SNU MEDICAL PROFESSORS TO RESIGN

SNU MEDICAL PROFESSORS TO RESIGN

[Anchor Lead]
Following the collective actions taken by residents and attending physicians, medical school professors are also signaling their intent to engage in collective action. Professors from Seoul National University College of Medicine have announced the possibility of submitting their collective resignations next week, and professors from other medical schools have agreed to discuss their response measures.

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Some 400 medical professors of Seoul National University held an emergency general meeting and said hospitals have hit a limit due to the prolonged medical vacuum. They are urging the government to present a rational solution to cope with the situation. Otherwise, they will submit their resignations en masse on March 18th.

[Soundbite]
Bang Jae-seung (Emergency committee chair, SNU Medical Professors Assn.): We have decided to submit our resignations on March 18th unless a reasonable solution is presented.

The medical professors of Sungkyunkwan University are to convene a meeting on Tuesday and those of the Catholic University of Korea on Thursday to discuss how to address the medical vacuum. The Medical Professors Association of Korea, an organization of medical professors from 33 medical colleges nationwide, has also decided to meet up again on Thursday to find ways to deal with the trainee doctors' resignations and medical students' academic leaves. Nearly 6,500 doctors have signed a declaration about the ongoing medical crisis to express their concerns about a possible medical system collapse. The government says the door for negotiations remains open. Education minister Lee Ju-ho has proposed to the representative of medical students to together find a solution to the mass leaves of absence. However, his proposition was turned down as the students want the government plan for med school admissions hike to be suspended first.

[Soundbite]
Kim Geon-min (Emergency committee chair, Med school student body): The most genuine way to propose talks to the students would be doing it after suspending the current policy.

Of the 40 medical colleges nationwide, 30 have suspended lectures, while at ten others, students are refusing to attend classes.

PATIENTS URGE DOCTORS' RETURN

[Anchor Lead]
Despite the ongoing collective action by resident physicians, there seems to be no end in sight for a resolution, prompting critically ill patients to step forward and appeal for the medical residents' return to the healthcare frontline.

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In February, this woman took her sick father to one of the so-called "big five" hospitals in Seoul. Her father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, but he could not receive treatment in the hospital. Without receiving any information about future treatment plans, they were just told to go to other hospitals.

[Soundbite]
(Daughter of cancer patient (VOICE MODIFIED)): They just told us irresponsibly to look for other hospitals. My efforts to save my family went into vain.

This man was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer. He received surgery before the trainee doctors' strike. But he has not been able to receive anti-cancer therapy.

[Soundbite]
(Patient with stage 3 pancreatic cancer): My anti-cancer treatment was delayed by some 10 days and could be delayed further, which is stressful.

With such cases rising, critically ill patients took action themselves. They called on residents to return to work, saying there is no justification for their walkout, which is putting patients' lives at risk.

[Soundbite]
Choi Hee-jeong (Korean Cancer Patients Rights Council): Many patients are facing life-threatening situations due to delayed surgeries, chemotherapy, and emergency room refusals.

They also urged the government to fulfill its duty of ensuring people's safety.

[Soundbite]
Baek Min-hwan (Chair, Korea Multiple Myeloma Patient Group): I ask the gov‘t to take strict judiciary measures against striking doctors' rejection of the back-to-work order.

As medical disruptions continue, the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union and organizations of critically ill patients have launched a campaign to collect signatures of one million people in an effort to urge striking doctors to return to work.

NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]
A subpanel under a parliamentary committee tasked with pension reform has adopted two possible plans for reforming the national pension system. The subcommittee said that after careful deliberation, it decided on two options with the first plan raising the premium rate from the current 9 to 13% and also raising the income replacement rate from 40 to 50%. The second plan is raising the premium to 12% and maintaining 40% income substitution. As both plans involve a higher premium, the adoption of either plan, possibly from next year, will see an increase in the pension contribution rate, which would be the first in 27 years since 1998.
Ahead of the April general elections, a self-proclaimed civic headquarters aimed at screening the best candidates has launched into action. Some 500 civic groups behind the movement held a news conference at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Monday and pledged to sort out what they called 'good politicians' to help voters' decision making. Once political parties conclude their nominations, civic groups will evaluate each candidate in accordance with their standards and select so-called 'good candidates' and reveal the results on March 29.

TEACHERS LEAK CSAT QUESTIONS

[Anchor Lead]
In the previous College Scholastic Ability Test, CSAT, an English question's passage matched one from a well-known private instructor's mock exam, igniting quite a bit of controversy. The Board of Audit and Inspection confirmed allegations of transactions between teachers and private education firms, uncovering that several teachers had earned substantial sums through the organized sale of questions.

