Category: General

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday the government would not tolerate trainee doctors blacklisting and badgering their colleagues who chose not to participate in a walkout protesting the government’s decision to increase medical school enrollments.

Approximately 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents, who play crucial roles in assisting with surgeries and emergency services at major general hospitals, have remained off the job through mass resignations for nearly three weeks.

Allegations have recently surfaced that some trainee doctors have disclosed names and other information of colleagues not participating in the walkout, with some facing verbal harassment upon returning to the workplace.

“Rather than considering returning to work, trainee doctors hurl criticism to prevent colleagues from returning to work and attack colleagues who courageously chose to return to work. They are committing unimaginable things,” Han said.

“The government will not tolerate this kind of actio
n,” he said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters involving officials from related ministries.

Han further urged the doctors to cease any alleged badgering, emphasizing that the police and the health ministry would investigate the allegations.

Amid the prolonged protest, nurses have been authorized to expand their roles in the emergency rooms of major hospitals to address the shortage of medical staff. Additionally, emergency units at military hospitals have been opened to the public to mitigate the shortage.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The unification ministry said Friday it will draw up a new vision for unification between the two Koreas to include the principle of liberal democracy amid North Korea’s vow not to seek unification with the South.

The government earlier said it plans to revise the National Community Unification Formula, South Korea’s unification vision unveiled in August 1994 under the administration of late President Kim Young-sam.

In a 2024 policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, the ministry said there is a need to take into account changes in the security situation and muster global support for Seoul’s unification policy in drawing up a new unification vision.

“In response to North Korea’s policy shift into an anti-national and anti-historical stance, the year 2024 will be the most appropriate time to actively lay out our unification vision and lead the North’s change,” the ministry said.

The move comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has defined inter-Korean ties as relations between “two states h
ostile to each other,” and vowed not to seek unification and reconciliation with South Korea.

At a press briefing, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said the new unification vision will be crafted based on the principle of freedom.

“The freedom here refers to the importance of rights of individuals, and in this case, it means establishing circumstances that will enable each and every North Korean to live freely and well,” Kim said.

He said details about the new unification blueprint have not been fixed, such as the format and the timing of its announcement, and his ministry will collect public opinions to draw it up.

The National Community Unification Formula is based on three principles of seeking independence, peace and democracy. The three-stage vision calls for the pursuit of reconciliation and cooperation, the creation of a Korean commonwealth and the completion of a unified country.

The Yoon government sees the existing unification formula as leaving out the philosophy of liberal democracy, raising
the need to embody its vision for a “liberal democracy-based unification.”

In a speech marking the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Yoon said unification is precisely “what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights.”

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho told a radio program this week that the new unification blueprint will likely include the promotion of North Korean people’s freedom and human rights and North Korea’s denuclearization.

Meanwhile, the ministry plans to release the 2024 report on North Korea’s human rights abuses in June following its first such report issued last year.

This year’s paper will delve into toiling North Korean workers overseas, forced repatriations of North Korean defectors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also deal with the North’s right violations related to the law banning people from distributing or watching media originating from South Korea and other countries.

The ministry also plans to strengthen support fo
r North Korean defectors in a bid to protect such people who might be living in so-called welfare blind spots of welfare.

It will shift the goal of the resettlement policy for the North’s defectors into “family-centered” support from “individual-focused” when it establishes a three-year basic support plan for them this year.

Touching on stalled inter-Korean relations, the ministry said it will maintain the stance that Seoul is open to dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions.

The ministry will push to restore the now-suspended inter-Korean communication channels to brace for needs to deal with urgent humanitarian issues, without disclosing details.

Since April last year, North Korea has not responded to daily phone calls through an inter-Korean liaison line and military hotline, without specifying reasons.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

U.S. President Joe Biden will criticize an American story of “resentment, revenge, and retribution” in a thinly veiled broadside at his predecessor, Donald Trump, during the State of the Union address Thursday, according to its excerpts.

