SNU HOSPITALS BEGIN WALKOUT

SNU HOSPITALS BEGIN WALKOUT

[Anchor Lead]
Starting today, Seoul National University Hospital professors have stopped general and surgical treatments, except for severe and emergency cases. Operating room use is predicted to drop to about 30%. Tomorrow, the Korean Medical Association begins its walkout along with SNU hospitals.

[Pkg]
Seoul National University Hospital professors have launched an indefinite walkout to protest the government's medical school quota hike plan, which has resulted in residents leaving their jobs. Medical professors at SNU Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center and SNU Gangnam Center suspended patient treatment on Monday. According to the SNU medical professors' emergency committee, some 520 professors, or 55%, are taking part in the collective action. The emergency committee said patient treatment will likely be cut by about 40%. Out-patient treatment and surgeries will be suspended, but seriously ill patients and those with rare diseases will still be able to receive treatment they need. Operating rooms are expected to be run at about 30% capacity, further down from the previous 63%. ERs, ICUs, as well as delivery and dialysis rooms will operate as usual. The Korean Medical Association is also to begin a collective walkout on Tuesday. While only 4% of private clinics have reported patient treatment suspensions, about 30% of them are expected to join the KMA's rallies in the afternoon. On Sunday, the KMA announced three demands; that the medical school quota hike be re-discussed, that essential health care policies be overhauled, and that administrative measures to punish residents be nullified. The KMA said it could scrap its decision to suspend patient treatment if the government accepted its demands. However, the government has rejected them by saying demanding something at the precondition of unlawfully suspending patient treatment is not right.

“NO UNLIMITED FREEDOM FOR DOCTORS”

[Anchor Lead]
Regarding the matter, the government has once again expressed strong regret. It firmly stated that there is no intention to reverse policies such as the increase in medical school admissions. Despite last-minute mediation efforts by the political realm, no significant results have been achieved.

[Pkg]
The government says it cannot allow unlimited freedom to the medical community. It says the doctors' collective action that stresses freedom is unconstitutional.

[Soundbite]
Han Duck-soo (Prime Minister): Doctors, who save patients' lives are granted privileges that other professions do not have, but their occupational freedom is limited...to protect people's right to life.

Prime minister Han Duck-soo also emphasized that scrapping administrative actions against trainee doctors and cancelling the medical school enrollment quota hike is impossible.

[Soundbite]
Han Duck-soo (Prime Minister): No matter how many times we think about it, it is still hard to accept the demand that constitutional and legal measures be retracted.

Han is urging the medical community to withdraw its collective action and sit down for talks with the government. Meanwhile, the political circles are making a last-ditch effort to mediate the matter. High-ranking government and ruling party officials are asking the medical sector to make a wise decision.

[Soundbite]
Chung Jin-suk (Presidential Chief of Staff): Patients and their families are very worried they may not be able to receive medical treatment that they need.

Opposition lawmakers from the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee visited Seoul National University Hospital to meet with its faculty council.

[Soundbite]
Kang Sun-woo (Health and Welfare Committee (DP)): We agreed that a council should be set up and the medical school quota hike should be discussed with doctors.

However, they could not confirm if the medical professors are willing to withdraw their decision to suspend patient treatment.

PROPERTY, INHERITANCE TAX REFORM

[Anchor Lead]
The Presidential Office has announced its plan on tax reform. It supports abolishing the comprehensive real estate holding tax for most properties, excluding ultra-high-priced homes. It's also reviewing a complete overhaul of the inheritance tax system, specifically considering a shift to an 'inheritance acquisition tax' and a 'capital gains tax'.

[Pkg]
Since its launch. the Yoon administration has been pushing forward with easing tax rules regarding real estate ownership. It reaffirmed its intention to effectively abolish the comprehensive real estate holding tax. The presidential office said the tax has minimal effect on stabilizing housing prices, while causing issues like 'double taxation' with property taxes and passing the tax burden onto tenants.

[Soundbite]
Sung Tae-yoon (Pres. policy chief (Jun. 16, KBS ‘Sunday Diagnosis Live’)): Owners of multiple lower-priced homes face a heavier tax burden than single high-priced homeowners, reducing rental supply. This issue needs consideration.

However, the top office has no plan to abolish the tax completely. It will continue to impose the tax on those owning a single ultra-high-priced house and owners of multiple high-value properties. It also plans for a complete overhaul of one of the world's highest inheritance tax. The presidential office stressed the need to lower the current top rate of 50% to around 30%, closer to the OECD average. It noted that the current inheritance tax offers no benefits for families with multiple children and suggested a shift to an inheritance acquisition tax, a model used by many countries. In this case, the inheritance tax drops for those with multiple children, depending on tax brackets. The top office proposed a shift to a capital gains tax, where taxes are paid after selling shares, rather than at the time of business succession.

[Soundbite]
Sung Tae-yoon (Pres. policy chief (Jun. 16, KBS ‘Sunday Diagnosis Live’)): They will pay the tax when they decide to sell the business, earn capital gains.

