South Korea - The Korea Times

Working overtime reduces married women's pregnancy chances

By Kim Hyun-binEven one hour of overtime a week reduces the chances of pregnancy among married women while night and weekend shifts also lower single women's chances of getting married, a study showed, Tuesday. Experts say enhancing the working conditions of women is crucial in increasing the country's marriage and birthrate. According to a report titled “Reasons behind Korea's low birthrate and economic effects” released by the National Assembly Budget Office, if one hour is added to a married woman's weekly working hours, it decreases the chance of her getting pregnant within a year by 0.34 percentage points.The study excluded other conditions including age, education background and income from the equation.When the woman is a worker at assistant manager level or lower, the extra one hour of work a week reduces her chance of pregnancy by 0.43 percentage points, and in the case of a woman's first pregnancy attempt, the rate fell by 1 percentage point.The report was based on a survey from 2007 to 2014 on women's working conditions, promotions, work-life balance and decisi

Oct 30, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Calls grow for stern punishment for domestic violence

By Jung Hae-myoung Current government measures against domestic violence fail to punish the offenders and cannot protect the victims, women's rights activists said Monday. Dozens of members from the Korea Women's Hot Line (KWHL), as well as some domestic violence survivors, urged law enforcement authorities to sternly punish domestic violence offenders during a press conference in downtown SeoulThe conference was triggered by a case where a man murdered his ex-wife in an apartment parking lot in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, Oct. 22. According to his daughters, the man had been abusing the ex-wife and them for 25 years. The KWHL said police mismanagement of domestic violence cases and the courts' lenient rulings resulted in the killing. “In a 2013 report by the National Police Agency, 57.9 percent of police officers said domestic violence should be handled within the family, and 35 percent said there was nothing they could do,” said Ko Mi-kyoung, a representative of the KWHL. “Victims are dying at the hands of their male partners because of the poor awareness of t

Oct 29, 2018

Calls grow for stern punishment for domestic violence

Korea sees drastic surge in syphilis patients

By Kim Hyun-binAlarms are sounding for health officials in the country as there has been a drastic surge in the number of people diagnosed with syphilis in recent years. Syphilis is a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) which causes long-term complications and even death when not treated properly.According to data released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), there were 776 syphilis patients in 2013, but that number jumped nearly threefold within half a decade to 2,138 patients in 2017.People in their 20s accounted for 37 percent of all syphilis infections last year with 787, the age group with the largest number of patients, up from 258 in 2013.Over the same period, the number of people in their 30s diagnosed with the disease also rose from 186 to 499, in their 40s from 138 to 322, and in their 60s from eight to 116.Military data also shows the number of soldiers diagnosed with syphilis rose from 38 in 2013 to 201 in 2017. The KCDC has begun educating new enlistees about better prevention and early detection of STDs.“The average marriage age is gettin

Oct 28, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Korea sees drastic surge in syphilis patients

'Luncheon Meat' taken off shelves over bacteria scare

Daesang will recall “Luncheon Meat”-branded canned hams after some were found to contain toxic bacteria. / YonhapBy Lee Min-young, Park Si-soo Korean food maker Daesang has decided to recall its “Luncheon Meat”-branded canned hams after some were found to be contaminated with toxic bacteria. The decision came after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Tuesday the brand's sample products failed a bacteria test. It ordered the company to recall Luncheon Meat products made on May 17, 2016, with a shelf life that will expire on May 15, 2019. As a precaution, Daesang decided to remove all Luncheon Meat products from retailers' shelves across the country. A reimbursement for customers is also under way. “We conducted a bacteria test after receiving a complaint from customers,” a ministry official said. “And bacteria was found in unopened sample products. To pass the test, it should have been bacteria free.” The ministry did not give details of the bacteria. Daesang apologized Wednesday, saying it would discontinue production and sales

Oct 25, 2018By Lee Min-young

'Luncheon Meat' taken off shelves over bacteria scare

International nursing chief to speak to Korean nurses

By Jung Min-hoAnnette KennedyInternational Council of Nurses (ICN) President Annette Kennedy will visit Korea next week to meet the country's future nursing leaders.The Korean Nurses Association (KNA) said Thursday that Kennedy will give a speech in front of 150 nurses and nursing students about “challenges and opportunities for young nurses,” at a National Assembly meeting room at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31.Event host Rep. Yoon Jong-pil of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party invited her.The Irish native has been the ICN's leader since June 2017. Previously, she served four years as its vice president and chief of the European Federation of Nurses.The ICN is a federation of 133 national nurses' associations. Headquartered in Geneva, it aims to improve the status of nurses and influence international and domestic health policies. The KNA has been a member since 1949.

