Pretty soon there are going to be surveillance cameras everywhere. If this bill passes you won’t even be able to get a colonoscopy without a camera looking up your rear end:

Doctors are strongly protesting a contentious bill that will mandate the installation of surveillance cameras in operating rooms as a part of measures to prevent medical malpractice.

Citing the possibility of the surveillance affecting doctors’ surgical procedures and the leakage of video recordings, the nation’s largest doctors’ group said it will seek a constitutional petition if the bill is approved.

Their protest came after the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee passed the revision bill to the Medical Service Act, Monday. The Assembly plans to approve it at a plenary session on Wednesday.

According to the bill, hospitals must video-record medical procedures upon the patient’s or guardian’s request when an operation is conducted while the patient is unconscious such as under anesthesia. They have to save the recording for more than 30 days for future reference in case of legal disputes, and viewing the recording will be allowed upon request by an investigative body or a court, or when the patient and the hospital agree.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Korea is about to have a minority community of Afghans in it:

Korea is working to evacuate Afghans who helped the Korean government’s activities there, rescuing them from the Taliban-controlled country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, Tuesday. 

The ministry said in a text message to reporters that “three military aircraft have been deployed to Afghanistan and neighboring countries on a mission to evacuate those who helped the Korean government’s activities in Afghanistan.”

The ministry added the Afghans to be rescued had worked for years at the Korean embassy as well as Korea-led hospitals and job training centers there, without elaborating further on the details of the mission. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I don’t think this is a mission that the Korean government is going to be very eager to support:

The top South Korean diplomat confirmed Monday the United States requested using American military bases here as a housing site for evacuees from war-torn Afghanistan, although there is no related discussion underway now between the allies.

“It is true that (the allies) did discuss the possibility at the very basic level. It, however, was not discussed seriously,” Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said, responding to a lawmaker’s query during a session of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. 

The foreign minister said that currently, however, “there’s no such discussion underway at all”, adding that the option of using American military bases on South Korean soil as a refugee camp would absolutely require consent from the South Korean government.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but from the ROK perspective a concern they must have is what happens to refugees that are denied entry to the U.S.? Do they get sent back to Afghanistan or linger in South Korea? Over time will the U.S. ask the ROK to take in some of these refugees? I am sure the ROK has a lot of questions they want answered before they sign up for this.

I figure once the Biden administration recognizes the Taliban government, that is when everyone else will:

The Taliban wants South Korea to recognize it as a “legitimate” government of Afghanistan and hopes to strengthen economic cooperation and other exchanges between the two countries, a Taliban spokesman said Monday.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a member of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency, calling for Seoul to maintain “cordial” ties with the country “replete with untapped mineral resources.”

It marked the first interview a Taliban official has held with a South Korean media outlet since the Islamist movement took over Afghanistan as the United States withdrew troops from the war-torn nation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The small business community in Korea continues to feel the brunt of the COVID restrictions:

The government’s decision to extend the current social distancing measures has drawn controversy, as many believe that such measures will not help curb the virus spread while only driving more self-employed up against the wall.

Along with the extension, the government also tightened the curfew on eateries and cafes, and expanded incentives offered to people who have been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus.

Small business owners criticized the strengthened limit on operating hours as excessive, while medical experts viewed that the “vaccine incentives” would have limited effects on boosting consumption.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.