May 26

• ●Yoon's office reiterates medical reform after 1,509-seat hike finalized by education board (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The presidential office on Sunday doubled down on the enrollment expansion in medical schools, citing the educational council's decision on Friday which approved a 1,509-seat addition in the upcoming medical school admissions cycle.
  
  

• ●Provincial students to gain wider access to med schools (The Korea Herald)
  For aspiring medical doctors in South Korea, where they live is likely to play a major factor in shaping their chances of entering medical school, as the new admissions plan envisions clear advantages for students living outside the capital.
  
  

• ●Govt. to set up support plans for medical schools to prepare for quota hike (The Korea Herald)
  The government plans to introduce measures to support medical schools as they prepare for an increased number of freshmen starting next year, medical sources said Sunday, amid concerns that the hike could compromise the quality of education.
  
  

• ●Highly educated, affluent Koreans turn to international marriage brokers (The Korea Times)
  More than half of individuals using international marriage brokerage services in Korea are college graduates, and one in three earns a high income, with monthly earnings exceeding 4 million won.
  
  

• ●S. Korean doctors rally against increase in med school admissions (The Chosun Daily)
  The Korean Medical Association (KMA) will hold candlelight vigils across six regions on May 30 to protest the South Korean government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 1,509 seats, arguing that the rapid expansion without a concrete plan will harm the quality of medical education and the healthcare system.

May 27

• ●Govt. vows to continue efforts to mend discord with medical community (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea's health ministry said Monday it plans to continue efforts to resolve the ongoing discord with doctors following the finalization of the university admission plan, which includes the controversial medical school quota hike, last week.
  
  

• ●Korea's Hikikomori: The impact of MZ generation's struggle with perfectionism (The Chosun Daily)
  International media have highlighted the issue of 'hikikomori', or socially isolated and emotionally withdrawn individuals, in South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, noting that increasing internet use, decreased face-to-face interactions, and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated this phenomenon, which is now emerging in other countries as well.
  
  

• ●Doctors urge universities to delay publication of medical school admission hikes (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Medical professors and doctors on Monday asked universities to postpone the announcement of detailed admissions plans until the nation's top court rules on the legitimacy of the medical recruitment expansion.
  
  

• ●S. Korea to clamp down on 'excessive' use of medical services (The Korea Herald)
  Starting July, the government will start charging extra medical fees for those who use the medical services an "excessive" amount.
  
  

• ●Financially active women bear fewer children, report finds (The Korea Herald)
  Working women or dual-income households in South Korea have fewer children on average than households with a single breadwinner, as child care is disproportionately also done by women, reports showed Monday.
  
  

• ●Debate heats up over wages of Philippine caregivers (The Korea Times)
  Korea's plan to bring in 100 caregivers from the Philippines at the end of July for a pilot program aiming to ease the child care burden on young working parents and boost the declining birthrate has sparked a debate on their compensation.

May 28

• ●Immigrants needed but not welcomed in Korea (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  If South Korea didn't have immigrants and foreign residents, its demographic decline would already be well underway.
  
  

• ●[Graphic News] Decline in adoption continues: Just 229 children find new homes last year (The Korea Herald)
  Last year, a total of 229 children found new homes through both domestic and international adoption, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This figure marks a decline for the fourth consecutive year, with 150 children adopted domestically and 79 adopted internationally.
  
  

• ●Second generation of baby boomers retires, 7.4 million experts exit workforce (The Chosun Daily)
  The "25% fear" is looming over the South Korean industry.
  
  

• ●Hanmaeum empowers mothers in multicultural families with education (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Approximately 180,000 students from multicultural families currently make up more than 3.5 percent of the nation's elementary, middle and high school population.
  
  

• ●Concerns raised over S. Korea's plan to hire foreign-licensed doctors (The Korea Herald)
  The Korean government's recent announcement that it would make it easier for doctors licensed overseas to practice medicine in the country has stoked concern, with doctors claiming that they will not meet local medical standards.
  
  

• ●Population forecast to decrease in nearly all regions by 2052 amid low births (The Korea Times)
  The population is anticipated to drop in nearly all regions by 2052, except for Gyeonggi Province and the central city of Sejong, due to the chronically low birthrates, a report showed Tuesday.

