South Korea took a step toward realizing its plan to increase the number medical school places for 2025 Friday, with the approval of university plans to boost admissions. The Korean Council for University Education held a university admissions committee meeting Friday to review the revised plans of each university on how much they will raise their medical school enrollment quotas for the 2025 academic year. Specific details are yet to be revealed, but plans submitted by each university have been

Six out of 10 Koreans do not have plans to have babies, data showed on Friday, as the nation has had the lowest fertility rates for years. According to a survey conducted by research firm PMI on 1,800 Koreans between the ages of 20 and 50, 63.4 percent of the respondents said they do not have plans to have babies. The 1,800 respondents, however, include 530 parents who already have children. The biggest reason for not planning to have babies was economic instability (25.2 percent). This was foll

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office rejected Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung's proposal to hold formal talks with Yoon to narrow differences on a pension reform bill that would require people to contribute more while employed and benefit them more after retirement, Lee's aide told reporters Friday. Yoon's aide on political affairs Hong Chul-ho turned down Lee's proposal for either two-way talks between Yoon and Lee, or three-way talks between Yoon, Lee an

In a landmark ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court said that marriage can be nullified after divorce under "special circumstances," allowing separated couples to be freed from potential legal complications and obligations entailing matrimony. The Article 815 of the Civil Act states that a marriage is void if the two parties did not both consent, or if it occurs between certain close relatives. But a precedent set in 1984 by South Korea's highest court has made it impossible to annul

The international student who was caught Wednesday riding a bicycle without wearing clothes in public has been found dead, according to local media reports on Friday. The body of the deceased, only identified as a 23-year-old student of Chonnam National University, was found near a dormitory building of the Gwangju-based university at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, news outlets reported, citing police officials. The student had been under investigation for public indecency after biking while na

In a bid to battle the low fertility rate in South Korea, there are ongoing talks to expand the benefits for childbirth by adjusting the childbirth credit system, which reduces the mandated subscription period of National Pension plans for those who have given birth. There have been demands for changes to the current system in which the government pays for only 30 percent of the increased budget from the various credit systems, with the remaining 70 percent coming out of the National Pension fun

Undoing the damage caused by the recent defacement of the Gyeongbokgung walls has cost 150 million won ($109,000), the government body in charge of preservation of cultural heritage in South Korea said Thursday. The Korea Heritage Service, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, revealed the provisional figures on reversing the damage inflicted by the two cases of vandalism in December of last year. Two teens wrote graffiti on the historic walls on Dec. 16, and a man in his 20s did so

A Seoul Metro operator recently made all passengers exit the train at the wrong station, mistaking it for its final destination, Seoul Metro said Friday. The operator of subway train No. 6221 of Line No.6 stopped at the Sangwolgok Station at around 6:23 p.m. on Wednesday and notified all passengers to vacate the train, according to the main operator of the greater Seoul's transit system. The passengers were told the train was not bound for Sinnae Station in Jungrang-gu, the last station on

A Busan bus driver was recently caught working while under the influence of alcohol, local police said Friday. Passengers of the bus that was operating in Busanjin-gu, Busan suspected that the driver was drunk, based on the strong smell of alcohol, and reported it to the police, according to the Busanjin Police Station. Officers who arrived on the scene stopped the vehicle and tested the driver, who showed blood alcohol content that was high enough to have his driver's license revoked. The

The finance ministry on Friday warned of uncertainties regarding inflation and vowed preemptive steps by extending tariff quota reduction on imports of agricultural products and boosting government reserves. "Prices of farm produce and petroleum products have fallen recently, but uncertainties remain high over the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and weather conditions in summer," First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan said during an economy-related vice ministers' m

Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is in a "crisis" phase where military conflicts could flare up "at any moment," as he called for diplomatic efforts to promote peace. Moon made the remarks in a video message for a peace forum in Washington, as tensions have persisted on the peninsula with Pyongyang continuing its weapons tests in the absence of bilateral engagements with South Korea and the United States. &

South Korea will undertake the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council next month for the first time in a decade, Seoul's top envoy to the UN said Thursday, unveiling plans to push for in-depth discussions on cybersecurity and other global issues. In a press meeting, Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook said that South Korea, a nonpermanent UNSC member, will hold the presidency for one month -- a position that rotates among the council's 15 member states on a monthly basis. Seoul last held the UNSC

Police said Thursday they have arrested a suspect who allegedly commissioned teenagers to paint graffiti on the walls of a historic palace in central Seoul to advertise an illegal streaming website. The 30-something suspect, who was arrested the previous day, faces charges for violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, as well as other charges including the distribution of obscene materials, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The arrest comes about five months after the susp

President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a dinner for businesspeople from small and medium-sized enterprises Thursday as part of efforts to praise their contribution to the economy, featuring surprise menu items: spicy chicken ramyeon and frozen gimbap. Yoon attended the annual SMEs Entrepreneur's Day held at the presidential office for the third consecutive year, which drew around 500 people from SMEs, venture companies and startups. The guests also included Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong

A Seoul court on Thursday rejected a request by embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong to postpone an arrest warrant application hearing on his reckless driving charges. The previous day, prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant for Kim on charges of ramming into a stationary taxi in the opposite lane with his vehicle late on the night of May 9 in Seoul's southern Gangnam district while driving drunk. He then allegedly left the scene without taking post-accident measures. The Seoul Central Dis