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Lee Hyo-jin

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.

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Health

Korea reports 1st case of brain-eating amoeba infection

The three stages in the life cycle of Naegleria fowleri ― cyst, trophozoite, and flagellated forms ― are displayed in this image. Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea has identified its first case of Naegleria fowleri infection. A man in his 50s, who died 10 days after displaying symptoms of the rare but highly lethal infection, is suspected of being exposed to the brain-eating amoeba in Thailand.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed, Monday, that the Korean man who had stayed in Thailand for four months before entering Korea on Dec. 10, died after being infected with Naegleria fowleri.The patient began to show symptoms of meningitis, such as headaches, fever, vomiting, slurred speech and stiffness of the neck on the evening of his arrival, and was transferred to an emergency room the next day.After he was pronounced dead on Dec. 21, health authorities conducted further tests to confirm the exact cause of death, which was found to be a Naegleria fowleri infection.This is the first official case of a Naegleria fowleri in

Dec 26, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea reports 1st case of brain-eating amoeba infection
Society

White Christmas unlikely

People walk by a Christmas tree set up in Seoul's shopping district of Myeong-dong, Friday, two days ahead of Christmas Day. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Chances are slim for Korea to see a white Christmas this year, according to the latest forecast from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), which predicts sunny, frigid weather on the holiday. Friday's heavy snowfall which blanketed the western coastal regions, including the Chungcheong provinces, Jeolla provinces and Jeju Island, is expected to continue until the morning of Christmas Eve, which falls on Saturday. Inland regions may see up to 15 centimeters of snow, while the mountainous regions of Jeju may receive up to 30 centimeters. With no precipitation expected for Sunday, Christmas Day will be sunny and freezing, as the ongoing cold snap is likely to persist until the year-end, said the state weather agency.Amid the nationwide cold spell, the morning low plummeted to minus 13.7 degrees Celsius in Seoul on Friday, the coldest weather so far this season. Temperatures in the interior and mountainous regions of Gangwon Province w

Dec 23, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
White Christmas unlikely
  • PHOTOS Coldest day of winter
Health

Experts split over Korea's roadmap to lifting indoor mask mandate

A sign installed in a shopping mall in Seoul, Thursday, reads that visitors are required to wear a face mask inside the store. Yonhap Country may go mask-free from end of January at the earliest: KDCA chiefBy Lee Hyo-jin The government unveiled, Friday, a detailed roadmap on lifting the indoor mask mandate, cautiously predicting that it may be scrapped by the end of January at the earliest. Yet medical experts are still debating whether the country is ready to ditch the indoor mask rule, one of the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions in Korea. While some doctors viewed that masks should now be more of a personal choice, others expressed concerns that the premature lifting of the mandate may put vulnerable groups at risk.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that the relaxation of the mask mandate will come in two phases. In the first phase, masks will no longer be a requirement ― but a recommendation ― in public places except for hi

Dec 23, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Experts split over Korea's roadmap to lifting indoor mask mandate
Health

ANALYSIS How healthcare reform has become President Yoon's policy priority

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea is one of the leading countries in healthcare services. Medical services are widely accessible to the public, thanks to the solid health insurance program, which protects patients from catastrophic medical bills. In the last few years, however, critics have been sounding the alarm over the financial stability of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), as healthcare spending has been on the rise. The annual healthcare expenditures for 2022 are expected to hit a record high of over 100 trillion won, double that of 51 trillion won in 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The NHIS is currently holding 21.2 trillion won in reserves, but the funds are expected to decrease rapidly next year, to a possible deficit of 6.4 trillion won by 2028. In other words, at this pace, the national health insurance program may run out of money in less than six years. Against this backdrop, the health ministry has recently announced reform plans aimed at improving the spending efficiency of the NHIS. It will apply stricter standards on ins

Dec 23, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
[ANALYSIS] How healthcare reform has become President Yoon's policy priority
Society

Night shift mandate for male workers ignites controversy

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The human rights commission is facing a backlash from some men, as well as a ruling party lawmaker, after rejecting a petition calling for a change to the corporate practice of obligating only male employees to work night shifts. The commission said the practice is not seen as discrimination based on gender. As the decision sparked controversy, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) released a statement on Thursday to clarify its position, advising companies to rethink the decades-old practice as it could constitute discrimination against women. Last week, the NHRCK dismissed a petition filed by a male worker at a bank, who complained that only men are forced to undertake night duty at his workplace.The petitioner working at the IT department of NongHyup Bank lodged the complaint in August 2021, claiming that his company's policy of forcing men to work the night shift ― whereas female workers do daytime shifts on holidays and weekends ― is discriminatory.About 14 months later, the NHRCK dismissed the petition, expressing its opinion that t

Dec 22, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Night shift mandate for male workers ignites controversy
Society