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The controversial question number 23 was featured at approximately the same time in the EBS edited textbooks, mock tests by famous private tutors and in the actual CSAT. The high school teachers, members of the CSAT examination committee and the private tutors involved in choosing exam questions, claim it was a mere coincidence. However, the Board of Audit and Inspection has rejected their claim and is suspecting collusion.

[Soundbite]
Kim Young-ho (Board of Audit and Inspection): It's a 264-page book. It sounds illogical that only questions on page 79 were featured in EBS textbooks, CSAT and private mock tests. So we requested a probe.

Evidence points to loopholes in how the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation verifies CSAT questions. There is also evidence of attempts to downplay the controversy. The mock test by the private academy instructor in question was omitted from preliminary inspections conducted to make sure that questions from previous tests do not overlap with CSAT questions. Officials from the institute colluded to downplay the controversy over question number 23 by excluding it from the review of objections. Authorities have also uncovered illegal transactions between school teachers and private academies. One school teacher who reviewed CSAT questions set up an eight-member group of teachers with similar professional careers to create and sell 2,000 questions for mock tests. Another teacher reaped over billions of won, or over a million dollars, in profits by founding a publishing firm with family members and employing dozens of school teachers to make them supply test questions. The BAI believes the collusion between the public and private education sectors is deep-rooted, as the perpetrators re-used the test questions they sold to private academies in school exams. The board has requested a police probe into 56 school teachers and private instructors who have committed serious violations. Some 200 other school teachers are currently under investigation, and the scope of the so-called "private education cartel" is expected to grow further.

THOROUGH RADIOACTIVE TESTS

[Anchor Lead]
Since last year, Japan has initiated the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, a move that has understandably heightened concerns among many people. In response, the government has ramped up testing efforts not only on seawater but also on groundwater and atmospheric radiation levels.

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Mara-do is Korea's southernmost island, which is a 30-minute sail from Jeju-do island. A radiation detector was installed on a hill overlooking the ocean. It was set up in 2012, following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Every five seconds, it checks if there are radioactive substances within a radius of ten meters. According to the government, no abnormal readings have been detected.

[Soundbite]
Song Myung-han (Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety): On average, about 0.08 micro sieverts are measured per hour. It is lower than the nationwide hourly average of 0.12 micro sieverts. We monitor the levels before they move inland.

More thorough, meticulous tests are conducted on sea water, which can have direct impacts if radioactive wastewater is discharged. This is where radioactive wastewater discharged from Fukushima reaches first within Korea's territorial waters. For precise testing, sea water is collected in areas up to 300 kilometers away from this point. Concentration levels of cesium and tritium are measured in water samples collected in 78 testing points. Until now, results exceeding the permissible level have never been found. Tests are conducted more frequently on groundwater, which is mixed with sea water and contains salt.

[Soundbite]
Hwang Young-kyung (Changwon resident): I am concerned about possible exposure to radioactivity and radioactive contamination of food.

Japan plans to complete the fourth discharge of treated radioactive wastewater by March 16th. The fifth discharge is scheduled to begin next month.

FUNERAL FOR EX-FIRST LADY

[Anchor Lead]
The funeral for Son Myung-soon, the widow of former President Kim Young-sam, took place at Seoul National Cemetery on Monday. After the ceremony, the late first lady was buried at her husband's grave site. The funeral was attended by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, other political figures and members of the public. Son passed away last Thursday on March 7 at the age of 95.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES CATCH FIRE

[Anchor Lead]
Once again, a fire has broken out from an electric vehicle while it was charging. The incident, where flames were seen emanating from the charging port with the charger plugged in, was vividly captured on CCTV. This recent spate of fires involving electric vehicles either during charging or while parked has significantly increased anxiety among drivers.

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An electric car is parked in front of a commercial building in a residential district. A fire suddenly flares up from the charging outlet. The flame started to grow gradually, and as time passed, it spread into a large fire. The car is covered in black smoke. Fire trucks soon arrived and firefighters rushed to put out the flames. No casualties were reported. But the front of the vehicle was burned. The fire was extinguished in about 10 minutes. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the batteries. Firefighters are conducting an investigation to find the cause of the blaze, which broke out two hours after the charging began.

[Soundbite]
Nam Tae-sik (Gwangju Bukbu Fire Station): The batteries didn't burn, so they aren't the problem. We'll check charging facilities, vehicle components and wiring for any issues.

Similar cases have been reported. On March 8 in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province, an electric vehicle caught fire while charging. Last year, 47 EVs caught fire -- 10 of them while charging and 20 while parked. That means 60 percent of the fires broke out while the vehicles were charging or parked.

[Soundbite]
Park Joo-hyun (Owner of the EV on fire): It was traumatic. I'm not sure if I can buy an EV again. We need to identify responsibility and ensure consumers are compensated without any problems.

A bill was proposed to make it mandatory to install fire fighting facilities near EV charging stations. But it is still pending in parliament.