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Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Political uncertainty falls below pre-martial law levels: BOK
The level of political uncertainty in South Korea has returned to levels seen prior to the martial law incident, following the recent presidential election, the central bank said Friday. According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the political uncertainty index stood at 1.5 as of June 4, the day after the election, in which Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung defeated conservative rival Kim Moon-soo. The index, which had been around 0.4 in early December, spiked to a record high of 12.8 in mid-December, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's surprising declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Though the index rose slightly above 1 after the election, the BOK noted that such minor fluctuations are common in normal times and should not be interpreted as meaningful. The index is compiled by the BOK's research department by tallying the number of media articles that include both the keywords "politics" and "uncertainty" in their headlines or main text. It reflects relative values, with the long-term average from the beginning of 2000 set at zero, the BOK said. The previous record high was 8.8, recorded on March 17, 2004, following the passage of the impeachment motion against the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. The economic uncertainty index also fell to 1.2 as of June 4, a level similar to the 1.1 recorded on Dec. 3. The index had surged to 5.4 on Jan. 2 but gradually declined, reaching as low as 0.5 on May 15, the BOK said. "The political uncertainty that has weighed on the economy over the past six months is expected to ease significantly," BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said at a press briefing last week. "Political factors are no longer having a meaningful impact on the won-dollar exchange rate." The Korean won had weakened sharply earlier this year, nearing 1,500 won per US dollar, largely due to the domestic political turmoil and concerns over the sweeping tariff measures under US President Donald Trump's administration. But it rebounded to its strongest level in about seven months Thursday, closing at 1,358.4 won per dollar. (Yonhap)
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Korea Herald
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
[팟캐스트] (678) 윤석열 탄핵으로 조기대선 정국 돌입한 대한민국
진행자: 박준희, Elise Youn 60-day countdown begins: South Korea swings into election mode 기사 요약: 헌법재판소의 탄핵 인용으로 윤석열 대통령이 파면되면서 대한민국은 대선 정국에 접어들었다. [1] South Korea's two major parties are fast switching into election mode after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office Friday. * major: 주요한 * switch into: 어떤 상태로 전환하다 * former: 과거의 [2] The Constitution dictates that a successor be elected within 60 days of a president's ouster from office — which means the parties have less than two months to decide on a candidate, assemble a team and hit the campaign trail. * dictate: 지시하다 * successor: 후임자 * decide on: 결정하다 * hit the trail: 길을 떠나다 [3] Unlike the Democratic Party of Korea, whose leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung has a huge edge over other potential candidates for the party's presidential nomination, the People Power Party does not yet have a stand-out contender. * edge over: ~에 대한 우위 * potential: 잠재적인 * stand out: 눈에 띄다 * contender: 경쟁자 [4] The minor Rebuilding Korea Party, founded by now-imprisoned Cho Kuk, who was justice minister for former Democratic Party President Moon Jae-in, called for an open primary involving all liberal party candidates. * call for something: ~를 요구하다 * open primary: 완전 국민 경선 junheee@
Korea Herald
16-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
BOK rules out inclusion of bitcoin in foreign exchange reserves
The South Korean central bank has called for a "cautious approach" to an idea of including bitcoin as foreign exchange reserves given its price volatility, officials said Sunday. There have been discussions among lawmakers about the possible inclusion of cryptocurrencies in its strategic reserves after US President Donald Trump announced the establishment of a strategic bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile earlier this month. In an answer to a question by Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, the Bank of Korea said it "has neither discussed nor reviewed the possible inclusion of bitcoin in foreign exchange reserves" and "a cautious approach is needed" to the matter. The BOK cited high volatility in bitcoin prices as a major reason. "In the case of cryptocurrency market instability, transaction costs to cash out bitcoins could rise drastically," the central bank said. Cryptocurrencies also do not meet the criteria for foreign exchange reserves set by the International Monetary Fund, such as liquidity, market value and credit rating, it added. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
18-02-2025
- Health
- Korea Herald
6 in 10 medical residents now employed at other hospitals: data
After resigning en masse last year, many junior doctors now work elsewhere Six in 10 medical residents who resigned from their hospitals a year ago to protest the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's medical school enrollment quota hike have since become re-employed at medical institutions as general practitioners, data showed Tuesday. According to Health Ministry data received by Rep. Kim Sun-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party, 5,176 of 9,222 medical residents (56.1 percent) who resigned or declined appointments at training hospitals since February last year have gotten jobs at other medical institutions as of last month. Their resignations came after the government announced its plan to add 2,000 places to medical school admissions quotas on Feb. 6 last year. Two weeks later, medical residents turned in their resignations and ceased working at hospitals en masse. In June, the government withdrew its order prohibiting the acceptance of these resignations, leading hospitals to process doctors' resignations from July — making it possible for junior doctors to get hired as general practitioners elsewhere. In South Korea, a general practitioner refers to a doctor who has graduated from medical school and passed the national medical licensing exam but has not undergone residency training. To become a specialist, a general practitioner must complete an internship and residency in a specific field and pass the specialist exam. By type of medical institution, 3,023 out of 5,176 medical residents (58.4 percent) are now working at private clinics. Of them, two-thirds have found jobs in the greater Seoul area, including 998 in Seoul, 827 in Gyeonggi Province and 205 in Incheon. Only 88 doctors (1.7 percent) are now working at top-tier general hospitals — institutions with over 500 beds and more than 20 medical departments — whereas another 815 (15.7 percent) found positions at general hospitals and 763 (14.7 percent) at smaller regional clinics. Another 383 (7.4 percent) were re-employed at nursing hospitals and 58 (1.1 precent) were at traditional Korean medicine hospitals. Meanwhile, 4,046 of 9,222 medical residents who have resigned remained outside the medical workforce. Another government data also showed that such resignations and re-employment of medical residents have significantly impacted the country's overall medical workforce. According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, as of the end of last year, the number of general practitioners working at medical institutions nationwide had surged by 76.9 percent to 10,684, up from 6,041 at the end of 2023, before the junior doctors resigned en masse. The number of general practitioners at private clinics rose from 4,073 to 7,170 (up 76.0 percent), while those working at hospitals more than quadrupled from 204 to 842 over the past year. In contrast, the number of interns at medical institutions nationwide plummeted by 96.4 percent compared to the end of 2023, while the number of medical residents dropped by 88.7 percent. The number of specialists increased by 1.8 percent over the past year, but due to the ongoing resignations, the number of candidates passing the first stage of this year's specialist exam has plunged to 18 percent of last year's figure.