More snow and freezing weather to hit nation

A person walks up a path in a mountain park in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea saw temperatures rise above freezing on Wednesday, offering a brief respite from the week-long freezing weather. But a cold snap accompanied by more heavy snow is expected to grip the nation again from Thursday through Christmas Eve.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), daily highs in Seoul rose to four degrees Celsius on Wednesday, but the warmer-than-usual weather will be followed by cold blasts and biting winds starting the next day, with morning lows in the capital expected to plunge to minus nine degrees Celsius. The state weather agency planned to issue a cold wave advisory across Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province, as well as Gangwon Province, at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Friday's weather will be colder, with morning lows at minus 15 degrees and daily highs at minus five degrees in central inland regions. The mercury will be even lower in the mountainous regions of Gangwon Province at minus 21 degrees ― the coldest weather of the season so far. The cold spell

Dec 21, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
More snow and freezing weather to hit nation
  • PHOTOS Heavy snow blankets Korea
Health

Korea urged to prepare for new COVID-19 variants from China

A healthcare worker in protective gear carries yellow bags of medical waste from a clinic in Beijing, Monday. Chinese health authorities on Monday announced two additional COVID-19 deaths, both in the capital Beijing, that were the first reported in weeks and come during an expected surge of illnesses after the nation eased its strict zero-COVID approach. AP-YonhapNext variant likely to emerge in China: expertsBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea should brace for a possible influx of new coronavirus variants from China, says local medical experts, who worry that the neighboring country's abrupt reopening policies could spawn mutations of the virus.After the Chinese government abruptly rolled back its yearslong zero-COVID-19 strategy earlier this month, the nation is currently facing what could possibly be the world's biggest pandemic outbreak. Some scientists project China to see up to one million deaths over the next few months if the authorities fail to flatten the curve.Although the scale of human movements between Korea and China has not fully returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, about 250,000 Chine

Dec 20, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea urged to prepare for new COVID-19 variants from China
  • China races to install hospital beds as COVID surge sparks concern abroad
Health

Health minister reaffirms need for state insurance reforms

Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong speaks during a press conference held in Government Complex Sejong, Monday. Newsis By Lee Hyo-jin Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong reaffirmed the need to reform the national health insurance program in order to enhance its financial sustainability and better provide medical services to people in need.“During the last five years, the expansion of health insurance coverage has led to a tremendous increase in medical expenses (of the state insurance program) in a short period of time. We have seen a ten-fold increase in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnosis expenses,” he said during a press conference, Monday, the first such event since he took office on Oct. 5. His remarks came days after the ministry's announcement on a set of reform measures, intending to overhaul much of the health insurance policies adopted by the previous Moon Jae-in administration. The Moon administration had strengthened the state healthcare

Dec 19, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Health minister reaffirms need for state insurance reforms
Society

Why men are at higher risk of dying alone than women

A resident living in a shanty town in Seoul walks down a corridor, July 25, 2021. The photo above is unrelated to the article. YonhapNumber of men dying alone is 4 times higher than that of women, gov't study showsBy Lee Hyo-jin A rising number of lonely deaths, or “Godoksa” in Korean, has been widely considered as a consequence of the country's rapidly aging population. It was often thought that the unattended deaths, which go unnoticed for days, or even months, usually occur among elderly people who had been cut off from their families, relatives and neighbors for a long time.In Korea, however, this trend seems to be more common in younger groups.A new government study found that a significant number of lonely deaths occur among middle-aged men, rather than the elderly or their female counterparts.According to a report published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Dec. 14, the number of men who died alone was over four times higher than that of women. About 500 women died alone each year between 2018 and 2021, while over 2,000 men did, with the largest figure stand

Dec 19, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Why men are at higher risk of dying alone than women
Society

Cold snap to continue this week

The arrivals hall at Jeju International Airport is crowded with passengers, Sunday. A total of 95 flights, including 51 outbound and 44 inbound ones, were cancelled due to heavy snowfall of up to 30 centimeters on Jeju Island. The nationwide cold spell, accompanied by heavy snow and biting winds, is expected to continue through this week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin A nationwide cold spell accompanied by heavy snow and biting winds, which has sparked travel chaos in many parts of the nation, is expected to continue through this week, according to the state weather agency.The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said morning lows in Seoul plummeted to minus 12 degrees Celsius on Sunday, marking the coldest weather this season, with wind-chill temperatures measured at minus 21 degrees.Other parts of the nation ― including the relatively warm regions on the southern resort island of Jeju ― also saw freezing temperatures between minus 15 and minus one degree.Heavy snow advisories were issued on Saturday in most parts of the nation inclu

Dec 18, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Cold snap to continue this week
  • PHOTOS Cold snap and heavy snow
  • Heavy snow causes flight cancellations, road accidents
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