Prereleased by the White House, the excerpts showed that Biden, a Democrat, will use the bully pulpit to highlight his reelection campaign credo, as he is gearing up for an all-but-certain rematch with Trump, now the only key Republican presidential candidate, in November.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor,” he said, according to the excerpts.

“Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution. That’s not me,” he added, not mentioning Trump by name.

The speech came just two days after both Biden and Trump coasted
to victories in more than a dozen states on Super Tuesday, making their head-on matchup all but certain.

Right after the primary victories, Biden cast Trump as being “driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Lopburi Lopburi monkeys are at it again! A 37-year-old woman was robbed of a bag of rice and fell to the ground. Hip-knee dislocated. Want to file a report but don’t know who to take action against.

Images from CCTV cameras in the area near the pedestrian market. Rachanusorn Park, Mueang District, Lopburi Province, reveals the moment when a monkey snatched a bag of rice, causing a 37-year-old woman to fall on her back in severe pain. Crime scene found Miss Arikanta or Aom was lying on the road, unable to get up because of pain all over her body.

After inquiring about the incident, Mr. Aom said that Went to buy things in the pedestrian market. Rachanusorn Park Before returning home, I went to buy food to eat for the evening. As I walked back to the car carrying my things, I suddenly felt a strong tug. At that time I still didn’t know what it was. Until there was an outcry from the villagers saying A big monkey snatched Before calling the rescue team Transported to a nearby hospital

After going to the hospi
tal for a checkup, the doctor said that the knee in his left leg was dislocated. As for the hip that hit the ground, it hurt again and received a slight injury. The doctor allowed him to return for further treatment at home. and took a break for treatment for 15 days. He didn’t think it would happen to him. Normally very careful Because he and his family already come to sell clothes at this flea market. Right now, there is still no agency that has any contact or responsibility. He also wanted to report the matter as evidence. But I don’t know where to start because the culprit is a monkey. I don’t know who to complain to. Therefore, I would like to warn the people who come to Lopburi Province or villagers in the area to be careful.

Source: Thai News Agency

Udon Thani 7 students from a school in Nakha Subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani District. They picked the young plants of the Bodhi tree and ate them and experienced severe nausea and abdominal pain. Rescuers took him to the hospital. All the latest symptoms are safe.

Last noon, Kukai, Udon Thani Province, received a notification from a school teacher in Na Kha Subdistrict, Mueang District, that a student had eaten poisonous fruit. Nausea and severe abdominal pain occur. So he rushed to pick him up and take him to Udon Thani Regional Hospital. It was found that there were 7 male students in Prathom 4 and Prathom 6 who went to pick up the chicks of the Bodhi Sri tree that was growing next to the football field to eat and developed the following symptoms. All latest symptoms are safe.

At school, students and teachers helped to collect the young plants from the Pho Sri tree and throw them in the trash. because they were afraid that there would be students who would pick it up and eat it again Meanwhile, the schoo
l publicizes warnings to students not to collect the young plants of the Bodhi tree to eat. And will bring the matter to the meeting of the school’s educational committee to decide whether to cut it off or what to do next with the two Bodhi Sri trees.

Source: Thai News Agency

Sisaket We apologize if this news spoils your enjoyment of dining. But I feel sorry for the monk who had to come clean the bathroom for his kith and kin. In the end, we had to put up a sign that said “Yom has pooped, wash it too, people. You can see hell. The monk washed the poop.”

Reporters traveled to Tadob Temple, Tadob Subdistrict, Mueang District, Sisaket Province, and encountered a bathroom that made them stand confused for a long time. Because it was spray-painted in red letters clearly stating “Yom poops and wash it too.” Some wrote, “Hell, you can see, Phra washes Khi Yom” along the wall in front of every bathroom. Anyone who sees it will be stunned. It created a lot of excitement among those who saw it. Some people take photos and post them on social media. and expressed a lot of opinions

From questioning Mr. Nad Chaiyadarun, village headman of Village No. 8, Ban Tadob, said that it was many years ago. There was a monk who came to be ordained for the Buddhist Lent at this temple. which is a monk
who developed Saw a novice monk in the temple having to scoop water and pour it onto the toilet. After having kith and kin come to relieve heavy suffering pile full It gave off a foul smell that drifted into almost every room.

