South Korea - The Korea Times

Lawmaker proposes bill to ban smoking while walking

A lawmaker has proposed a new bill to ban smoking while walking to protect pedestrians from secondhand cigarette smoke. Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoSmoking while walking would be banned in Korea if a new bill passes into law.Rep. Hwang Ju-hong of the minor liberal Party for Democracy and Peace proposed a bill early this month to ban smoking on virtually all public roads and walkways.If the National Assembly passes the bill, violators would be fined 100,000 won ($90).“Non-smokers are often exposed to tobacco smoke because of some inconsiderate smokers,” Hwang said. “Public opinion is in favor of banning smoking while walking.” Korea has already banned smoking in most restaurants, offices and public venues such as parks.Smokers opposed to the bill complain that there are not enough smoking rooms. According to the Seoul Institute's study in 2017, the number of public smoking rooms in the city with a population of 10 million people was only 10,000.

Feb 20, 2019By Jung Min-ho

Lawmaker proposes bill to ban smoking while walking

Imports of medical cannabis to be allowed from March

Government will allow medical cannabis to be imported for self-treatment purposes starting next month. / GettyimagebankBy Kim Jae-heunThe government will allow medical cannabis to be imported for self-treatment purposes starting next month.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Tuesday, the revised law related to medical marijuana will take effect March 12 to allow more treatment options for patients with rare diseases.Under the new regulations, medicines with marijuana content, which have been approved overseas for medical treatment, will be brought in through the Korea Orphan & Essential Drug Center. Patients with rare or incurable diseases can buy four types of therapeutic cannabis commercially available in the United States and Europe through the center when there is no other treatment available here.However, unlicensed medicines or food using marijuana, hemp oil and marijuana extracts will still be banned from the import list. To obtain the medicine, the patients will have to submit several documents to the MFDS including their medical records, and a presc

Feb 19, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Imports of medical cannabis to be allowed from March

Gov't under fire for 'China-style' internet censorship

The Korean government is struggling to convince critics that it is not seeking more control over the internet. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoThe Korean government is under massive criticism after blocking access to hundreds of porn and gambling sites by opening up user data packets ― a method some people believe opened the door to China-style internet censorship.The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), an internet censorship body, said on Feb. 11 that it had blocked access to 895 overseas-based websites with “harmful” content, including Pornhub, the world's largest porn site.While doing so, the KCSC said it used Server Name Indication (SNI), which allows one IP address to serve multiple domain names over https.The move sparked controversy among many people, including computer scientists, over how much control the government should have for the right balance between protecting victims of “revenge porn” ― a big factor behind the measure ― and internet freedom.On the Cheong Wa Dae website, a petition against the new rule has garnered nearly 250,000 si

Feb 19, 2019By Jung Min-ho

Gov't under fire for 'China-style' internet censorship

For-profit hospital sues Jeju government over local patients ban

A photo of Greenland International Medical Center, the country's first for-profit hospital set up on Jeju Island / Courtesy of Jeju Free International City Development CenterBy Kim Hyun-binThe nation's first for-profit hospital has filed a lawsuit against the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Government for limiting its medical services to only foreign patients.With the move, the chances of Greenland International Medical Center opening as scheduled on March 4 are getting slimmer.According to the local government, Sunday, the investor in the hospital, the Shanghai-based Greenland Group, filed an administrative litigation suit Feb. 14, demanding the local government cancel its ban on offering treatment to Korean patients.“On Dec. 5, 2018, the provincial government approved the operating license but its condition to limit the services to foreign patients visiting Jeju Island is illegal,” the group said in its petition submitted to the Jeju District Court.The lawsuit was expected as the hospital indicated it would take the local government to court after it received con

Feb 18, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

For-profit hospital sues Jeju government over local patients ban

Korea's 1st for-profit hospital files suit to repeal ban on domestic patients

Greenland International Medical Center on Jeju Island. Korea Times fileThe Greenland International Medical Center, conditionally approved last year as South Korea's first for-profit hospital, has recently filed an administrative lawsuit to have a condition of its operation revoked, officials said Monday.In the suit filed by its holding company, Greenland Holdings Corporation Ltd., with the Jeju District Court on Feb. 14, the medical center said that it is illegal for the government of Jeju to ban it from treating domestic patients.The Greenland medical center received the final approval from the Jeju provincial government as South Korea's first for-profit hospital on Dec. 5 last year, putting an end to 16 years of controversy over the introduction of investor-owned medical institutions.However, the approval was given on the condition that the hospital cater only to foreign patients. Its Chinese investor, the Shanghai-based Greenland Group, has protested the ban on South Korean patients.The Greenland medical center's holding company insisted in the lawsuit that it is unlawful to limit

