South Korea - The Korea Times

No. of traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers on a steady rise

The number of a fatal car accidents caused by drivers who are 65 or older is on s steady rise. gettyimagesbankA fatal traffic accident in Seoul caused by a driver in his 90s has rekindled a heated debate about drivers of advanced age getting behind the wheel. On Tuesday evening, a sport utility vehicle driven by a 96-year-old man, identified only by the surname Yoo, ran over and killed a 30-year-old pedestrian in front of a hotel in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, police said Wednesday.The SUV collided with a passenger sedan while backing out of the hotel's underground parking lot before hitting the pedestrian at around 6:20 p.m., police said.The pedestrian, identified only by the surname Lee, was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead immediately, they added.Last December, a driver in his 70s mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake and drove his car into a hamburger shop in Busan.On Nov. 3 last year, a car driven by a man in his 70s smashed into a hospital in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, after the driver stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake while in the hospital'

Feb 13, 2019

No. of traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers on a steady rise

1st for-profit hospital on verge of closing

An aerial photo of the Greenland International Medical Center on Jeju Island / Courtesy of the Greenland International Medical CenterBy Kim Hyun-binThe nation's first for-profit hospital is on the verge of shutting down even before its grand opening, as it has no doctors to provide medical services amid a controversy over the scope of its service recipients.Amid the controversy, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial government may face tens of billions of won in damages from the hospital's investor.On Dec. 5, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Government conditionally approved an operating license for the Greenland International Medical Center, under the condition it only cater for foreign patients.Under the country's Medical Services Law, the hospital is obliged to open before March 4, 90 days after gaining approval from the local government. If the hospital fails to start providing medical services by that date, its license can be revoked after a public hearing.Initially, the hospital hired 134 staff including nine doctors, 28 nurses, 10 nursing assistants and 18 inter

Feb 11, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

1st for-profit hospital on verge of closing

INTERVIEW We're close to ending FGM: model-turned-activist Waris Dirie

Waris Dirie talks about her activity to eradicate female genital mutilation, during an interview with The Korea Times at a lounge in the Lotte Hotel World in eastern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Sunhak Peace PrizeModel-turned-activist Waris Dirie receives Sunhak Peace Prize in KoreaBy Lee Suh-yoonOver the years, former supermodel Waris Dirie has received many awards for her work on eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM) in East Africa. But she says the Sunhak Peace Prize, which she received in Korea on Saturday, is special. “It's a peace prize. Peace means a lot to my life,” Dirie said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Thursday. “Also, I'm receiving it in Korea, a conflict zone just a few miles from North Korea which needs freedom and peace.”Dirie, 54, a supermodel who has starred in Chanel ads and a Bond movie, started her fight against FGM in 1997, after publicly disclosing she had undergone it as a child in Somalia, her birth nation. Her activism led her to become a writer, a film producer and the first U.N. Special Ambassador for the El

Feb 10, 2019

[INTERVIEW] We're close to ending FGM: model-turned-activist Waris Dirie

'High-risk mothers must have additional prenatal tests'

By Kim Hyun-binChung, 35, is in her fourth year of marriage and hopes to give birth to her first child this year. However, worries are on the rise as she was recently deemed to be in the high-risk pregnancy category.The Korean government places women over 35 in this category and more prenatal tests are recommended. In this year of the golden pig, many couples are hoping to have their first child. But pregnancies do not always go as planned, more so for women over 35. Experts advise women to follow healthy regimes to increase the chances of becoming pregnant.Conduct prenatal tests to find right pregnancy periodPrenatal tests check a woman's health and for any diseases that could cause birth defects, and can indicate the right time to become pregnant. Women also usually receive cervical cancer tests, ultrasounds and blood and urine tests. If the results show the woman does not have rubella or hepatitis B immunity, doctors urge them to get vaccinated.“When a woman is over 35, there tends to be higher risks and poor pregnancy results, including fetus chromosome problems, high blood

Feb 10, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

'High-risk mothers must have additional prenatal tests'

Mother repays son's heart transplant with organ donation

By Kang Seung-wooA woman whose son had received a heart transplant donated her organs late last month after her death, saving three lives.Kim Choon-heeAccording to the Korea Organ Donation Agency, Kim Choon-hee, 42, who lived in Daejeon with her husband and two children, gave her liver, intestine and both kidneys to three patients whose own organs were failing. Kim had been brain-dead due to an unexpected accident.Her donation is drawing more attention because one of her family members was a recipient of an organ transplant.In March 2018, her son ― a high school student who was battling a rare heart disease ― received a heart transplant, and he has since recovered.Placed in the totally opposite situation from a year ago, Kim's family decided to donate her organs to those who desperately need them, following her wishes.According to her family, Kim would say she wanted to donate her organs if there was a chance. “We experienced the significance of organ donation following the heart transplant for our son. It would be by far better if her donation could give the same experience to