The said monk saw Luang Pu, Luang Ta, and a novice monk come to clean the bathroom and could not bear it. I want my kith and kin to have awareness. Be aware of the sin of letting monks clean toilets. So there was an idea to use spray paint to spray letters and put them in front of every bathroom in the temple. to warn the kith and kin, which was effective because when the kith and kin saw the sign Everyone is afraid of sin. Make the bathroom cleaner. – Thai News Agency

Source: Thai News Agency

Chiang Mai: , 8 March – People in many northern provinces are still choking on toxic smog and dust for 3 days now. In some places, hourly dust levels are higher than 600 micrograms/cubic meter, including Chiang Mai Province, which is still rising today. Ranked number 1 in the world’s most polluted cities for many hours And it has begun to have some impact on people’s health.

Source: Thai News Agency

A small amount of cesium, a type of radioactive material, was detected in a Japanese confectionery product slated for import to South Korea, prompting the importer to cancel its plans, the food safety agency here said Friday.

During radiation inspections for imported products, 1 bequerel (Bq) per kilogram of cesium was detected in a candy manufactured in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

The company intending to import 122 kg of the affected product canceled its import plan in response to the findings.

Even if the detected radiation level falls below the safety threshold of 100 Bq per kg, the MFDS requires importers to conduct further testing for other radioactive nuclides.

Last year, traces of cesium were discovered in Japanese products on four occasions, prompting the cancellation of import plans each time, according to the MFDS.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Friday and asked the Southeast Asian government to further improve the business environment to seek closer ties.

Choi met his Vietnamese counterpart, Ho Duc Phoc, in Seoul to discuss ways to further bolster bilateral economic cooperation, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

During the meeting, Choi said the government will make efforts to smoothly implement the pledge made in June to offer US$4 billion worth of low-interest loans through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund and the Economic Development Promotion Facility to Vietnam.

The two sides also shared ideas on improving the business environment for South Korean firms operating in Vietnam.

Choi especially requested Vietnamese authorities to provide incentives for companies investing in Vietnam and make efforts to avoid double taxation.

“South Korea holds the position as the top foreign direct investor in Vietnam, making the nation a key econom
ic partner in Southeast Asia,” the ministry said in a statement.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has guided artillery firing drills involving front-line units capable of striking the “enemy’s capital,” state media reported Friday, in an apparent response to an ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States.

The drills were conducted Thursday with the aim of enhancing the combat readiness posture and actual war capability of artillery troops, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The drill started with the power demonstration firing of the long-range artillery sub-units near the border who have put the enemy’s capital in their striking range and fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence,” the KCNA said.

The enemy’s capital is believed to be referring to Seoul.

Kim’s inspection came as Seoul and Washington have been staging the annual Freedom Shield exercise since Monday to strengthen deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

“It is necessary to more vigorously push forward the work for making
preparations for regular combat mobilization so that all the artillery sub-units can take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

The North’s leader set for important tasks for “rounding off artillery war preparations,” the report said, without revealing details.

Kim oversaw military drills by the Korean People’s Army for the second straight day Thursday. He called for intensifying “practical actual war drills” during his visit to a military training base in the nation’s western region Wednesday.

Pyongyang has long denounced joint military drills between Seoul and Washington as rehearsals for an invasion and used them as a pretext for provocations. The allies have said their military exercises are defensive in nature.

North Korea’s defense ministry warned Tuesday that South Korea and the U.S. will pay a “dearly price” for what it called their large-scale war drills.

Source: Yonhap News Agency