Oct 25, 2018By Jung Min-ho

International nursing chief to speak to Korean nurses

Korea's childbirths continue to decline in August

The number of newborns in South Korea fell again in August, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign of the chronically low birthrate that has plagued Asia's fourth-largest economy for more than a decade.About 27,300 babies were born in August, down 9.3 percent from 30,100 tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.In the first eight months of the year, the number of newborns fell 8.7 percent on-year to 226,000, official numbers showed.The number of childbirths per month has decreased on-year every month since December 2015.Last year, the number of newborns dropped to a record low despite concerted efforts to tackle the problem.The number of babies born in all of 2017 reached 357,771, down 11.9 percent, or 48,500, from a year earlier.That figure was the lowest number of newborns tallied since the statistics agency started to compile such data in 1970.The crude birthrate, which refers to the number of births per 1,000 people per year, also came to an all-time low of 7 last year, down from the previous year's 7.9.In addition, the total fertil

Oct 24, 2018

Korea's childbirths continue to decline in August

'Uncontrolled anger' prevalent in Korea

Kim Seong-soo, a murder suspect who allegedly killed a part-time worker at an internet cafe in a sudden fit of rage, is escorted out of Yangcheon Police Station in southwestern Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunMore Koreans are failing to control their temper with statistics showing nearly one person a day is killed by an assailant who has lost control of themselves. According to the National Police Agency, 401 out of 914 murder cases last year, or 43.9 percent, were the result of uncontrolled rage. Of them, 357 were a result of an immediate loss of control while the other 44 were through accumulated anger.A recent “internet cafe murder” is a possible example of this. The 29-year-old suspect, Kim Seong-soo, stabbed a 21-year-old part-time worker to death over what he claims was improper treatment he received at the internet cafe. Kim and the worker had a scuffle after he demanded a refund of the 1,000 won computer use fee claiming poor service. He then went to his nearby home, returned with a knife and committed the brutal crime.He said he was angry at not receiving t

Oct 23, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

'Smoking pot abroad could be punished'

By Kim Hyun-binThe government is warning South Koreans to stay away from marijuana when visiting or studying abroad in Canada as it could result in criminal charges when re-entering the country.The statements come as Canada recently legalized marijuana for recreational use and people over age 18 or 19 depending on the province are allowed to smoke and purchase the substance.Canadians will be allowed to purchase pot via online or mail and even grow the plant.However, the legalization only applies to Canadians and other nationalities there. South Koreans who are caught smoking the drug will be punished under their country's law. Under the current law, marijuana is categorized as a drug along with dangerous narcotics and psychotomimetic agents. Excluding certain verified medical officials, selling, possessing and transporting marijuana is punishable by law.When caught in Korea, one can be sentenced to up to five years in prison or fined up to 50 million won ($44,000).“If someone is caught smoking abroad or brings marijuana into the country, they will be punished the same way as if they

Oct 22, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Medical disputes by foreign patients on rise; 247 cases in 2017

A total of 810 medical disputes involving foreign patients were registered with a local arbitration agency over the last six years, government data showed Monday.According to the data by the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency and submitted to the National Assembly, 247 cases were registered with the agency in 2017 by foreigners seeking assistance or consultation, up from 111 in 2013. A total of 125 cases were registered this year.By nationality, 538 cases were registered by Chinese patients, accounting for 66.4 percent of the total, followed by 72 cases by Americans, 41 by Vietnamese and 22 by Mongolians, the data showed.The data showed that 132 cases were made against plastic surgery, followed by 70 against orthopedics, 60 against obstetrics and 55 against dental clinics.Experts and lawmakers have called on the government to provide wider support during dispute processes as part of a wide range of measures to enhance the safety and convenience for an increasing number of foreign tourists coming to South Korea for medical services."It is necessary to come up with

Oct 22, 2018

Medical disputes by foreign patients on rise; 247 cases in 2017

Police warning: Korean weed smokers in Canada to face criminal charges

A Toronto woman smokes a bong on the day Canada legalized recreational marijuana on Oct. 17. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoKorean police have warned Korean residents in Canada not to smoke marijuana, saying those who ignore the warning could face criminal charges when they return to their home country.Yoon Se-jin, head of the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division at Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, warned earlier this week that smoking pot is treated as a serious offense here and Korean smokers, subject to the laws of their country, could face up to five years in prison.“Weed smokers will be punished according to the Korean law, even if they did so in countries where smoking marijuana is legal. There won't be an exception,” he said.Last week, Canada became the second country to legalize weed for recreational use. Only Uruguay in South America did so earlier. (Despite its reputation for being open and liberal, the Netherlands has not legalized it fully.)So Canada's move is drawing extensive attention from many countries that must figure out the legality of marijuana issues

Oct 22, 2018By Jung Min-ho

Police warning: Korean weed smokers in Canada to face criminal charges

Korea reports 300% surge in pot smuggling from North America

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