JUNIOR DOCTORS’ HEAD TO MEET YOON

JUNIOR DOCTORS' HEAD TO MEET YOON

[Anchor Lead]
The head of a trainee doctors’ organization will meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday afternoon. Park Dan, chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association’s emergency committee, said that he will hold a meeting with the president to discuss the government’s plan to increase the enrollment quota for medical schools. He added the emergency committee made the decision after holding careful, thorough discussions. Noting widespread public concerns, Park said he and his committee concluded that it would be better to meet with the president and convey their stances before the upcoming general elections.

PHOTO BAN IN POLLING BOOTH

[Anchor Lead]
Voters are banned from taking photos of their ballot in a polling booth to post them on social media. The National Election Commission said those violating this rule will face a jail term of up to two years or fines of four million won or over 2,900 U.S. dollars. Voters can take ballot selfies only outside the polling station.

NK AIRBORNE UNIT CASUALTIES

[Anchor Lead]
Early in the year, North Korea designated South Korea as a "hostile nation", urging its military units to finalize war preparations. Last month, Chairman Kim Jong-un, alongside his daughter Ju-ae, observed airborne unit exercises, expressing satisfaction with their readiness. But reports indicate that this showcase masked the harsh reality of excessive training, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.

[Pkg]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed airborne training of the Air Training Corps under the Special Operation Force on March 15th with his daughter, Ju-ae. He was quite satisfied, saying that the country's fully ready for war.

[Soundbite]
(N. Korean Central Television): The paratroopers showed off their full combat capability of striking enemy areas with one stroke once an order is given.

Unlike the news report touting flawless training, however, it was said that multiple casualties occurred at the scene. A credible information source on North Korea said that the training session went forward despite heavy winds blowing at the site because Kim Jong-un was scheduled to observe. Gusting winds kept the parachutes from opening and caused them to get tangled with one another, resulting in several paratroopers falling or sustaining serious injuries. It was reported that among the dead were soldiers in their early 20s. Heavy winds were forecast in the inland area of southern Pyongan-do Province from the morning of the exercise day. The training session should have been postponed, but Kim Jong-un's presence would likely have forced it to go forth as scheduled. Furthermore, Kim's daughter, Ju-ae, was also there to watch the paratroopers with binoculars. Airborne training is greatly affected by the weather, so the South Korean military does not carry out training when wind speed registers more than 8.7 meters per second or 17 knots.

[Soundbite]
Jeon In-bum (Former ROK Army Special Warfare Commander): A soldier cannot carry out missions with a broken leg or equipment. Therefore, no operation or training under strong winds.

According to the information source, there was a similar accident during airborne training in 2019. Experts cautiously speculate that substandard working conditions and repeated accidents could shake up North Korean soldiers.

PROBE EXPOSES DISCRIMINATION

[Anchor Lead]
The Ministry of Employment and Labor has uncovered legal violations concerning discriminatory practices against non-regular employees within the secondary financial sector. These practices involved unequal distribution of benefits such as lunch subsidies, funds for self-improvement, and health screening costs.

[Pkg]
According to a labor ministry inspection into discriminatory practices against nonregular workers in the non-banking financial sector...Violations to the Labor Relations Act have been found at all but one of the 35 surveyed entities. The latest survey that began early this year and lasted for 3 months has uncovered 185 violations. In particular, 14 cases of discriminatory treatment of non-regular workers was reported at 13 firms. Such instances included smaller meal pay or no support for self development, birthday celebration, holiday gifts, health checkups or welfare benefits to non-regular workers who do the same work as the regular employees. The number of victims amounted to some 290 with monetary damages exceeding 30 million won or 22,300 dollars. Even a sexual harassment case was found at a savings bank where an executive made physical contact with a female employee during a company gathering. Incidents of making pregnant workers do overtime work or granting shorter childbirth leave for the husband than the allowed amount have also come to light. Numbering 50 cases, 25 firms also failed to properly give out overtime pay or stipends for unused annual leave. Some 500 employees failed to receive the latter stipend worth some 180 million won or 134,000 dollars. Around 200 workers didn't receive severance pay worth over 200 million won or 148,800 dollars. The labor ministry also unveiled that in some cases, trainee workers received wages lower than 90% of the minimum wage. The latest inspection was conducted as a follow-up after a raft of legal violations were detected in a similar probe last year targeting larger financial institutions. The ministry vowed to foster fair labor market conditions where workers engaged in various types of employment can receive their due share of compensation.

HOW TO GUARD AGAINST MALWARE

[Anchor Lead]
Recently, a computer belonging to an employee of the National Election Commission was infected with malicious code, leading to the leak of internal information from the Commission. This once again brings attention to how we can protect our personal information from malicious software. Let's have a look.

