South Korea - The Korea Times

50,000 foreigners spent W215 bil. on plastic surgery

By Kim Jae-heunNearly 50,000 foreigners came to Korea last year to get plastic surgery, spending 215 billion won ($1.8 million) on their procedures, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Thursday. The data, revealed by Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea, showed 397,882 foreigners visited the country for medical treatments of all kinds, spending a total 639.9 billion won.The number was down 6.5 percent compared to 2016, and medical spending also dropped by 25.6 percent.However, the number of people receiving plastic surgery increased by 968 to 48,849, making up 12.3 percent of the total.Spending on plastic surgery has quadrupled from 52.5 billion won in 2012 to 215 billion won last year, accounting for 33.6 percent of total medical fees paid by foreign patients.By department, 20.2 percent of foreign patients received treatment in internal medicine, followed by 12.3 percent in plastic surgery, 10.9 percent in dermatology and 9.8 percent who had medical checkups.

Oct 11, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Blind people should be allowed on roller-coasters: court

The T-Express in Everland. / Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoA court has ruled that visually impaired people should be allowed to ride roller-coasters.The Seoul Central District Court ruled Thursday that Everland, a major theme park in Yongin, has to compensate each of three visually challenged customers 2 million won ($1,750) after blocking them from riding its T-Express roller-coaster three years ago.The court also ordered the company to revise its guideline that restricts such people from enjoying some of its rides.“There is little evidence to support the argument that the roller-coaster would be more risky for the plaintiffs than others,” the court said. “Thus, it should be considered an act of discrimination against disabled people.” The three filed a damage suit against the company after they were denied access to the ride in May 2015.Among Everland's 46 rides, disabled people do not have access to three, including the Bumper Car and the T-Express, and they need “guardians” to get access to four others, according to the guideline.

Oct 11, 2018By Jung Min-ho

Blind people should be allowed on roller-coasters: court

Daycare center usage far below gov't 40% target: data

The proportion of children using national and public kindergartens and childcare centers is expected to hover below 40 percent, short of the government's target, official data showed Wednesday.President Moon Jae-in earlier set a goal to expand government support for parents with young children, vowing to more than triple the proportion of infants and toddlers looked after by publicly run centers within his term in office.As part of the effort, the government increased the number of centers by 373 in 2017 and plans to build 450 new centers each year over the next four years. Moon's single five-year term ends in May 2022.The latest numbers, however, showed only 12.9 percent of those eligible using such facilities as of the end of 2017, with figures likely to go up to 15.4 percent in 2018 and reach around 18.3 percent in 2019. This is further estimated to rise to 21.1 percent in 2020, 24.2 percent in 2021 and 27.5 percent in 2022, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data submitted to the National Assembly.Noticeably, 257 newly established centers, or 32.9 percent of the tota

Oct 10, 2018

Daycare center usage far below gov't 40% target: data

Concerns rise over possible spread of red fire ants

Quarantine officials spray pesticides to kill red fire ants that were found in a warehouse in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Monday./ YonhapBy Jung Hae-myoung Quarantine authorities are on alert against the possible spread of foreign red fire ants to inland regions after a swam of the insects was found in a warehouse in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, while they had been found at ports in most previous cases.They have yet to confirm if there was a “queen ant,” which lays up to 1,500 eggs a day, in the swarm, and whether it was exterminated.They received a report at 10:30 a.m. Monday that red fire ants were found in mounds in a container box at an Ansan warehouse of a steam vacuum cleaner manufacturing company.The container contained vacuum cleaners which the company made in China through original equipment manufacturing. The Ansan city government examined the site with the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency and the Ministry of Environment and confirmed there were 5,900 ants. Quarantine officers sprayed pesticides near the container to prevent the spread of the insects and fumigated

Oct 9, 2018

Concerns rise over possible spread of red fire ants

Rural areas see preventable deaths due to lack of medical services

By Kim Hyun-binKorea's national healthcare plan that provides coverage for key diseases has enhanced the country's health. But there are several rural regions that are not able to receive sufficient medical services, where in some cases patients end up on their death beds.The nation's medical services gap has been widening between big cities and rural areas, according to government statistics. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's (MOHW) 2017 medical treatment report, most of the high-quality healthcare resources are concentrated in metropolitan areas, creating a wider gap with rural regions. The number of people who would not have died if treated in North Chungcheong Province was 58.5 per 100,000 people, while that in Seoul was 44.6, meaning the amenable mortality rate (AMR), which is preventable death when treated, of North Chungcheong Province was 31 percent higher than Seoul's.Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province had a 3.6 times higher AMR than Gangnam District in Seoul, which is one of the richest districts in the capital _ Yeongyang had 107.8 per 100,000 pe