Feb 18, 2019

Korea's 1st for-profit hospital files suit to repeal ban on domestic patients

The more cigarettes you smoke, the more your chance of becoming obese

By Kim Hyun-binLosing weight and quitting smoking are two of the most common New Year resolutions. However, it is commonly known that in the process of quitting smoking, a person's appetite increase, which tends to lead to a weight gain. Does a person really gain weight when trying to quit smoking or is it just a misconception?Many experts say quitting smoking makes people healthier and does not lead to a weight gain.Once a person quits smoking for a certain period of time, his or her body returns to the state similar to that of a non-smoker.When a person quits smoking for around a month, there is a reduction in appetite and weight as well as enhanced exercise capability.Quitting smoking harder for obese peoplePeople trying to quit smoking need to be aware that when quitting just for a short period, they could actually gain weight as a lack of nicotine increases appetite and people tend to indulge in more snacks to replace their nicotine cravings. There is a correlation between obesity and smoking. Obese people have a stronger craving for cigarettes compared to the average person, wh

Feb 17, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

The more cigarettes you smoke, the more your chance of becoming obese

More Koreans embrace homosexuality?

In this July 15 file photo, a Seoul Queer Parade participant who claims to support the Rael movement ― a UFO religion that teaches life on Earth was created by an extraterrestrial species ― offers a free hug at Seoul Plaza. Korea Times fileThe portion of South Koreans who are opposed to homosexuality fell below 50 percent for the first time, a report showed Sunday, in an indication of Koreans' growing openness to sexual minorities.In a 2018 poll of 8,000 Korean adults, 49 percent said that they cannot accept homosexuals, down from 57.2 percent tallied in 2017, according to the Korea Institute of Public Administration.Koreans opposing homosexuality accounted for 62.1 percent in 2013 and has been since on the decline.Last year was the first time that corresponding data fell below 50 percent, the agency added.In terms of the tendency for minority exclusion, Korean women were less accepting than men of criminals, homosexuals, North Korean defectors and immigrants.For Korean men, they showed less openness toward physically challenged people and children of single parent families.As politi

Feb 17, 2019

Controversies brewing over abortion following gov't survey

Controversies are rising over whether to fully legalize abortion after a government survey showed that many women supported the plan. YonhapControversy was ignited Friday over whether to fully legalize abortion after a government survey showed that many women had opted to end their pregnancies due to socio-economic reasons.On Thursday, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released a survey on 10,000 women aged between 15 and 44, the first nationwide fact-finding survey on abortion in eight years.Under South Korean law, abortions are illegal unless there are extenuating circumstances such as the unborn baby posing a serious health risk to the mother, or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.The survey showed that the abortion rate reached 4.8 abortions per every 1,000 women in 2017, compared with 29.3 in 2005 and 15.8 in 2010.It said 46.9 percent of women who opted to end their pregnancies were unmarried, followed by 37.9 percent for married women and 13 percent of women in cohabitation relationships.The survey also showed that 33.4 percent of the respondents said

Feb 16, 2019

Controversies brewing over abortion following gov't survey

Constitutional Court to rule on abortion on April 4

20% of pregnant women have abortions: survey

ㄴMembers of women's groups hold a performance at a square in Seoul in this September photo, to call for the abolishment of a law that punishes women who have abortions. Korea Times fileBy Jung Hae-myoungAround 20 percent of Korean women who get pregnant have abortions, according to a government survey, Thursday.The Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) announced the result of the survey, which it conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on 10,000 women aged between 15 and 44 online from September to October.It was the third government survey on abortion, an illegal practice here ― except in certain life-threatening circumstances and in the cases of rape and incest ― but widely conducted secretly. Previous surveys were conducted in 2005 and 2010.Among the 10,000 respondents, about 38 percent, or 3,792 women, had got pregnant at least once, and 19.9 percent of them, or 756, had an abortion, according to the survey.At the time of the abortion, 46.9 percent were unmarried, 37.9 percent were married, and 13 percent were living with their partners out of we

Feb 14, 2019

20% of pregnant women have abortions: survey

Constitutional Court to rule on anti-abortion law (ruling from 2 p.m.)

20% of smartphone users 'addicted at dangerous levels' - even kids

By Park Si-soo Nearly one in five smartphone users in South Korea is addicted to their device at “dangerous levels,” a study revealed on Wednesday. What is worrisome is the ever-increasing portion of preschoolers.Boys are more vulnerable than girls, and children of working parents have a higher addiction risk than those from families with a single breadwinner, according to the study. More seniors also find it hard to live without a smartphone, it discovered. Those addicted at “dangerous levels” find it “difficult to have a normal life at home, school or work because of their out-of-control use of smartphones,” the study's organizers, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency, said. The two organizations surveyed 28,575 smartphone users aged three-69 last year, with a margin of error of plus/minus 0.46 percent at a 95 percent confidence levelNineteen percent were found to be in the dangerous addiction zone, up from 18.6 percent in 2017 and 17.8 percent in 2016. The increase was driven by addicts in their 10s and 60s

Feb 13, 2019

Health