Jan. 4

• ●Childbirths in Korea rebound for 1st time in nearly a decade in 2024 The Korea Herald
  South Korea in 2024 saw 242,334 babies born, marking the first increase in the annual figure since 2015, as the country struggles to improve its plummeting birth rate that is among the worst in the world.

Jan. 5

• ●Wealthy Koreans live longer, healthier lives: data The Korea Herald
  New research data shows that higher income is closely tied to living longer and healthier lives in South Korea, with the gap between the richest and poorest nearing nine years.

Jan. 6

• ●Number of influenza patients surge 136% The Korea Herald
  The number of influenza patients is rapidly increasing, particularly among adolescents, marking the largest outbreak since 2016.
  
  

• ●Korea's birthrate rebounds for 1st time in 9 years The Korea Times
  Korea saw a rise in registered births in 2024 for the first time in nearly a decade, suggesting a possible shift in the nation's demographic trend.
  
  

• ●Korea's female employment rate low among OECD nations: report The Korea Times
  Korea's employment and labor indicators for women have remained low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the past two decades due partly to the lack of adequate government support and sufficient jobs, a report showed Monday.

Jan. 7

• ●Rapper Sean realizes 23-year dream with Korea's 1st ALS care facility The Korea Times
  Sean, 52, rose to fame in the late 1990s as part of the rap duo Jinusean.
  
  

• ●70% of Koreans 'stressed out' by prolonged conflict between doctors, government The Korea Herald
  About 70 percent of surveyed Koreans feel fatigue and stressed out by the prolonged medical strike in the country, while more than half felt the country does not have enough doctors, a survey showed Tuesday.

Jan. 8

• ●Number of singles over 40 jumps sixfold in 2 decades The Korea Herald
  The proportion of unmarried individuals in their 40s grew 6.7 times for men and 5.7 times for women in 2020 compared to 20 years earlier, a government report showed, underscoring the trend of marrying later or not at all, which some blame for South Korea's ultralow birth rate.

Jan. 9

• ●Gov't calls for 'candid dialogue' with doctors after KMA elects new hardline president Korea JoongAng Daily
  The government on Thursday said it hopes to have a "candid dialogue" with the medical community as early as possible a day after the nation's largest doctors' group elected its new president, Kim Taek-woo, a hard-liner opposed to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's medical reforms.

Jan. 10

• ●Flu cases spike nearly 14-fold as concern mounts over rapid spread of respiratory illnesses Korea JoongAng Daily
  Flu cases in Korea have spiked 13.7 times over the past four weeks, raising alarms about the rapid spread of the virus and the simultaneous circulation of other respiratory illnesses.
  
  

• ●Govt. hints at talks on 2026 medical school quota; lifts trainee return restrictions The Korea Herald
  South Korea nnounced Friday that it was considering renegotiating the 2026 medical school admissions hike and would lift the regulation barring medical students who resigned from returning to their training hospitals following their mass resignation, in hopes of alleviating the ongoing medical standoff.
  
  

• ●Health ministry expresses hope for talks with new doctors' group head The Korea Times
  Korea's health ministry on Thursday expressed hope for engaging in talks with the new head of the country's top doctors' lobby group amid a prolonged deadlock over medical reform.