[Pkg]
A hacker plants a malicious code. Once infected, all information in the personal computer is delivered to the hacker instantly. Most of the ill-gotten information is sold to crime organizations in the dark web where information is dealt illegally. KBS had once reported on a serious information leak from a National Election Commission employee's computer infected with a malware. The NEC's intranet addresses, passwords to the employees' social media sites, and even their mobile phone numbers were made public in the dark web.

[Soundbite]
Oh Jae-hak (Cyber Security Firm S2W): The leaked data can be sold to an outsider or used to blackmail the user.

There are many different ways to get infected with malicious code or malware. A computer can get infected when a certain program is installed illegally...or when a user clicks on an image resembling an advertisement...or when files are shared. For these reasons, a user must access an official site when installing a program...and not open an email from an unknown source. It's also helpful to examine the computer periodically for information leak. A user can enter the user IDs and passwords for up to ten frequently visited sites to check whether information has been leaked.

[Soundbite]
Choi Sang-myung (Cyber Security Firm CEO): There is no way to block them without changing the password, so people need to be taught to change their passwords periodically.

Mom and pop stores or small business owners can ask the Korea Internet & Security Agency for a free cyber security check service.

NEULBOM PROGRAM MARKS 1 MONTH

[Anchor Lead]
A month has passed since the launch of the government's 'Neulbom School' initiative. Since its inception, the program has seen a significant uptake, with 100 more elementary schools nationwide joining the fold. This brings the total number of schools participating in the Neulbom School to around 2,800. As the program grows, it faces the dual challenges of reducing teachers' workload and solving space constraints.

[Pkg]
The Neulbom afterschool program offers classes for elementary students until 8 p.m. in the evening. Parents positively view the program, which is in addition to existing school-provided care classes. One month into implementation, the number of elementary schools that have adopted the program has risen by another 100 to some 28-hundred schools, accounting for 46% of the total. Over 7 out of 10 first graders are found to use the program if it's offered at their schools.

[Soundbite]
Lee Ju-ho (Minister of Education): Households that relied on private education for after-school care will see reduced pressure on those costs.

Schools' participation rate in the scheme varies by region. The participation rate is 100% in Busan and Jeollanam-do Province and over 70% in Gyeonggi-do Province while it's in the mere 6% range in capital Seoul. The education ministry says the number of schools in Seoul taking part will rise to 150 this month. The key to success is making sure the burden on existing faculty members do not increase in relation to Neulbom classes or administrative work. The government said that in principle, the Neulbom program is to be filled with outside instructors. This is the case in Daegu, Gwangju and Ulsan where the program is entirely handled by recruited instructors. But in Gyeonggido Province, only 58% of the program is taught by outside personnel.

[Soundbite]
Kim Cheon-hong (Ministry of Education): Teachers who want to take part in the program can do so and sufficient compensation is ensured.

Related administrative affairs were also supposed to be taken up by temporary teachers but critics say that due to their poor performance, the workload eventually ends up with existing faculty. Regarding the findings, an elementary school teachers' labor union said that it's best the faculty are completely free of Neulbom-related administrative duties. They also voiced concern over the lack of space in carrying out the afterschool program.

FAREWELL TO FU BAO

[Anchor Lead]
Fu Bao, the beloved panda adored across the nation, has returned to China. In the challenging times brought by COVID-19, Fu Bao was born in South Korea and affectionately known as 'Ms. Fu of Yongin'. Many visited the site and shed tears of farewell.

[Pkg]
Fu Bao munches on bamboo leaves and sprawls on a branch for a nap. She falls on her back as she plays around. Giant panda Fu Bao was born four years ago during the pandemic. She was loved by all and was nicknamed 'Ms. Fu of Yongin.' Videos of the adorable panda clinging to the zookeepers' leg and watching his mobile phone while locking arms with him caused huge sensation. Now she is leaving for China after living in Korea for three years. Despite the rain, a large crowd gathered to say goodbye to Fu Bao.

[Soundbite]
Lee Seo-yeon (Incheon Resident): I had a lot of regrets. I traveled an hour and a half in the rain so I wouldn't have any regrets.

People held an umbrella in one hand and a Fu Bao flag in the other. They couldn't hold back the tears when a truck carrying the panda drove up. Zookeeper Kang Cheol-won who had cared for Fu Bao flew to China as well although his mother passed away suddenly.

[Soundbite]
Kang Cheol-won (Fu bao Keeper): You will forever be our baby panda even after 10 years or 100 years. Thanks for coming to me. I love you, Fu Bao.

Roughly 5.5 million people have come to see Fu Bao since 2020. Living up to her name which means 'lucky treasure,' Fu Bao left Korea after having provided comfort and inspiration to Koreans for 1,354 days.

[Soundbite]
Choi Seo-wun (Donghae Resident): Take care of yourself, come back to Korea one more time. I love you, Fu Bao.

Fu Bao travelled to China on a chartered flight to begin her new life at the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries.