Articles by Lee Jaeeun
Lee Jaeeun
jenn@heraldcorp.com-
No. of drug-related offenders surges to record-high 12,700 this year
The number of apprehended drug-related offenders surged to a historical high of 12,700 this year, driven by crimes among teenagers and those over 60, police statistics showed Friday. According to National Police Agency data on drug-related crimes, a total of 12,700 drug-related offenders were apprehended as of August this year. Although this figure was only compiled from January to August this year, it exceeds the number of apprehended drug-related offenders, 12,387, counted for all of last year
Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2023
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Only one-third of overseas medical school graduates become doctors
Only one-third of graduates from overseas medical schools have obtained medical licenses in Korea, despite these institutions gaining recognition as an alternative path to becoming a doctor without entering more competitive domestic medical schools. Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, on Thursday presented the latest data on medical school graduates who completed their education between 2005
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2023
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Culture minister nominee warns celebrities to be cautious over political speech
Culture Minister nominee Yu In-chon said Tuesday that public figures should be careful when speaking out publicly, when asked about his thoughts on a social media post by a singer concerning Japan's discharge of contaminated water. “Although anyone is free to express their opinions, when it comes to celebrities or public figures who have social influence, they should be careful when they publicly speak about something because it comes along with responsibility," he said in a writ
Politics Oct. 4, 2023
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Hospital visits during Chuseok cost up to 50% more
Patients will have to pay up to 50 percent in additional charges when they go to hospitals or pharmacies during the Chuseok holiday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday. The higher rates are applicable beginning on Sept. 28 and run over the Chuseok holiday period and through Oct. 3. Additional charges ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent are applied in accordance with relevant government regulations, which require people to pay more while using medical facilities, including hospit
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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More seniors working but still not earning enough: data
More elderly Koreans are working after retirement to avoid poverty, but many find their income insufficient, data showed Wednesday. According to data released by Statistics Korea, 36.2 percent of those aged 65 or older in 2022 said they are still working, up 6.1 percentage points from 2012’s 30.1 percent. The rate was above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations’ average of 15 percent and the highest among the 36 OECD member countries. Japan reported
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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2m Koreans opt out of life-extending treatments
Nearly two million individuals in Korea have formally declined life-extending medical interventions, choosing instead to prioritize their right to die with dignity when suffering from a terminal condition, data showed Sunday. Data from the National Agency for Management of Life-Sustaining Treatment reveals that as of the end of August, 1,941,231 people have filed an advance health care directive to abstain from life-saving medical assistance since the system's inception in February 2018. Wo
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2023
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Number of dementia patients set to surpass 1m this year
As South Korea's population ages at a rapid pace, the number of dementia patients in the country is also rising quickly, projected to exceed one million for the first time this year. According to the “Current State of Dementia 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1 in 10 Koreans over the age of 65 suffers from dementia. The number of dementia patients aged 65 or older last year was 935,086, accounting for 10.38 percent of the senior population aged 65 or
Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2023
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Free flu vaccination program begins
South Korea has commenced this year’s flu vaccination program ahead of the winter season that offers free injections for young children and the elderly on Wednesday, according to the quarantine authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that the vaccination program will run through April 30 next year, stressing that the vaccination would dramatically reduce the chance of catching the flu. The target groups for this program are children aged six months to under 13 yea
Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023
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20 companies pay fines rather than pay for day care
Twenty workplaces in Korea have failed to set up day care centers for employees' children in the last five years, even though they face fines of up to 200 million won ($153,000) per year if they keep failing to provide them, government data showed Tuesday. Under the Child Care Act and Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, businesses that have more than 500 workers or 300 female workers are required to either set up day care facilities, or pay nearby centers th
Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2023
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Korea stacks up 15m doses of COVID-19 vaccine for winter
The first batch of Pfizer's vaccine for XBB.1.5, an omicron subvarient of COVID-19, has arrived at Incheon Airport on Monday, according to the quarantine authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that 4.04 million doses of the latest Pfizer vaccine arrived in the afternoon, out of a total 15 million doses set aside for this year's winter vaccination program. "A lot of research has shown that those who have taken this updated COVID-19 vaccine, which i
Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2023
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A third of Korean households made up of single people
The landscape of Korean families has changed quite significantly over the last 30 years, with one-third of households in the country made up of single people and a fertility rate that has halved in the last two decades, government data showed Monday. According to the “Social Security in Statistics 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of people living alone has more than doubled in the past 20 years. The number of single-person homes was 2.25 million
Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2023
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Mother throws poopy diaper at daycare center teacher
A mother allegedly threw a poopy diaper at a daycare center teacher, complaining that her son had been abused. On Sunday, the teacher at the daycare center located in Sejong City visited a hospital where the mother’s child was hospitalized. The teacher said that she visited the hospital to apologize for the scar on the child's neck. The child got hurt while fighting with other children at the daycare center, so the teacher went to the hospital to apologize, she said. But when she arri
Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2023
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Korea to establish surveillance system in wake of toxic humidifier disinfectant case
Health authorities announced on Friday plans to launch a real-time surveillance system to prevent future health disasters akin to the toxic humidifier disinfectant case, a string of lung disease outbreaks linked to chemicals found in humidifier disinfectants between 2006 and 2011. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced it has allocated 735 million won ($553,000) in the upcoming year's budget to create the Integrated Health Risk Information Management System. The
Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2023
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Morning-after pill most prescribed drug in telemedicine
More than half of the drugs prescribed through non-face-to-face treatment were those not covered by national insurance, which has raised concerns among pharmacists about possible blind spots in telemedicine operations, according to the Korea Pharmaceutical Association. When 1,142 pharmacists were asked what drugs were dispensed during a telemedicine pilot program from June to August this year, of the total prescriptions, 34.6 percent were emergency contraceptives, followed by acne treatment drug
Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2023
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Foreign detainees need more freedom: Human rights commission
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has issued a recommendation that detention centers for foreign nationals should improve and increase provisions for detainees, including computer and internet access, the time allowed for exercise outdoors and the ability to bring in food from outside. In a recommendation issued Wednesday to an unspecified detention center for foreign nationals, the commission said there is an urgent need to improve provisions in these areas to guarantee foreign nati
Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2023
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