TOKYO — In a significant move towards strengthening their economic partnership, South Korea and Japan convened a vice-ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Friday to deliberate on enhancing cooperation across various economic and financial domains, as announced by Seoul's finance ministry. The dialogue saw the participation of South Korea's Deputy Finance Minister Choi Ji-young and his Japanese counterpart, Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda. This meeting marks the second finance dialogue of its kind, emphasizing the mutual interest in addressing global economic challenges and fostering closer bilateral cooperation.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the officials engaged in discussions on current global economic and financial market trends, seeking avenues for intensified collaboration. They also laid the groundwork for a future meeting between their finance ministers, aiming to build on the momentum of their last encounter in Tokyo in June of the previous year, which focused on bolstering financial and economic relations. The dialogue reaffirmed both countries' commitment to ongoing high-level and working-level engagements, with plans to convene the next meeting in Seoul. This ongoing dialogue series, initiated in June last year, reflects a thaw in diplomatic relations and a concerted effort to elevate bilateral economic ties, highlighted by the revival of a US$10 billion currency swap arrangement that had lapsed in 2015.
SEOUL — Prime Minister Han Duck-soo firmly stated on Friday that the South Korean government would not tolerate the alleged blacklisting and harassment of medical trainees who opted out of participating in a walkout.According to Yonhap News Agency, the protest was against the government's decision to increase medical school enrollments, leading approximately 90 percent of the country's 13,000 medical interns and residents to resign en masse, significantly impacting surgeries and emergency services at major general hospitals for nearly three weeks.
Recent allegations have emerged that some trainee doctors disclosed names and other personal information of colleagues who did not join the walkout, subjecting them to verbal harassment upon their return to work. Prime Minister Han condemned these actions during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, involving officials from related ministries. He emphasized that the government would not stand by actions aimed at preventing doctors from returning to work or attacking those who have already done so.
To address the medical staff shortage resulting from the ongoing protest, the government has authorized nurses to take on expanded roles in emergency rooms and opened military hospital emergency units to the public. Han also called for an end to the alleged harassment and stated that the police and the health ministry would investigate the allegations.