MEDICAL PROFESSORS LEAVE WORK

MEDICAL PROFESSORS LEAVE WORK

[Anchor Lead]
Starting today, medical professors begin resigning in protest of the government's decision to increase medical school admission quotas. Meanwhile, the remaining doctors will halt services for a day during the week citing physical and mental stress from the prolonged healthcare gap. The government is launching a special committee on medical reform, but the Korean Medical Association and others have chosen not to participate.

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Medical professors have begun leaving their work posts from Thursday. Professors at 20 medical schools across the nation, including Seoul's big five hospitals including Seoul National University Hospital and Asan Medical Center, will participate in the mass resignation. The emergency committee of medical professors said that they will push ahead with resignation, regardless of government approval. At Seoul National University Hospital, four professors of essential divisions will leave their duties on May 1st.

[Soundbite]
Bang Jae-seung (Emergency committee chair, SNU Med Professors Assn.): It's uncertain if the medical collapse is reversible. We can see what's coming. So we have concluded that we cannot focus on...taking care of patients, deciding to resign.

Professors will suspend all medical services for a whole day next week, excluding care for emergency and critically ill patients. And then, they will hold a meeting and decide on whether or not to continuously take one-day off a week going forward. Patients are urging medical professors to withdraw their decision, calling it a death sentence for patients struggling to battle their diseases.

[Soundbite]
Kim Seong-ju (Chair, Korean Cancer Patients Rights Council): Patients have nowhere to go. With the conductor gone, how can the orchestra perform?

While expressing regret over medical professors' decision, the government said it will watch the situation following their collective action.

[Soundbite]
Park Min-soo (2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare): There must be advance arrangements regarding professor's days off, with hospital presidents' approval. As far as we know, they are not in that stage yet.

The government also rejected medical professors' proposal to halt enrollment quota push until they can provide scientific grounds based on commissioned research on the imbalance of number of doctors. The government's stance is that the demand to review the admissions hike from scratch and postpone it for a year is not an alternative. The government has launched a special committee on medical reform on Thursday. It is a society-wide consultative body with experts from the medical sector and other fields participating. But the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Intern Resident Association have boycotted participation.

SPECIAL MED REFORM CMTE LAUNCHES

[Anchor Lead]
Amid the prolonged medical vacuum in the nation, a special presidential committee on medical reform kicked off and held its inaugural meeting on Thursday. Consisting of officials from six government agencies and 20 civilian experts, the committee will discuss and devise details of the government’s medical reform package aimed at improving medical services in non-metropolitan, remote areas, building a safety net for medical accidents and enhancing compensation fairness in the essential medical fields. However, next year’s enrollment quota for medical schools will unlikely be on the agenda for the special committee, as the government and the medical sector have not yet narrowed differences on the issue.

HYBE AND ADOR CLASH

[Anchor Lead]

Conflicts have erupted between Korea's top entertainment agency HYBE and its subsidiary, ADOR, with both sides presenting starkly different claims. HYBE asserts that ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin attempted a "hostile takeover" of control. However, Min Hee-jin claims the dispute started when another HYBE girl group allegedly copied the whole concept and style of NewJeans.

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[Soundbite]
You got me looking for attention

K-pop girl group NewJeans rose to the top of the U.S. Billboard album chart just a year after its debut.

[Soundbite]
Danielle (NewJeans Member (Sept. 2023, KBS News 9)): I always feel very much loved when I perform.

Mega K-pop agency HYBE also owns ADOR, the management company NewJeans is affiliated to. HYBE claims that ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin tried to take away control of the agency. Min refuted the allegation saying that it is impossible to do so. The legal community also backed up ADOR CEO since HYBE, which owns 80% of ADOR shares, can easily dismiss Min whenever it wishes to do so.

[Soundbite]
Shim Min-sun (Attorney, Barun Law): If Min refuses to step down, HYBE could obtain a permit from the court to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.

Since Min is arguing that there is no valid reason for her dismissal, the conflict between HYBE and ADOR could lead to a lawsuit invalidating the dismissal or criminal prosecution.

[Soundbite]
What's your ETA, what's your ETA

Another issue is a copycat controversy. Min claims that ILLIT, a girl group from another HYBE sublabel, copied NewJeans. Unlike songwriting or choreography, however, so-called group concept or vibe is hard to copyright. Also, the rights of HYBE, an investor of NewJeans, cannot be ignored.

[Soundbite]
Heo Jong-sun (Attorney, Hanbyol Law): Min also belonged to HYBE, NewJeans' concept was developed during her stay there. Even if NewJeans' concept was copied, HYBE has the rights to it.

The dispute between the two sides grow uglier, but it is still possible that HYBE and ADOR could patch up as NewJeans is about to make a comeback and fans have joined the fight.

MULTI-LABEL SYSTEM BACKLASH

[Anchor Lead]
Continuing from the previous report, the conflict within HYBE is deepening as fans of NewJeans, have taken to the streets in protest. So what's at the root of this escalating tension? One contributing factor might be HYBE's ambitious 'multi-label system,' which brings together multiple subsidiaries under one corporate umbrella. The structure is designed to foster diversity but has also fueled competition and conflict.

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BTS, an undisputed global superstar. Seventeen, a boy band that is growing rapidly with a huge fanbase across the globe. ILLIT, a rookie girl group dominating music charts shortly after their debut. Their labels may have different names, but they all belong to the larger HYBE company. HYBE, beginning with Source Music in 2019 began acquiring and splitting smaller management agencies to now own a total of 12 labels. ADOR, undergoing an audit now, is one of those sublabels that branched out of HYBE with an investment of 16 billion won, over 11.6 million U.S. dollars, in 2021. The multi-label system is an unprecedented management practice, a first of its kind in Korean entertainment.

