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Japan to step up help for Vietnamese maritime security

Foreign affairsSept 15, 2015

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan has announced it will give Vietnam used boats and other equipment worth 200 million yen ($1.7 million) to improve its maritime security capabilities as China asserts its territorial claims in regional seas.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the grant Tuesday after holding talks with Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong in Tokyo. The two leaders said they share serious concerns over attempts by China to change the status quo in the South China Sea by ass
Ex-senior police officer arrested over bribery charges

Social affairsSept 15, 2015

A former senior member of the national police force was arrested Tuesday on suspicions of receiving hundreds of millions of won in bribes from one of the country's most famous swindlers.The former police superintendent, identified only by his surname Kwon, was taken into custody after the Daegu District Court issued a warrant for his arrest, noting there were enough reasons to believe that Kwon may have committed the crime and that destruction of evidence was a possibility.The 51-year-old is sus
‘I still wake up in the night and cry’

NationalSept 15, 2015

　Kang Il-chul was only 16 when she was abducted by three Japanese military officers in her hometown of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. It was in 1943 in colonial Korea, and Kang had just returned home from school. Her parents weren’t home.　“They said, ‘Put on your shoes and come out,’ and I obeyed,” Kang said in an interview with local media outlets Monday. “I could not resist. Resisting against Japanese officers meant risking your life at the time. They could kill you at any moment.”　Kang’s
Day care owner gets 6-year jail term for baby trafficking

Social affairsSept 13, 2015

The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a lower court’s six-year prison sentence for a day care owner who tried to sell a baby, born to an unwed, single mother, for illegal adoption online. 　　The woman, surnamed Kim, brought the baby girl to her center in July of last year, after the biological mother reportedly gave up custody of the child shortly after giving birth at a Busan-based hospital.　Soon after the infant arrived at her center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Kim tried to sell the child
Mothers lash out at day care service changes

Social affairsSept 13, 2015

The South Korean government’s plan to charge households with full-time housewives for the currently free day care service should they utilize it for more than seven hours daily is stirring controversy nationwide, with some critics calling it misogynistic and discriminatory. 　“The government is discriminating against full-time housewives by doing this,” said Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. “Every mother, regardless of their employment status, should be
South Korea’s income distribution unequal: WEF report

Social affairsSept 10, 2015

South Korea’s economic rents are highly concentrated in a few large family-run conglomerates while its national income distribution appears to be significantly unequal, according to the latest report of the World Economic Forum.　The report used the Gini index, which measures income inequality within a range of zero to 100, where a value of 100 represents perfect inequality. Korea’s post-transfer Gini index -- the income inequality rate after social security transfers have been made -- marked 30.
Ministers unveil health security packages

NationalSept 9, 2015

Health Ministers from four countries, including Korea, Wednesday announced 11 global health security action packages to better prevent and respond to infectious diseases threats worldwide at the Global Health Security Agenda High-Level Meeting held in Seoul. The other ministers were from the U.S., Finland and Indonesia. 　The event, attended by public health authorities from 47 countries as well as the World Health Organization, was held about a month after Korea announced the de facto end to its
Transparent information release of health agencies important: CDC director

Social affairsSept 8, 2015

Thomas Frieden, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S., stressed the importance of timely and transparent information release when dealing with health emergencies during the Global Health Security Agenda Forum in Seoul on Monday.　“The CDC is one of the most trusted organizations in the country,” he told reporters. “And that’s because people know we are going to tell the truth even if it’s going to make them feel uncomfortable. They know that we will provide all th
‘Half of ethnic Korean women in China underwent abortion’: study

Social affairsSept 7, 2015

More than half of ethnic Korean women in China have had an abortion at least once, while the population of ethnic Koreans in general continues to decline, a Chinese study showed.　The study, written by Choi Seon-hyang from Qingdao Huanghai School, surveyed a total of 161 ethnic Korean women living across China. Almost 80 percent of them attended post-secondary education, and the largest number of them were either schoolteachers or university professors. 　Her study found that 55.6 percent of the s
Murders among romantic partners on rise in South Korea

Social affairsSept 6, 2015

In May, the discovery of a young woman’s body packed into a suitcase buried under cement in the hills in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, left South Korea in shock and horror. 　The 26-year-old, surnamed Kim, was murdered by her 24-year-old boyfriend, who allegedly killed her while drunk after she tried to break up with him. The boyfriend, only identified by his surname Lee, impersonated Kim on social media for two weeks after killing her and disposing of her body.　According to Rep. Jeong Yon
Controversial sex ed guideline had no humanities input in S.Korea: lawmaker

Social affairsSept 6, 2015

The Education Ministry’s controversial guidelines on sex education, which have been heavily criticized for its sexism and bias since being issued last month, were coauthored by nursing and public health professionals without any input from humanities experts, a ruling party lawmaker’s office revealed Sunday. 　According to Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party, the national standard on sex education, which cost the government 600 million won ($499,000), was cowritten by a total of 19 indiv
Korean researchers open ways for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Social affairsSept 3, 2015

South Korean researchers’ latest findings on Alzheimer’s disease patients may provide a new, efficient method for early diagnosis of the mental illness, the nation’s Health Ministry announced Thursday.　The research, organized by the Korea National Institute of Health, discovered that elderly Alzheimer’s disease patients had larger amount of a specific family of small proteins, named SUMO1, in their blood, compared to healthy elderly Koreans. It researched a total of 80 elderly Alzheimer’s diseas
Seoul sets advisory limit on IVF embryo transfer

Social affairsSept 2, 2015

South Korea’s Health Ministry is revising its guidelines for in vitro fertilization, discouraging medical professionals from transferring more than three embryos in a single procedure to prevent possible adverse birth outcomes and unwanted multiple births. 　Until now, the guidelines had stated that transferring as many as five embryos per IVF cycle was encouraged to maximize a patient’s chances of becoming pregnant. 　However, both overseas and local studies have shown that transferring multiple
Samsung hospital to invest W100b in post-MERS improvements

Social affairsSept 2, 2015

Samsung Medical Center, a top hospital known as the largest infection source of the recent Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, vowed Wednesday to invest 100 billion won ($84.7 million) to revamp its emergency facilities and come up with vaccines for the virus as part of its post-MERS plan.　Ninety-one people were reported to have contracted the virus at the hospital in Seoul, accounting for 49 percent of all confirmed cases in the country. Most of the patients were infected at the hospital
Seoul announces post-MERS plan for infectious diseases

Social affairsSept 1, 2015

All general hospitals with 300 or more patient beds in South Korea will be required to establish negative air pressure rooms to prevent cross-contamination, Seoul announced on Tuesday as part of its post-Middle East respiratory syndrome plan to better deal with contagious diseases.　The Ministry of Health and Welfare also announced that the head of Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention will be appointed as the ministry’s joint vice minister to strengthen public health sector, and establ