my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Health

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Coffee to be banned from school vending machines

By Kim Hyun-binSelling coffee will be banned in all elementary, middle and high schools nationwide starting mid-September.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Tuesday, the special act on managing children's diets has been revised to ban coffee at schools, and is scheduled to take effect Sept. 14.“The revision aims to create healthy eating habits among children and teenagers,” a ministry official said. “We will make sure coffee is banned at schools without fail.”Under the current law, products high in calories or caffeine, or low in nutrition are restricted or banned at schools, including coffee milk products. But coffee has been classified as an adult beverage and has been sold in school vending machines and snack shops for teachers to consume.However, with the revision, all coffee products will be unavailable, even for teachers.“We have notified schools of the coffee ban across the nation through cooperation with the education ministry,” the official said. The ministry said too much caffeine consumption can cause dizziness, a rapid h

Aug 28, 2018
Coffee to be banned from school vending machines

Crimes by elderly on sharp rise

By Kim Hyun-binCrimes committed by the elderly have been rising sharply in recent years along with the increasing number of senior citizens in this aging country. Notably, compared with the past when most unlawful acts by the elderly were conducted by those in the low-income bracket in hopes to improve their livelihood, the number of felonies such as rape and murder has been increasing as of late.Last week, a 77-year-old man fired a shotgun at residents and civil servants at a community center in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, killing two and injuring one. He allegedly did so out of anger after he had an argument with neighbors and the civil servants did not actively respond to his petitions.In July, a 75-year-old man stabbed his 40-year-old son to death out of anger as the son was unemployed and an alcoholic. In April, a 69-year-old woman poured pesticide into a soup during a village gathering as retaliation for her neighbors' alleged mistreatment of her. The rise in elderly crimes is significant as the total number of felonies committed by other age groups has been on the decl

Aug 28, 2018
Crimes by elderly on sharp rise

Selling coffee banned at schools from Sept. 14

By Kim Hyun-binSelling coffee will be banned in all elementary, middle and high schools nationwide starting mid-September.According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Tuesday, the special act on managing children's diets has been revised to ban coffee at schools, and is scheduled to take effect Sept. 14.“The revision aims to create healthy eating habits among children and teenagers,” a ministry official said. “We will make sure coffee is banned at schools without fail.”Under the current law, products high in calories or caffeine, or low in nutrition are restricted or banned at schools, including coffee milk products. But coffee has been classified as an adult beverage and has been sold in school vending machines and snack shops for teachers to consume.However, with the revision, all coffee products will be unavailable, even for teachers.“We have notified schools of the coffee ban across the nation through cooperation with the education ministry,” the official said. The ministry said too much caffeine consumption can cause dizziness, a rapid h

Aug 28, 2018
Selling coffee banned at schools from Sept. 14

South Korea confirms outbreak of African swine fever

African swine fever virus has been confirmed in foods brought in from China early this month, but the possibility of its spread is low because the foods were cooked, officials said Monday.Minister Hong Nam-ki, chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, made the remark during an interagency meeting held to discuss preventive measures following the discovery of a gene of the virus in dumplings and other foods brought in on Aug. 3 on a flight from the Chinese city of Shenyang, one of the regions affected by the virus."As the result of an antigen test on the livestock products brought in by a tourist to China, it has been confirmed to be African swine fever," Hong said at the start of the meeting. "It will take a few more day to confirm the exact strain of the virus, but it will be coming soon."Despite the confirmation, agriculture ministry officials said that the virus is unlikely to have spread because it isn't believed to have been alive when it was brought in and the foods were cooked.Monday's meeting, which will be attended by officials from the agriculture ministry, th

Aug 27, 2018
South Korea confirms outbreak of African swine fever

Seoul to implement 'No one left behind' rule for school buses

The Seoul metropolitan government said Monday it will introduce a new safety rule this month to prevent children from dying or suffering injuries after being left alone aboard school buses.The "sleeping child check" system, to be mounted on 53 buses of the city's public elementary schools, forces the driver of a school bus to walk to the back of the vehicle to check whether all passengers have disembarked.Under the system, which utilizes a near field communication (NFC) technology, the driver tags his or her smartphone to three NFC-enabled terminals installed on the far rear seat, interior and exterior of the bus after checking the bus for any remaining passengers. The information is also delivered to the passengers' parents and an administrator at the school.If the driver fails to do the tagging, an alarm goes off on the smartphones of the driver and the parents and the administrator.The city government plans to expand the system to 58 public elementary schools next year and allocate a budget of 4.09 billion won (around $3.67 million) for the operation of the safety system.The intro

