Rita P. Verma, MD, FAAP, a Neonatologist with Nassau University Medical Center

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won's withdrawal from candidacy is expected to deal another setback to President Lee Jae Myung and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), as they are already struggling with declining public support. Kim stepped down Saturday, 20 days after his nomination, following controversy over several allegations — including that he used his influence as a lawmaker in 2021 to help a pharmaceutical company get regulatory approval for a COVID-19 clinical drug trial. He withdrew even after the National Assembly approved his nomination. While Kim’s withdrawal eased the immediate pressure on Lee over the appointment, it reinforced concerns over shortcomings in the administration’s personnel vetting system. Kim’s departure also leaves the justice ministry without leadership at a critical time, with pressing tasks piling up ahead of a major overhaul of the criminal justice system, scheduled to take place in October as part of Lee’s signature prosecution reform drive. For the ruling party, Kim’s departure highlighted its political misjudgment. DPK lawmake

Parental leave benefits paid to foreign workers in Korea doubled over the past year, data showed Sunday. The data, submitted to Rep. Park Soo-min of the People Power Party by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, showed total payments reached 36.45 billion won last year, up from 18.15 billion won the year before. The number of recipients rose more than 50 percent to 2,031 from 1,354. Through July of this year, 1,476 foreign nationals have already received 26.71 billion won in benefits. Foreign nationals made up 1.2 percent of the total recipients as of July, up from 1.1 percent last year and 1 percent two years ago. Ethnic Korean Chinese received the most support, with 1,154 recipients sharing 22.56 billion won, followed by Vietnamese with 895 recipients and 12.87 billion won. Besides the top two groups, 652 Chinese nationals claimed 11.54 billion won in benefits, 366 Americans received 5.78 billion won, 261 Japanese received 4.99 billion won and 177 Canadians claimed 3.08 billion won. Under Korean labor laws, foreign workers holding relevant visas, like E-9 or H-2 visas, can enroll in em

The assignment of expert research personnel to large conglomerates is expected to resume for the first time in 14 years, this time in the artificial intelligence (AI) field, helping prevent research career interruptions and the outflow of workers abroad. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday, the ministry recommended LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics to be designated for hosting expert research personnel, with their nine research institutes needing 81 personnel. The expert research personnel program lets science and engineering graduates with master's or doctoral degrees work at research sites for three years instead of serving 18 to 21 months in the regular military, depending on the branch. However, new assignments to large conglomerates were suspended in 2013 to secure research and development personnel for small and medium-sized enterprises, closing off the path to military service at large conglomerate research institutes and drawing criticism f

GEOJE, South Gyeongsang Province — Wearing gloves, reporters ducked beneath a canvas cover and descended a ladder into the Seo Hui, a 3,600-ton submarine under construction at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard. At the bottom was a narrow passage, barely wide enough for two adults. Pipes and equipment remained exposed, while stickers reading “painting inspection completed” showed that work was still underway. Hanwha Ocean opened the interior of the Seo Hui, the second Jangbogo-III Batch-II submarine, to the media for the first time Tuesday. Its launch ceremony is tentatively planned for November, although the timing could change depending on the Navy’s schedule. The contract stipulates that delivery is set for December 2027. Measuring about 89 meters long, the Seo Hui is larger than the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho-class submarines of Batch-I. Its combat management and sonar systems have been upgraded to improve data processing, target detection and land attack capabilities. Its overall localization rate is about 80 percent. In the torpedo room in the bow, horizontal launch tubes were arrange

Repeated shark sightings at a waterfront park in Busan’s North Port have drawn crowds of curious visitors, prompting city authorities to step up safety measures while monitoring the sea creature’s return to open waters. A shark estimated to be at least 3 meters long was first spotted at around 8:57 a.m. on Friday in a waterway at the port’s Waterfront Park, according to city officials. Another shark sighting was reported at around 1:05 p.m. the following day. The creature was believed to be a basking shark, a species found in subtropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, including waters off the Korean Peninsula. Although the species is not known to be aggressive, city officials said it could still pose a danger if provoked or approached too closely. The Korea Coast Guard initially tried to guide the shark out of the narrow waterway. But it suspended the effort after the National Institute of Fisheries Science advised that forcing the animal away could trigger defensive or aggressive behavior. Instead of deterring visitors, the unusual sight quickly turned the park

Tickets for Korea’s high-speed KTX trains will be available for booking up to two months before departure starting next month, extending the current one-month window. Along with the booking window, KTX will introduce a set of operational improvements for foreign travelers next month to make the reservation process more convenient, the government said Sunday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and KTX operator KORAIL, customers will be able to book seats up to two months in advance starting Oct. 1. The government said the extension is intended to make it easier for travelers to plan trips around the country. For foreign visitors in particular, many book flights to Korea at least two months in advance, but KTX tickets have only been available one month before departure, making it difficult to plan their itinerary within the country. “Travelers will be able to book KTX at the same time as purchasing airline tickets, making it easier to plan domestic trips and use KTX more conveniently,” the ministry said in a press release. “Korean travelers will also be a

Shinhan Financial Group is expanding its partnership with Vietnam’s Vingroup beyond motor vehicle finance into capital markets, it said Sunday. Shinhan Financial Chairman Jin Ok-dong met with Vingroup executives Thursday at Shinhan Bank Vietnam’s headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss new areas of cooperation. Vingroup, the Southeast Asian country’s largest private company by market capitalization, has interests ranging from real estate to electric vehicles. Shinhan’s relationship with the group has so far centered on vehicle finance, particularly for VinFast, its electric vehicle (EV) unit. Since 2024, Shinhan Bank Vietnam has provided a cumulative $100 million in loans to VinFast customers. Shinhan Vietnam Finance financed around 14,000 VinFast motorcycles in the first half of this year, with total financing reaching 15 billion won ($10.9 million). The two parties now plan to explore capital market opportunities, including equity and bond financing through Shinhan Securities Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam and Shinhan Vietnam Finance will also expand their vehicle finance bu

A new study finds that prenatal exposure to rare earth elements can raise the risk of low birthweight, with some substances increasing the danger by more than three times. Researchers tracked 4,891 pregnant women who gave birth at Wuhan Maternal and Child Health Hospital between 2012 and 2014. They measured the concentration of 13 rare earth elements including cerium, ytterbium, and lanthanum in urine samples collected from the mothers. After adjusting for confounding factors such as maternal...

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The arch, proposed for a circle adjacent to the Memorial Bridge, is one of several projects that the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington.

The national average for a gallon of gas reached US$4.48 on Friday, according to AAA, up roughly 17 cents over the last week, 40 cents in a month and $1.27 from a year ago.

The growing continues for Buc-ee's.