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Lee Kyung-min

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Health

Gov't struggling to find people in contact with MERS patients

By Lee Kyung-min Government efforts to contain the further spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are facing a roadblock, as it is struggling to locate people who came into contact with a patient confirmed with the disease over the weekend. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Tuesday, the patient, 61, who took a three-week business trip to Kuwait, was confirmed to have been infected with MERS coronavirus (CoV), Saturday, a day after he arrived in Korea on Emirates Airline flight EK 322. Passengers aboard the plane included 115 foreigners.Including the passengers, a total of 408 people came into direct or indirect contact with the man. Another 21 who came into close contact _ within approximately two meters from the patient according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition _ have been quarantined at home or state-designated facilities.The remaining 387 people were instructed to voluntarily report to the health authorities immediately if they experience MERS symptoms such as a fever, coughing and shortness of breath. The KCDC s

Sep 11, 2018By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't struggling to find people in contact with MERS patients
  • People showing MERS-like symptoms will not be immediately quarantined
  • 5 suspected MERS cases test negative
Health

PM calls for 'excessive' precautionary measures on MERS

By Lee Kyung-min Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon called for “excessive” precautionary measures in dealing with a recent case of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Sunday, saying such a response is far better than “belated regret.”Lee presided over an emergency Cabinet meeting of relevant ministers convened to discuss countermeasures against the further spread of MERS. “In 2015, when the country had its first confirmed MERS outbreak that entailed 38 deaths, we as a nation experienced a great fear and frustration over the government's inept, irresponsible measures that fanned distrust among the public. We will not make the same mistake,” he said.“The whole developments should be disclosed to the public in a transparent and swift manner to ensure public safety.” The remarks came a day after a man, who took a three-week business trip to Kuwait, was confirmed to have been infected with MERS coronavirus (CoV), Saturday, a day after he arrived in Seoul. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the m

Sep 9, 2018By Lee Kyung-min
  • First MERS case detected in three years
  • Gov't tracking down 408 people with 'indirect exposure' to MERS patient
  • No vaccines, treatment against MERS yet
Health

Quarantine officials rapped for neglecting suspected MERS patient

By Lee Kyung-min Criticism is mounting against quarantine officials, Sunday, over lax screening procedures at Incheon International Airport after they failed to report a passenger who was later confirmed to have been infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV). Despite the obvious major symptom of MERS _ diarrhea _ exhibited and reported by the patient prior to arrival at the airport, the quarantine authorities let him pass through the procedure. This led to over 20 people being quarantined at home for having come into close contact with him. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the man, 61, whose identity is being withheld, was confirmed to be infected with MERS-CoV, Saturday, a day after returning from a business trip to Al-Zour, Kuwait. While staying there from Aug. 16 through Sept 6, he visited a local medical institution Aug. 28 to treat diarrhea. He returned to Korea after a brief stop at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport at 4:51 p.m. Friday, he underwent immigration an

Sep 9, 2018By Lee Kyung-min
  • First MERS case detected in three years
  • Gov't tracking down 408 people with 'indirect exposure' to MERS patient
South Korea

Non-emergency patients should pay more at ERs

By Lee Kyung-minPatients seeking medical treatment in emergency rooms (ERs) for non-emergency cases such as colds and fevers will have to pay an additional cost of up to 54,830 won ($47) starting this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday.The new rule was introduced to better provide prompt medical care for those who need immediate attention, which is often delayed because of a large number of non-emergency patients.According to a report by the ministry and the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, more than 80 percent of ER visitors are non-emergency patients.Under the revised law, visitors to 140 ERs nationwide will be categorized into five levels according to seriousness of their condition and the possibility of infection. Those categorized with non-emergency conditions can be sent to other hospitals with their consent.So far, National Health Insurance Service has covered the cost for ER use for all visitors, as well as an additional charge for respective patients’ treatment fees. But now, the charge will not be covered for non-emergency patients.The ER use

Dec 31, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Protection centers planned to prevent child abuse

By Lee Kyung-minA child protection center will be set up in each region of the nation to provide prompt medical, welfare and legal assistance for child abuse victims, the government said Wednesday.The government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to establish the centers across the country by merging existing child protection centers with support facilities for victims of sexual violence, called Sunflower Centers.The measures follow a recent case where a man and his live-in girlfriend were arrested in Incheon for abusing and starving his 11-year-old daughter for at least two years. She escaped from the house because she was desperately hungry.“So far, there has been no control tower, but ministries and related agencies formed taskforces for each specific case,” Rep. Shin Yee-jin said. “This was inefficient, so we plan to set up the centers to provide systematic and rapid support for victims.”The control tower will be a cooperative initiative of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Mini

