Aug. 24

• ●Hurdles stopping Koreans from getting married? Money, among other things (The Korea Herald)
  A recent survey indicated that the majority of single people in South Korea would like to get married, but also showed concerns over various issues, including finances and child care.
  
  

• ●Health care workers approve strike over crippled medical system, pay raise (The Korea Herald)
  A nationwide union of nurses and medical workers said Saturday that their members have voted to launch a strike next week, calling for a pay raise and the normalization of the crippled medical system amid a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, its officials said Saturday.

Aug. 25

• ●Health care worker union to launch general strike on Thursday (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union announced on Saturday that it agreed to launch a general strike starting Thursday.
  
  

• ●Planned walkout by nurses this week to worsen hospital crisis (The Korea Times)
  A planned walkout by nearly 30,000 nurses andother medical workers this week is expected to exacerbate Korea's medical crisis as hospitals across the nation are already struggling with labor shortages due to a prolonged strike by doctors.

Aug. 26

• ●KDCA reports 11 mpox cases in Korea, implements pre-emptive measures (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday that the country had recorded a total of 11 mpox cases this year as of last Friday, adding that it has implemented pre-emptive health measures to prevent the influx of the virus and its variants.
  
  

• ●11 mpox cases reported this year with no new virus strain (The Korea Herald)
  Eleven mpox cases have been reported so far this year in South Korea, but all detected cases were the less deadly Clade II variant, health authorities said Monday.
  
  

• ●Senior citizens take up record share of job posts this year: data (The Korea Times)
  The proportion of job positions taken by senior citizens reached an all-time high this year amid rapid aging, data showed Monday.
  
  

• ●Korea sees surge in school violence despite education ministry's efforts (The Korea Times)
  Recent data revealed that the number of school violence cases in Korea has increased from the previous year, despite the comprehensive measures announced by the Ministry of Education to address the problem.
  
  

• ●72% of Koreans aged 65 or older expected to get new COVID vaccine shots: official (The Korea Times)
  Nearly 72 percent of Koreans aged 65 or older are expected to receive the latest COVID-19 vaccine shots, according to an official.
  
  

• ●Parents no longer able to visit their children freely -- or harass their teachers -- as schools adopt reservation system (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Parents in Seoul will no longer be allowed to visit their children's schools or meet teachers without booking appointments in advance.
  
  

• ●Rise in multinational recipients of basic pension spurs review of eligibility (The Korea Herald)
  The number of elderly individuals with multiple nationalities receiving South Korea's basic pension has jumped fivefold over the past decade, according to government data released Monday.
  
  

• ●Six months into junior doctor walkout, Korea's overworked nurses declare strike (The Hankyoreh)
  Nurses and other health care workers who have been filling the gap left by interns and residents following their exodus from training hospitals have now announced plans to launch a general strike this Thursday.
  
  

• ●Health authorities step up stable supply of COVID-19 treatments (The Korea Times)
  Health authorities said Monday they have secured COVID-19 treatments for 177,000 patients, stepping up efforts for a stable supply of pills as the summer wave is expected to peak this week.
  
  

• ●South Korea's national, household debt surpasses record 3,000 trillion won (The Chosun Daily)
  The combined debt of the government and households in South Korea exceeded 3,000 trillion won ($2.26 trillion) for the first time in the second quarter of this year.

Aug. 27

• ●PM urges nurses, medical workers to call off planned strike (The Korea Times)
  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday urged nurses and medical workers nationwide to call off a strike planned for this week, saying the government is doing everything it can to improve their working conditions.
  
  

• ●Seoul mayor, PPP lawmakers argue against minimum wage for Filipino caregivers (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Na Kyung-won on Tuesday underscored the need to implement differential wages for Filipino domestic caregivers as controversies over high costs continue to escalate ahead of the program's pilot launch next week.
  
  

• ●Crisis in medical system builds as hospital workers plan walkout (The Korea Herald)
  Amid a proloned medical standoff, concerns are again looming large as more than 22,000 unionized hospital workers plan to strike beginning Thursday if the ongoing arbitration by the labor relations committee fails to reach an agreement on a pay raise and the normalization of hospital operations.
  
  

• ●Half of S. Koreans have chronic anger issues: study (The Korea Herald)
  About half of the South Korean population seems to be suffering from long-term repressed anger issues, with nearly 1 in 10 being severe cases, a local study revealed Tuesday indicated.
  
  

• ●Over 96% of people who take their own lives give warning signs in advance: report (The Korea Times)
  More than 96 percent of people who take their own lives had shown some types of warning signs before their deaths, according to an in-depth analysis released on Tuesday.

Aug. 28

• ●Health ministry unveils measures to deal with emergency care for Chuseok holiday (The Korea Herald)
  The health ministry on Wednesday unveiled a set of measures to ensure emergency care before and after the Chuseok holiday next month, as doctors have warned of possible disruptions in emergency rooms due to a protracted walkout by junior doctors.
  
