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Four Koreans dead after contracting tick-borne virus

Social affairsJul 9, 2015

A total of four Koreans have died since last month after contracting a deadly virus often transmitted by ticks, according to health authorities. All of the deceased patients were aged 70 or older.　The disease, called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, was first reported in China in 2009. It has an incubation period of six to 14 days and symptoms include fever, diarrhea, multiple organ failure and leukopenia. 　The first patient who died of the disease this year contracted the virus whi
Dating abuse rampant yet hushed in Korea

Social affairsJul 9, 2015

When Song Ah-young started dating her ex-boyfriend in 2008, she thought he was one of the kindest people she’d ever met. She had just broken up with her ex, who left her for another woman.　“I was just 23 at the time and I was heartbroken,” Song said. “The breakup really affected my self-esteem. And then there was this guy, who would say the kindest things and shower me with gifts. The only thing he didn’t buy me was an engagement ring.”　But things took an unexpected turn about two months into th
Koreans burdened by child care costs: study

Social affairsJul 8, 2015

South Koreans feel burdened by the cost of child care and tend to believe being a parent limits their career chances, a study showed Wednesday. 　The results show that the high cost of education and poor work-life balance of young parents were among the reasons behind the nation’s low fertility rate, the researcher said. 　The study, organized by Kim Mee-sook at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, analyzed how parents in nine different countries viewed parenthood in 2012. Koreans
Another victim of Japan’s wartime sex slavery dies

Social affairsJul 6, 2015

Another South Korean victim of Japan’s sex slavery during World War II died Sunday, bringing the total number of living victims down to 48. Her death came 12 days after another victim died on June 24.　Choi Geum-seon, who had been suffering from sepsis and pneumonia since 2012, died at Shinhwa Hospital in Yeongdeongpo, Seoul, Sunday. She was 89.　Born in Pyongyang in 1925, Choi was kidnapped while she was on her way to visit her friend’s house in her hometown at age 16 in 1941. She was eventually
Single parents still struggling to get child support

Social affairsJul 2, 2015

When Yoon Ji-hee, a 43-year-old single mother, divorced in 2010, the court had ordered her ex-husband to pay her 800,000 won ($711) as child support for their two children every month.But until March of this year, Yoon had never received anything from him. Diabetic and unemployed, she had been living in a tiny single room at a “goshiwon” -- cheap, dormitory housing mostly utilized by young students -- with her two teenage children. Her eldest son, now 20, had been the sole breadwinner of the fa
No MERS cases reported for four straight days

Social affairsJul 1, 2015

The Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea continued to show signs of abating Wednesday as no additional cases were reported for the fourth straight day and more patients recovered from the deadly disease.　Health authorities reported no deaths and no additional cases Wednesday, keeping the death toll at 33 and the fatality rate at 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, two more patients were discharged from hospitals. The recovered patients accounted for 53.3 percent of all 182 infected indi
MERS victims’ families suffer from depression

Social affairsJun 30, 2015

While Seoul reported no additional Middle East respiratory syndrome cases for three consecutive days for the first time since the index case was confirmed in May, many families of the deceased victims have been reported to be suffering from depression and insomnia.　Health authorities reported one more death on Tuesday, raising the toll to 33 and the fatality rate of the disease to 18 percent. Meanwhile, two more patients have been discharged from hospitals, bringing the number of recovered patie
No MERS cases reported for two consecutive days

Social affairsJun 29, 2015

South Korea reported no additional Middle East respiratory syndrome cases for two consecutive days, while announcing it would give out 16 billion won ($14 million) to support MERS-affected hospitals and expand the coverage of the national health insurance for patients with infectious diseases.　As of Monday afternoon, the virus has killed 32 and infected 182. Two more patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the number of recovered patients to 93. This means more than half of all inf
Half of confirmed MERS patients recover

Social affairsJun 28, 2015

South Korean health authorities announced Sunday that a total of 91 confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome patients have been discharged from hospitals, meaning half of all patients have recovered from the virus so far.　Korea marked the lowest daily increase of confirmed MERS cases Sunday since June 20. No additional cases were reported, keeping the total number of MERS cases at 182. Authorities however confirmed one MERS death, raising the death toll to 32 and the fatality rate of the disea
Two more die of MERS, including caregiver

Social affairsJun 25, 2015

A caregiver who had not been informed about her exposure to Middle East respiratory syndrome virus died just two days after her official MERS diagnosis on Wednesday, raising questions once again about the government’s handling of the outbreak. 　Her death was one of two reported by Seoul on Thursday, raising the nation’s death toll to 29 and the fatality rate of the disease to 16.1 percent. Health authorities also confirmed one new case at a Busan-based hospital, bringing the total number of MERS
Korea to redefine women’s rights law

Social affairsJun 23, 2015

South Korea’s Women’s Development Act, implemented in 1995 to protect women’s rights and combat discrimination against women, will be renamed the Gender Equality Act on July 1 to expand the scope of protection against discrimination of both genders, officials said Tuesday.　“We have realized it is important to promote gender equality, the needs of both men and women, rather than focusing on women only,” said Lee Ki-soon, director general of the women’s policy bureau at the Ministry of Gender Equa
Pregnant MERS patient recovers, safely gives birth

Social affairsJun 23, 2015

A South Korean woman who was infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome while pregnant safely gave birth to a son Tuesday through a cesarean section, the nation’s health authorities said Tuesday. Both the mother, who was told of her full recovery from MERS on Tuesday, and her baby are doing well, they added.　The 39-year-old is the world’s first MERS patient to have given birth to a healthy child, while also having recovered from the virus at the same time. The woman became Korea’s 109th MERS
Texas officer on leave after video shows him pushing teen

InternationalJun 9, 2015

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) -- A suburban Dallas police officer has been placed on leave after a video showed him pushing a 14-year-old girl in a bikini to the ground outside a pool and pointing his gun at other black teens.McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley said at a news conference Sunday that the incident began when officers responded Friday to a report of a disturbance involving a group of young people at a neighborhood pool. The police department has said they did not live in the area or have permi
N. Korea unlikely to close Kaesong complex over wage row

North KoreaJun 9, 2015

North Korea is not likely to shut down an inter-Korean joint industrial park in the North due to a row over Pyongyang's unilateral wage hike, a South Korean businessman said Monday.The two Koreas have been in dispute for over three months following the North's unilateral move to raise the minimum wage by 5.18 percent for about 53,000 North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the border city of the same name.In what may be a relief to the drawn-out row, the North accepted the Sout
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon says save migrants, deal with cause of flight

InternationalMay 24, 2015

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday urged Southeast Asian nations to deal with the causes behind a growing humanitarian crisis that has forced thousands of people from Myanmar and Bangladesh to flee by sea, leaving many still stranded in boats. Rohingya migrants sit inside their temporary shelter in Bayeun, Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, May 24, 2015. Thousands of migrants - about half of them Bangladeshi and the others minority Rohingya Muslims from Myanma