Oct 8, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Microplastics threaten dinner table in Korea

Fragments of microplastics were found in four types of seafood ― oyster, mussel, Manila clam, and scallop ― according to a study by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology. /YonhapBy Jung Hae-myoung Korea has been struggling to ban plastic use at cafes and restaurants, but even without plastic cups or straws, the material is already on the table, in an invisible way. Recent studies have shown that microplastics are in seafood and even in salt. Microplastics are small plastic debris, less than 5 millimeters long, according to the definition by the U.S. National Ocean Service. Usually decomposed from disposed of plastic objects, they can be harmful to the oceans and aquatic life. According to research on food safety management, conducted by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology last year, 14 different kinds of microplastics were found in mussels, scallops and four types of clams, sold at seafood markets in Seoul, Gwangju and Busan. In 100 grams of Manila clams, there were 34 microplastics and 12 each were found in mussels and scallops. Microplastics can origin

Oct 7, 2018

Microplastics threaten dinner table in Korea

Child abuse cases soar twelvefold over four years

“Child abuse . . . not only violates the freedom and rights of children, but also puts out the light for our country's future.” YonhapBy Lee Min-youngThe number of child abuse cases in Korea has increased twelvefold over the past four years.According to Justice Ministry data revealed Sunday, the number of cases reported to the prosecution last year was 5,456, as against 459 in 2013.Of the people investigated last year, 626 were indicted.As of July this year, child abuse cases reported to police stood at 3,298. If this pace continues, the number is likely to surpass last year's total by the end of the year.Early this year, Rep. Chae Yi-bai of the minor opposition Barunmirae Party proposed a bill requiring anyone who witnesses such a crime to report it to police. The bill is still pending.“Child abuse is a serious crime that not only violates the freedom and rights of children, but also puts out the light for our country's future," Chae said. "There is an urgent need to improve the current reporting system.”

Oct 7, 2018By Lee Min-young

Child abuse cases soar twelvefold over four years

Facts and rumors about MERS

By Kim Hyun-binFears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak has resurfaced for the first time in three years after a 61-year-old man contracted the virus during a business trip to Kuwait earlier this month. The man came into contact with over 400 people including those on the plane, and had close contact with 21 of them _ flight attendants, passengers in the seats around him, immigration officials and medical staff. They are being monitored and have to report to the quarantine authorities about their everyday condition, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).Unlike the first outbreak in 2015, which resulted in 38 deaths and infections of 186 people, the second outbreak has been well contained so far, with most of those coming into close contact testing negative for the disease.The first outbreak had a far worse outcome as the government lacked knowledge about the disease and consequently the knowhow on suitable quarantine measures.Since then, measures have been enhanced to help prevention of any future outbreaks of the virus.To better in

Oct 5, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Korea to revise health insurance for foreigners

South Korean authorities said Thursday they are pushing to revise relevant laws governing the management of state health insurance schemes amid growing criticism that some foreigners are taking advantage of the system.By law, South Koreans are required to join the system, and foreigners living in South Korea can also subscribe and enjoy its benefits. The number of people who are covered by the National Health Insurance system was 52.43 million at the end of 2017.So far, there have been cases in which foreigners entered the country and joined the system by paying a small amount in insurance fees with the aim of getting high-cost treatments.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it is planning to enforce relevant laws that require foreigners to stay in the country at least six months in order to benefit from the system, up from the previous requirement of three months.The revision is forecast to be enforced by the end of December at the latest, the officials said. (Yonhap)

Oct 4, 2018

Korea to revise health insurance for foreigners

Korean adoptee on journey to find birth parents

Zum-lye Incontrera and her daughter Gea Di Lorenzo in Seoul last week / Korea Times photo by Jung Min-hoBy Jung Min-hoThe scars on Zum-lye Incontrera's right forearm and right footZum-lye Incontrera was two years old when she was adopted from Korea to Italy. More than 40 years later, she has returned to the land of her birth for the first time.“I felt it was time to find the missing part of myself,” Incontrera, now 45, said in an interview in Seoul last week. “For my whole life I tried to ignore it and convince myself that it wasn't important. But the question about my roots kept coming back to me."“I felt that I needed to find my birth parents, or at least try it, to make a break from the past and move forward.”She was found abandoned at Busan Station on Aug. 18, 1974. A piece of paper placed next to her said she was born on Oct. 28, 1972, and her name was Kim Zum-lye. Later, she was moved to a center for abandoned children at Boseong in South Jeolla Province. For a while, she was cared for by a foster family before being put up for adoption.She was eve

Oct 4, 2018By Jung Min-ho

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