  

• ●Out-of-wedlock births hit record high in Korea in 2023 (The Korea Times)
  Korea's total births fell to a fresh low in 2023, while the proportion of babies born to mothers who were unmarried reached an all-time high, data showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Childbirths in Korea rebound for first time in 8 years in Q2 (The Korea Times)
  The number of babies born in Korea rose for the first time in more than eight years in the second quarter of 2024, data showed Wednesday, as the country is grappling with its ultralow birth rate.
  
  

• ●Foreign caregiver program a perk for rich Gangnam parents; Will lowering wages solve everything? (The Korea Times)
  The controversial pilot project for foreign caregivers is set to begin in Seoul on Sept. 3, and the debate over the service fees, specifically the wages for these domestic helpers, is intensifying.
  
  

• ●South Korea's national debt hits record high despite fiscal tightening (The Chosun Daily)
  South Korea's national debt continues to rise rapidly despite the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's fiscal austerity efforts, including limiting government spending growth to 3% for two consecutive years.
  
  

• ●Exhausted emergency rooms on verge of collapse amid protracted doctor shortage (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  Shorthanded emergency rooms are on the verge f collapse, forcing emergency patients to spend hours on the road searching for hospitals that can admit and treat them.
  
  

• ●Suicide warning signs wre there, but 7 out of 10 went unrecognized (The Korea Herald)
  Nearly everyone who died by suicide showed warning signs beforehand, yet few people around them took these signs seriously, a report showed Wednesday.
  
  

• ●Understaffed, overwhelmed: S. Korean ERs in emergency mode (The Korea Herald)
  Seven months into South Korea's medical sector standoff, fatigue and backlogs of patients are hammering emergency departments nationwide as emergency medicine physicians are reeling from the mass walkout of medical interns and residents in February, with some deciding to leave their jobs for good.
  
  

• ●COVID-19 summer wave passes peak: KDCA (The Korea Times)
  This year's summer wave of COVID-19 is estimated to have passed its peak, with the weekly number of the virus' inpatients dropping 20 percent last week, health authorities said Wednesday.

Aug. 29

• ●Yoon proposes increasing pension premiums for younger, middle-aged generations at different pace (The Korea Times)
  President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that the government will pursue gradually increasing the pension premiums for the younger generation and the middle-aged generation at a different pace, as well as introduce mechanisms to enhance the pension system's financial stability.
  
  

• ●Most nurses, medical workers call off planned strike after last-minute wage deals (The Korea Times)
  Most nurses and medical workers called off their planeed strike Thursday after reaching last-minute wage deals, hospital officials said, easing concerns over public health services that have been strained by a protracted walkout by trainee doctors.
  
  

• ●South Korea's nonmarital births reach record high (The Chosun Daily)
  The number of marriages and births in South Korea both increased in the second quarter, according to Statistics Korea on August 28.
  
  

• ●Foreign, multicultural students rise amid declining school population (The Korea Herald)
  The number of Korean students in kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school nationwide fell by nearly 100,000 in a year to 5.68 million while the foreign national or multicultural student populations increased, showing a stark contrast to the country's low birthrate crisis.
  
  

• ●Unionized hospital workers pull out from strike (The Korea Herald)
  Unionized hospital workers pulled out from their planned strike Thursday after reaching an agreement on pay raises and better working conditions with hospitals, withdrawing from a decision that could have caused potential chaos at understaffed hospitals already suffering from junior doctors' collective walkouts in February.
  
  

• ●Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data (The Korea Herald)
  Births to those not married accounted for nearly 5 percent of all births last year, setting a new record high, while the total number of newborns dropped to a new low, data showed Thursday.

Aug. 30

• ●Gov't to inject 400 billion won for trainee doctor schemes (Korea JoongAng Daily)
  The government plans to inject 400 billion won ($294 million) next year to improve trainee doctor schemes, a presidential committee on medical reform said Friday, amid a protracted walkout by junior doctors.
  
  

• ●S. Korea to hike fees for surgeries, reduce reliance on junior doctors (The Korea Herald)
  South Korea will raise medical service fees for essential procedures and surgeries and reduce large hospitals' dependence on junior doctors as part of a medical reform package introduced amid a prolonged medical confrontation between the government and doctors over the quota expansion of medical schools.
  
  

• ●Majority of Korean workers engage in or consider side gigs (The Korea Herald)
  As the household economy deteriorates, a growing number of Korean workers are either pursuing or contemplating side jobs, with the most popular options involving operating social media services like blogs and YouTube channels, according to a survey released Thursday.
  
  

• ●Gov't to hike financial support for 3,000 essential medical services (The Korea Times)
  Starting this year, the government will pour more than 10 trillion won (7.5 billion) into vital health care services such as emergency care and neurosurgery over the next five years as a means of attracting doctors to unpopular-yet-necessary fields.
  
  

• ●Presidential committee proposes raising cost coverage rates in essential medical fields (The Korea Times)
  A presidential committee on medical reform said Friday it has proposed increasing cost coverage rates by the state health insurance system in essential medical fields within three years.