President Park Geun-hye has awarded medals to 24 health care professionals for completing a nearly three-month Ebola relief mission in Sierra Leone. “I was deeply touched to find out that so many health care professionals applied for this mission in spite of the potential risks,” Park told the health care workers during the ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae last Friday. “We believe philanthropy requires courage. I am convinced that the completion of this mission has been indebted to your courageous deci

South Korea’s Welfare Ministry on Wednesday announced its plan to tackle children’s unhappiness, including establishing a charter on “children’s rights to play.”According to the ministry’s 2013 data, Korea scored the lowest among the OECD in terms of children’s “life satisfaction” with a total of 60.3 out of 100 points. The government’s goal is to increase the index to 77 points by 2019.Some of the major reasons behind the statistics include lack of leisure time and hobbies, as well as stress ov

In 2012, a former bank employee won damages from her employer and coworkers, who bullied her after returning from a year of maternity leave. The banker, who had been in charge of accounts and mostly worked as a teller before taking leave, was asked to be an usher instead when she returned. Her own desk was gone, and as an usher she had to stand the whole time. When she confronted her boss after waiting for a month, he told her: “I don’t consider you as my employee. If you feel this is unfair, yo

Health authorities Thursday warned that many “natural remedies” for erectile dysfunction that are currently being sold illegally online contain sildenafil, a medication that can be purchased only with a doctor’s prescription. An overdose of the drug, which is most commonly sold as Viagra, can lead to serious health problems including a heart attack. The authorities strongly advised the public to consult a doctor before purchasing any medical or non-medical remedies for erectile dysfunction. Amon

The Welfare Ministry on Monday said 30,000 more assisting nannies will be assigned to public day care centers suffering from a chronic workforce shortage, as part of the long-term measures to enhance child welfare and prevent abuses.Currently, a single assisting nanny is appointed for every four day care workers caring for children aged from 3 to 5 at state-run centers. Under the Child Welfare Law of Korea, a single day care worker is allowed to take care of a maximum of three babies aged less t

The reform bill for civil servants’ pensions will be put to a vote at the National Assembly this Wednesday, but Cheong Wa Dae and the government say the deal has not gone far enough to address shortfalls in the nation’s pension funds.The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Saturday agreed to raise the contribution rate of public service pensions from the 7 percent to 9 percent in the next five years, while reducing entitlements from 1.9 percent to

By Claire LeeMore South Koreans are choosing to donate funds to charities and participate in volunteer work, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Welfare Ministry, Koreans donated 12.49 trillion won ($11.9 billion) in 2013, which is 1.5 times the donations in 2006 ― 8.14 trillion won. Total donations in 2013 accounted for 0.87 percent of gross domestic product. The ministry said while Koreans are donating more funds, the amount remains low compared to average donations in other cou

In its attempt to raise the nation’s fertility rate, the government said Tuesday it would start supporting “small weddings” to alleviate the burden of pricey ceremonies in hopes that more marriages will lead to more childbirths. The Gender Equality Ministry signed an MOU with the heads of the country’s four biggest religious bodies ― the Christian Council of Korea, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Won-Buddhism and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul ― to collaborate on promoting the so-called “sm