Dec 30, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Abe's wife visiting shrine raises ire

The photo of the entrance of Yasukuni Shrine is posted on the Facebook page of Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after her visit to the shrine, Monday, when Korea and Japan reached an agreement to resolve disputes over Japan’s wartime sexual slavery. / Captured from FacebookBy Lee Kyung-minJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife said she visited the Yasukuni Shrine, Monday, the same day Korea and Japan reached a deal over sexual slavery of Korean and other women, igniting doubts over the sincerity of Japan’s apology.Akie Abe, Japan’s first lady, posted a Facebook update with two photos of the shrine, a national memorial that honors Japan’s 2.46 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.She wrote, “Only a few days are left for the year 2015, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. This is my last visit here this year.”Abe wrote similar posts in May and August. In May’s Facebook post, she wrote that she was “thankful” to be living in a peaceful and prosperous Japan.Her visit drew skept

Dec 29, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Abe's wife visiting shrine raises ire
South Korea

Hatred toward the weak reaches worrisome level

By Lee Kyung-minHatred against women as well as the socially vulnerable has increased in 2015, especially in cyberspace.Experts said that the prolonged economic slump may be one reason for such a tendency, as people suffering from hardships pick easy targets for venting their anger and frustration instead of tackling underlying fundamental social and structural problems.Women have become one such target.Several websites, including DC Inside, have filled with misogynistic comments, where no-holds-barred vulgarity has expanded behind anonymity.On those sites, women were usually called, ”kimchinyeo,” a derogatory term for Korean women, and most of their acts were ridiculed, with only those with pretty faces and nice bodies being complimented.Ajou University sociology professor Noh Myung-woo said that men’s urge to degrade women is triggered by the latter’s increasing academic achievements and better performance in general in society.“Only a few decades ago, women did not directly compete with men at all, but the situation has changed,” he said. &ldquo

Dec 29, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Bill proposed to punish undutiful offspring

By Lee Kyung-minA long-standing controversy in Korean society is whether or not the state should punish ungrateful offspring who neglect or abuse their elderly parents after receiving their assets.A top court ruling Sunday ordered a son to return assets he received from his father for failing to honor a written promise to take care of his parents after the assets were transferred.Both the National Assembly and the Ministry of Justice have moved to revise related laws to provide better protection for senior citizens.Rep. Min Byung-du of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy presented a bill in September that aims to allow parents to cancel the transfer of assets to their offspring if they “abuse or treat parents improperly.”While the current law says parents cannot seek to retrieve assets once a transfer is complete, the proposed revision will allow for this. Moreover, the bill is seeking for financial reparations to be imposed on offspring if they already spent the assets.The bill also seeks to allow law enforcement authorities to launch investigations i

Dec 28, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Show sincerity, former sex slaves urge Japan

By Lee Kyung-minThe victims of Japanese wartime sex slavery have urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit them in order to apologize for the country’s wartime atrocities.They also expressed strong opposition to media reports that the statue of a girl in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, a symbol of Japanese sex slavery atrocities, may be moved.The response comes a day after Japanese news outlets reported that the Korean government was considering moving the statute and that Abe would write a letter of apology. Foreign ministers of the two countries are scheduled to hold talks on Monday in order to resolve the sexual slavery issue.The six victims demanded that Abe visit them, kneel down, and apologize, as former German Chancellor Willy Brandt did in Poland in 1970 in front of a memorial to victims Warsaw ghetto victims, to atone for Germany’s World War II atrocities.  “Abe should come and apologize to us,” Lee Ok-seon, one of the victims, said at a media briefing at a shelter run by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military

Dec 27, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
  • Korea, Japan still poles apart over sex slavery
South Korea

Deoksu Palace stonewall street to be partially car-free

Street along Deoksu Palace to become car-free during daytimeBy Lee Kyung-minTthe Seoul Metropolitan Council said Wednesday that the street running along the stone wall of Deoksu Palace will be made car-free during the day as early as the end of 2016.The council said it and the city government are reviewing plans to ban vehicles from the 310 meter street running from the entrance of the palace and a fountain at the roundabout in front of Chungdong First Methodist Church in Jeong-dong from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.Since September, the city has banned cars there from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on weekdays and held street performances to attract more local and foreign visitors.“During lunchtime, the number of people in the street increased by 5 percent to 5,241 on average from 4,995 before September,” council member Choi Pan-sul said.“We are planning to expand the car-free hours so that visitors can fully enjoy the scenic beauty and cultural assets without being disturbed by traffic. We may begin it at the end of 2016 or early 2017 at the latest.”The city will launch a proj

Dec 23, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
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