health ministry has asked hospitals to devise measures to minimize damage to patients from medical professors taking a collective action in support of a walkout by junior doctors protesting the increase in medical school quotas, officials said Monday.
  
  

• ●Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10 mil. by 2044 amid low births (The Korea Times)
  Korea's economically active population is anticipated to plunge nearly 10 million by 2044 amid the country's critically low births, data showed Monday.
  
  

• ●South Korea's population to shrink to 39 million by 2065 (The Chosun Daily)
  South Korea's population is projected to fall from over 50 million last year to 39 million in 2065 due to low birth rates, according to a new report.

May 07

• ●Govt. to offer more funds for emergency care amid protracted walkouts by doctors (The Korea Herald)
  Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Tuesday that the government will extend its financial support for emergency care services by another month, as massive walkouts by junior doctors have disrupted health services at major hospitals for nearly three months.
  
  

• ●Gov't extends incentives to keep hospitals running amid protracted walkout (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government on Tuesday decided to extend a financial incentive scheme for a month to keep hospitals up and running amid a prolonged short-staffing caused by cotors's strike.

May 08

• ●Why femicide and dating violence are on rise in S. Korea (The Korea Herald)
  In recent months, a disturbing wave of murders targeting ex-girlfriends has not only sent shock waves across the country, but has also thrust critical, urgent questions into the spotlight: why are these incidents occurring and how can we prevent them in the future?
  
  

• ●Ministry warns of punitive measures at university halting medical school expansion (The Korea Herald)
  The Ministry of Education warned Wednesday of punitive measures, including the suspension of student admissions, as a potential consequence for Pusan National University if it persists in halting its medical school enrollment expansion plan.
  
  

• ●Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas (The Korea Herald)
  Amid an intensifying medical standoff between the government and the medical community over a plan to increase the medical student quota starting next year, some young Korean medical residents are contemplating switching their tracks to cosmetic dermatology or pursuing their career overseas.
  
  

• ●Foreign medical license holders to practice medicine in Korea amid prolonged doctors' walkout (The Korea Times)
  Those holding a medical license issued from foreign nations will be allowed to legally practice medicine in Korea in the case the government declares a top-level medical service warning, the health ministry said Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Protracted walkouts by junior doctors feared to cause shortage of fellow doctors next year (The Korea Times)
  Protracted walkouts by trainee doctors are feared to cause a shortage of fellow doctors next year as their labor action against the government's medical reform has dragged on for nearly three months, according to health ministry officials Wednesday.
  
  

• ●At-home exercise program offers better quality of life for those with Parkinson's disease (The Korea Times)
  Researchers in Korea have developed an at-home exercise program to help patients suffering from Parkinson's disease improve their motor function and reduce depression.
  
  

• ●S. Korea to let doctors with foreign licenses practice (The Korea Herald)
  The Health Ministry said Wednesday that it would allow those holding foreign medical licenses to practice medicine in South Korea to help cope with a health care crisis exacerbated by a walkout by junior doctors.
  
  

• ●Concerns grow over lack of new medical specialists entering field next year (The Korea Times)
  The number of new medical specialists next year could be zero amid the prolonged confrontation between the government and doctors over the planned hike in the medical school admissions quota.

May 09

• ●Gov't to import foreign doctors in move medical association brands 'insane' (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government is lowering the hurdles to bring in doctors with foreign-issued medical licenses, aiming to expand a utilizable labor pool to prepare for a long-term medical void.
  
  

• ●South Korea to fill trainee doctor vacancies with foreign licensed medical doctors (The Chosun Daily)
  As early as the end of this month, foreign doctors with medical licenses will be able to practice medicine and surgery in South Korea.
  
  

• ●Gov't turns to foreign doctors to fill void from prolonged strike (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Cornered by the protracted doctors' strike, the government is lowering hurdles to bringing foreign doctors to practice medicine in the country.
  
  

• ●Deaths among youth aging out of foster care expose systemic flaws (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  A 27-year-old woman who aged out of foster care system eight years ago was found dead on Feb. 22 in Jechoen, North Chungchoeng.
  
  

• ●Court rules surgery not mandatory for legal gender change (The Korea Herald)
  A recent court ruling has declared it unlawful for the first time to require gender-affirmation surgey as a prerequisite for legally changing one's gender.
  
  

• ●Health minister renews vow to accomplish medical reform (The Korea Times)
  Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong on Thursday renewed his commitment to carrying out a hike of the number of medical students, by holding public discussions on the medical reform.

May 10

• ●Govt. to prevent unverified foreign doctors from practicing medicine: PM (The Korea Herald)
  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday the government will implement measures to preven unverified foreign medical doctors from practicing medicine in South Korea amid the prolonged walkout by junior doctors.
  
  

• ●Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors (The Korea Herald)
  Medical professors at major hospitals took a day off Friday, the third of its kind in two weeks, as they expressed fatigue from filling the void of trainee doctors who left their worksites in protest of the government's medical reform.
  
  

• ●State-led adoption system to be established to ensure adoptee's well-being, minimize overseas adoption (The Korea Herald)
  The government plans to establish a state-led adoption system to better ensure the well-being of adoptees and reduce the number of children adopted overseas, health ministry officials said Friday.
  
  

• ●No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM (The Korea Herald)
  After strong defiance from Korean doctors on the government's plan to allow those holding foreign medical licenses to practice medicine in the country, a scheme to let such doctors practice medicine here is unlikely to take effect anytime soon.