[Soundbite]
Jung Min-jae (Music critic): HYBE allowed much autonomy to its sublabels and fully ensured their creative freedom, which was why HYBE's many artists...were able to produce numerous original hits.

But experts also say that such diversity sparked this very dispute by fueling excessive competition between the sublabels. The labels would naturally be ranked amongst each other, depending on the artists and the sales that they produce. It would also be used to determine the label's growth potential. ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin said in an interview with KBS that she believes that there has been discrimination among the sublabels for a long time and its artist, NewJeans, has been bearing the consequences as a result.

[Soundbite]
Kim Heon-sik (Music critic): Defining, managing and coordinating of the multi-label system have failed.

HYBE stated through its in-house notice that the recent trouble is another step of trial and error in the unprecedented multi-label system and promised to review and make improvements.

REAL GDP GROWS 1.3% IN Q1

[Anchor Lead]
Korea's real gross domestic product grew 1.3 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to the last quarter of last year. The Bank of Korea announced that the country's real GDP also increased 3.4 percent on year. Remaining on an upward track for five straight quarters, the nation's real GDP posted the largest growth since the fourth quarter of 2021 when it rose 1.4 percent. The growth was boosted by bullish exports and improving domestic consumption. Korea's real gross domestic income increased 2.5 percent, exceeding the GDP growth.

NANOSATELLITE LAUNCH SUCCESS

[Anchor Lead]
Nanosatelites... They're clusters of small satellites that work together as a single entity to carry out specific missions. Yesterday, South Korea successfully launched its first nanosatellite as part of a satellite constellation.

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[Soundbite]
4,3,2,1

A rocket blasts off with a roar. It's carrying the first nanosatellite developed with domestic technology that will later form a satellite constellation. The lower part of the launch vehicle and fairing separate one after another. At 8:22 a.m. Wednesday, 50 minutes after takeoff, the satellite is released at 500 kilometers above ground.

[Soundbite]
(Satellite constellation launch firm)

The satellite made contact with South Korea’s King Sejong Station in Antarctica twice in the afternoon, signaling a successful launch. NEONSAT-1 is the first of eleven nanosatellites that will go on to eventually form a satellite constellation, The launch operation was code-named BTS, short for "Beginning Of The Swarm." A constellation costs less to develop than an expensive, high-performance large satellite. By operating several nanosatellites weighing under 100 kilograms, the constellation can observe the Korean Peninsula more than 3 times a day. Optical cameras attached to the satellite can identify objects as small as 4 meters in size from 500 kilometers above. The government plans to launch ten more satellites and put them into orbit by 2027.

SUDDEN ACCELERATION SUSPECTED

[Anchor Lead]
In Gangneung, the first domestic test to reenact suspected sudden unintended acceleration accidents has just taken place. Meanwhile, a car carrying a 60-year-old grandmother and her 10-month-old granddaughter overturned in Gyeongnam. The driver blames sudden unintended acceleration, while the police are investigating to find the exact cause of the crash.

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A car waits for the light to change.

[Soundbite]
Daddy bear is big.

Just as it's about to move, it makes a roaring sound and rattles... And then rams into the vehicle in front and drives off. Inside this brand new, just 2-week old, SUV is a 66-year-old driver surnamed Son and her 10-month-old granddaughter. In the nightmarish situation where her car was driving against traffic, Son, a veteran driver with 20 years experience, desperately tried to evade a head on collision with a truck.

[Soundbite]
Oh my, the car won't stop.

They managed to move by other cars on the road during the 2.3 kilometer nail biting race. Eventually, the car crashed into a roadside signpost and guardrail and completely turned over. During the precarious run, five cars were damaged and Son suffered a broken rib. But fortunately, the granddaughter only sustained a minor injury.

[Soundbite]
(Driver (VOICE MODIFIED)): I braked like crazy but it did not work. It felt like a stone. I persistently held on to the wheel to keep my granddaughter safe.

The driver claims the car abruptly accelerated and the brakes didn't work.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Kim Pill-soo (Daelim University College): Based on the speed, noise, brake failure and the driver's effort to avoid obstacles for quite some time, it's very likely it was a case of sudden acceleration.

The police have launched an investigation requesting the National Forensic Service to examine the car and dashcam while the vehicle's manufacturer has also vowed to cooperate in the probe.

KOREAN WAR VETERANS INVITED

[Anchor Lead]
Veterans in their 90s who fought in the Korean War as United Nations forces have visited South Korea. Though they each come from different countries within the British Commonwealth, they came together to honor their comrades who died in fierce battles.

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Gray-haired war veterans lay flower wreaths at a monument. Six Korean War vets remember their fallen colleagues during a memorial ceremony marking the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong. In April 1951, British Commonwealth Forces of the 27th infantry brigade fought against the Chinese and led the battle to victory. The veterans, including those from Canada and New Zealand, enlisted as UN forces and fought all across the Korean Peninsula including in the Battle of the Hook and the Battle of Maryang-san. They are now over 90 years old. The soldier shown in this photo helping out an injured comrade is Lance Corporal William J. Chrysler of Canada. This photo, believed to demonstrate a shining spirit of wartime camaraderie, is kept at the Imperial War Museums in the UK. Chrysler who was then a young man in his early 20s has revisited Korea at the age of 94. Physically moving about is no longer easy but he misses his comrades all the same even after 70 years. For 92-year-old Colin Carley, this is the first visit to South Korea since the war. Noting the peninsula still remains divided, he is astonished by how the country has become unrecognizable from its post-war devastation.

[Soundbite]
Colin Carley (Korean War veteran from New Zealand)

During their stay in Korea, the elderly veterans and their families also visited and paid respects at the UN Memorial Cemetery where UN troops who fought in the Korean War are laid to rest.