The government will decide on the tax revision after next month, taking into consideration impacts on tax revenue and state finance. In response, the Democratic Party criticized the government for repeatedly promoting tax cuts that undermine revenue, urging them to develop measures to address the resulting tax shortfalls.

ITAEWON TRAGEDY ALTAR RELOCATED

[Anchor Lead]
A memorial altar built for victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush was moved to a new site from its original location at Seoul Plaza on Sunday. The relocation came 499 days after the memorial altar was set up for the tragedy, which occurred on October 29, 2022. With an agreement with the victims' families, a new memorial altar was set up in a building near Seoul City Hall. The bereaved families will operate it as a temporary space for remembrance until November 2. It will be used as a place to cherish memories about the victims and communicate with citizens.

WORKATION BOOM IN KOREA

[Anchor Lead]
'Workation,' blending work and vacation, is now a top welfare trend among office workers. Especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, apparently, it serves to reduce frequent job turnover rates. Here are the details.

[Pkg]
Lee Kwang-hee works at a healthcare company in Seoul. On this day, he went to work in an office set up on the west coast. During working hours, he carries out his duties like any other day.

[Soundbite]
Lee Kwang-hee (Office Worker): Everything goes the same as when I worked in the Seoul office. But my work efficiency has gone up.

But after eight hours when he punches out, he heads straight to the beach. He is having a so-called 'workation,' working at a vacation spot without using leave time.

[Soundbite]
Lee Kwang-hee (Office Worker): During workation, I tend to focus more on work, hoping to enjoy my time more fully after work.

Working from a vacation spot is especially popular among the younger generations that places greater importance on maintaining work-life balance. A survey found that 80% of workation participants were office workers in their twenties and thirties. More noticeably, three out of four small and medium companies answered that such welfare programs helped them keep their workforces by preventing their young workers from leaving.

[Soundbite]
Ji Chang-dae (Senior Healthcare Company CEO): Our employees think about ways to enhance job satisfaction while achieving maximum flexibility. I think workation will be here for a long time.

Since employees prefer to work near a mountain or the beach, workation also helps energize the local economies. Boosted by such positive results, government agencies and about ten local government bodies nationwide are designing related support measures.

NEWJEANS' MV FOR JAPAN DEBUT

[Anchor Lead]
NewJeans Monday unveiled the music video for 'Right Now,' a track from their upcoming Japanese debut single 'Supernatural,' which will be out on this Friday. After making its debut in Japan with the album, the K-pop girl group will perform on various Japanese TV music shows, including 'Music Station.' They will also hold large-scale fan meeting at Tokyo Dome in Japan for two days from June 26.

FIREFIGHTING DRONES IN ACTION

[Anchor Lead]
Are you much aware of Firefighting drones? Firefighting drones are crucial for searching remote mountain paths and building interiors at night. Their use is rapidly expanding. We have the details.

[Pkg]
A firefighting drone takes off, shining a light. It flies through the pitch black darkness...before finding its target with a thermal imaging camera. The drone hovers nearby while shining the light on the target's vicinity until the rescue unit arrives. This is a simulation of a drone search and rescue mission for a missing hiker in the middle of the night. The National Fire Agency first adopted firefighting drones in 2015. As of the end of last year, the number of firefighting drones had increased to over 550, and more than 6,000 operators had been certified. Firefighting drones can search the inside of a building that collapsed during a fire or an earthquake. The drones are mainly used to search for missing people in mountainous areas difficult to access quickly by rescuers. Last month in Jecheon, a man in his eighties who got injured in a mountain was found by a firefighting drone and brought to safety.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Jang Yeong-wun (Nat'l Fire Service Academy): A drone with a speaker successfully aided the mountain hiker by communicating with the victim to track the direction of the drone's sound.


Last year, 139 people were rescued by firefighting drones, up by more than 5% from the previous year. The National Fire Agency is also looking to use the drones to alert nearby areas of fires and to transport injured individuals from high-rise buildings.

KBS CLASSIC KANG HO-DONG COMPOSE VIRAL

[Anchor Lead]
Have you ever heard of the 'Kang Ho-dong Concerto'? Recently, the KBS Symphony Orchestra unveiled this content on their official YouTube channel, receiving reviews that it's even more entertaining than most variety shows. Let's take a look together.

[Pkg]
A video featuring comedian Kang Ho-dong who had starred in the KBS reality show 'Two Days and One Night.' The KBS Symphony Orchestra introduced the video as the world premier of a modern piece. This was an attempt to lower the barrier of classical music by combining modern entertainment and classics. In fact, the concerto was written together with a professional composer. People who saw the video said it was 'funny yet refined' and that they watch it every day. Earlier videos produced by the orchestra, such as the ones using the clips from KBS dramas 'Taejo Wang Geon' and 'Goryeo-Khitan War,' are also gaining attention. These attention-grabbers may have contributed to driving up the number of KBS Symphony Orchestra YouTube subscribers to over 140,000, a first for an Asian orchestra.