Feb 7, 2019By Kang Seung-woo

Mother repays son's heart transplant with organ donation

Texas man dies after e-cigarette explodes in mouth

William Brown's death marks the second recent death from an exploding e-cigarette among thousands of injuries and burns. The person and the device in the photo are unrelated to the story. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoA Texas man has died from serious injuries after the e-cigarette he was using exploded in his mouth.According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, William Brown, 24, died at a Fort Worth hospital on Jan. 29 (local time) after shards of metal from the exploding device dissected his left carotid artery.The explosion happened in the parking lot of a vape shop near Beach and Golden Triangle in Fort Worth.Brown reportedly did not buy anything, but wanted help using a Mechanical Mod style vape pen ― a model known to have issues.“When they X-rayed him, they found the stem, the metal embedded where the blood flows up to the brain,” Brown's grandmother, Alice Brown, told WFAA News.“I miss him already, and knowing he won't open that door and come through it ever again is the hardest part.”According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were nearly 200 s

Feb 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho

Texas man dies after e-cigarette explodes in mouth

South Korea completes vaccinating animals against foot-and-mouth disease

A farm in Buk District, Gwangju, 266 kilometers south of Seoul, where cows were vaccinated on Thursday to prevent a further spread of foot-and-mouth disease. YonhapThe government has completed emergency vaccinations of cows and pigs nationwide to prevent a further spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) during the Lunar New Year's holiday, officials said Sunday.Authorities have also culled more than 2,000 cows, the most in eight years, as they step up quarantine efforts following two confirmed cases last week.The agriculture ministry said it had vaccinated 1,340 cows and pigs nationwide and disinfected about 86,000 farms and related facilities."It takes time for antibodies to form despite the vaccinations," Agriculture Minister Lee Gae-ho said. "I ask provincial governments and quarantine officials to mobilize all available sources to focus on disinfection during the holiday."Last week the government called for cooperation in curbing the spread of FMD, with millions of people expected to travel nationwide for the Lunar New Year holiday.The government raised its alert level against the

Feb 3, 2019

South Korea completes vaccinating animals against foot-and-mouth disease

Gov't going all-out to tackle spread of FMD

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Lee Gae-ho, right, announces the government's measures against the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, Friday. Left is Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooAmid growing signs of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the government vowed, Friday, to seek the strongest-ever preventive measures against the highly contagious virus.“We have taken prompt countermeasures including immediate culling and issuing travel regulations as soon as we received reports on suspected FMD cases,” Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Lee Gae-ho said in a press briefing at Seoul Government Complex, adding the ministry also distributed vaccines to vulnerable regions. Lee was accompanied by Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum.On Thursday, the government issued the second-highest alert in the country's animal disease control system, which stipulates a travel ban on people and vehicles involved in the livestock business where outbreaks have been confirmed.It banned the travel of people and vehicles from all animal farms through

Feb 1, 2019By Kang Seung-woo

Gov't going all-out to tackle spread of FMD

New suspected FMD case reported in North Chungcheong

Cows at a "hanwoo” or premium Korean beef cattle farm are vaccinated Wednesday. YonhapAnother suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was found in North Chungcheong Province, the government said Thursday, fueling concerns over the spread of the highly contagious animal disease.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said a "hanwoo" beef cattle farm in Chungju, 147 kilometers from Seoul, reported a possible case of FMD to authorities. Hanwoo is a kind of premium Korean beef.If confirmed, it would be the third farm to be infected with FMD this year.The farm has 11 hanwoo beef cattle, with one showing symptoms of FMD, including drooling.Authorities are carrying out a detailed examination, with test results due later in the day.Earlier this week, the ministry confirmed two cases of FMD in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul.An FMD case was first verified at a dairy cow farm in Anseong on Monday, with another case reported a day later at a hanwoo beef cattle farm. The two farms are 10 kilometers apart.On Wednesday, the ministry said the

Jan 31, 2019

New suspected FMD case reported in North Chungcheong

Quarantine authorities on high alert as FMD breaks out ahead of Lunar New Year holiday

Quarantine officers spray disinfectant at a cattle farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak was confirmed the previous day, the first outbreak this year. / YonhapBy Jung Hae-myoungQuarantine authorities have been on alert after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed Monday evening at a cattle farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, the first of the year.Another cattle farm nearby also reported a suspected case Tuesday, which the authorities later confirmed. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting with related agencies later in the day to discuss the situation and measures to ensure the disease does not spread during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts Saturday. The majority of the Korean population is expected to travel across the country to their hometowns during the holiday.“We have to take rapid and pre-emptive early response measures,” Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said. “The Lunar New Year holiday begins in three days, and people will travel around the country. If we fail to b

Jan 29, 2019By Kim Rahn

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