May 29

• ●Med school expansion is to tackle ER doctor shortage: ministry (The Korea Herald)
  A total of 3,752 patients have died between 2017 and 2023 after emergency rooms refused to admit them due to lack of doctors, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, stressing the need for medical school expansion to address the shortage of doctors in ER.
  
  

• ●Population mobility up in April amid signs of recovery in property market (The Korea Times)
  The number of Koreans who moved to different residences in the country increased in April from a year earlier amid signs of a recovery in the local property market, data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Junior doctors on walkout 'gradually' returning to hospitals: health ministry (The Korea Times)
  Korea's health ministry said Wednesday the number of junior doctors working at hospitals has been gradually rising, although the increase is small, as the walkout protesting the government's plan to raise the number of medical school freshmen entered its 100th day.
  
  

• ●Gov't to pour additional 77.5B won into emergency healthcare (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that the Cabinet had agreed to pour an additional 77.5 billion won ($56.7 million) into the country's emergency healthcare system as the ongoing strike by Korea's junior doctors entered its 100th day on Wednesday.
  
  

• ●1.533 retired couples get at least W3m in state pension: report (The Korea Herald)
  A total of 1,533 retired couples in South Korea were receiving a combined benefit of 3 million won ($2,200) a month via the state-run pension program as of January of this year, the National Pension Service said Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Meth use most widespread but declining, cocaine on rise, sewage reveals (The Korea Herald)
  The effects of illegal drug use are difficult to grasp in their full scope, but it leaves traces behind in the environment.
  
  

• ●Seoul to provide around 4,400 public housing for newlyweds (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Seoul will provide some 4,400 public housing units to newlywed couples over the next three years as part of its efforts to combat the city's staggeringly low birthrate.
  
  

• ●Which day would you take off in a four-day workweek? (The Korea Herald)
  If your company were to adapt to a four-day workweek, which day would you prefer to be the new day off: Monday or Friday to lengthen your weekend, or Wednesday to split the workweek in half?
  
  

• ●A futurist's 4 prescriptions to remedy Korea's dismally low birth rate (The Hankyoreh)
  South Korea's total fertility rate, the number of children that an average woman is expected to have over her lifetime, was 0.72 in 2023.
  
  

• ●Suicide remains No. 1 cause of death among young Koreans (The Korea Times)
  Suicide remains the leading cause of death among young people in Korea, a report showed on Wednesday.

May 30

• ●Education Ministry finalizes medical school admissions quota (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  A total of 4,610 undergraduate students will be admitted to 39 medical schools nationwide in the 2025 academic year due to the addition of 1,497 seats, the Education Ministry said Thursday.
  
  

• ●Wastewater tests suggest widespread meth use, rising cocaine consumption (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Traces of methamphetamine were found in every wastewater treatment plant surveyed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety over the past four years.
  
  

• ●One in 10 households bought lottery tickets in Q1: data (The Korea Herald)
  Over one in 10 households bought at least one lottery ticket during the first quarter of this year, marking the highest first-quarter percentage in the last five years - over 10 percent - data showed Thursday.
  
  

• ●S. Korea's Q1 fertility rate hits new low; March births drop to 10,000 range (The Chosun Daily)
  South Korea's total fertility rate (the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime) in the first quarter of this year was 0.76, down from 0.82 in the same period last year, according to Statistics Korea.

May 31

• ●Lower-income teens less likely to view marriage as necessary: report (The Korea Times)
  Adolescents' perceptions of marriage are influenced by their family's economic status, according to a report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
  
  

• ●Gov't promises 'unprecedented support' for junior doctors amid ongoing strike (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government on Friday promised "unprecedented support" for junior doctors, including reducing work hours, amid the lingering strike against the medical school enrollment quota hike.
  
  

• ●Govt. to hire 1,000 med professors for national universities by 2027 (The Korea Herald)
  The South Korean government on Friday said it plans to add 1,000 more professors to medical schools in national universities by 2027 to ensure that students receive the necessary education and training, a day after the Education Ministry finalized the medical school admissions quota for the 2025 school year.
  
  

• ●Is parenting education necessary? 97% say yes (The Korea Herald)
  A survey by the Korean chapter of the UK charity Save the Children has found that almost all Koreans say parenting education is necessary, but less than 4 in 10 have had any such education.