Aug 27, 2018
Seoul to implement 'No one left behind' rule for school buses
  • Seatbelts to be required for all passengers from next month

Seatbelts to be required for all passengers from next month

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoAll car passengers will be required to wear seatbelts from the end of next month.According to a new rule set to take effect on Sept. 28, all car passengers on all Korea's roads must wear seatbelts when their cars are in motion.The driver will be fined 30,000 won ($27), if any passenger violates the rule. The fine will be 60,000 won if the passenger is 13 or younger.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, passengers in rear seats are less likely to buckle up (14.8 percent), compared with drivers (88.4 percent) and front-seat passengers (81.4 percent).This is largely because many people think sitting in the back of a vehicle is safer than sitting in the front. But that belief may be out of date after advances in car safety have reduced the likelihood of getting injured or killed while riding in the front seats, while protection systems for backseat passengers have improved relatively less.According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, a passenger not wearing a seatbelt is 16 times more likely to be injured in a car crash.

Aug 27, 2018
Seatbelts to be required for all passengers from next month
  • Seoul to implement 'No one left behind' rule for school buses

African swine fever virus detected

Agriculture Minister Lee Gae-ho, center, inspects Incheon International Airport's border quarantine measures, Saturday, in the wake of the nation's detection of the African swine fever virus gene. / YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binThe deadly African swine fever has been discovered in Korea, putting the quarantine authorities on alert.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Sunday, a virus gene of the disease was found in two processed pork products that were brought in and voluntarily reported by two travelers who visited Shenyang, China, earlier this month.The highly contagious pig disease was first reported Aug. 3 in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. Quarantine officials conducted a polymerase chain reaction test which detected the virus gene. They are currently checking whether the virus gene is alive. The final test results are expected to be released Monday.“The travelers brought in banned products including one Korean sausage and one pack of dumplings and voluntarily reported to quarantine officials at the airport,” the agriculture ministry s

Aug 26, 2018

Korean gov't ignoring $45 million pig-to-human transplant project?

"Mini pigs" in a germ-free cage at Seoul National University College of Medicine. Korea Times fileBy Ko Dong-hwanA South Korean medical scientist says his team's possible breakthrough in treating human diabetes by transplanting pig organs to patients may be forced to end because the government has stopped financial support. Park Jung-gyu, who leads a study into the xenogenic transplants of pigs' pancreatic?islets to type-1 diabetes patients at Seoul National University, told reporters on Aug. 23 the project may not be complete before its due period ends. The study, in which the government has invested about 50 billion won ($44.6 million) over the past 14 years, was supposed to include a clinical study from November this year to May 2019. But Park said this was in doubt because of a lack of funding.“It has become more likely that, even after we have developed an innovative way to transplant pig's pancreatic islets to treat human diabetes, we may not be able to complete the clinical study without the government funds,” Park told a press conference at an eatery in Seoul's Gw

Aug 26, 2018
Korean gov't ignoring $45 million pig-to-human transplant project?

'Impossible to abolish national pension'

By Kim Hyun-binPeople have been voicing outrage over the National Pension Service's recent proposal to increase premiums and extend the payment age to keep the national pension alive and running.There have been endless petitions on Cheong Wa Dae's website calling for the abolishment of the national pension system, as subscribers are increasingly concerned they won't be able to receive pensions after retirement.According to the relevant law, if the majority of the public is in favor of the termination and the National Assembly endorses it, the fund could be abolished.However, many experts say it would be impossible to end the program as the liquidation would cost more than what's needed to maintain the fund.In addition, the national pension fund is invested heavily in both local and foreign financial markets.The NPS has invested in numerous key Korean conglomerates, holding a 9.67 percent of stake in Samsung Electronics, 8.44 percent in Hyundai Motors and 9.2 percent in SK among others.Experts say if the investments are suddenly taken out, it could cause the stock market to crash.As o

Aug 26, 2018
'Impossible to abolish national pension'

Controversy rekindled over telemedicine

By Lee Kyung-min A decades-long controversy over telemedicine is re-emerging after the government announced it would allow a limited level of telemedicine for people who lack access to medical help due to their locations.The announcement immediately drew backlash from doctors and activists who view it as the beginning of commercialization of medical services.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday that a related law would be revised to allow the system for residents in remote areas, soldiers, inmates in correctional facilities and deep-sea fishing vessel crewmen.The primary objective is to help such people have access to quality medical services regardless of their location, it added.The announcement followed a recent discussion between officials at Cheng Wa and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea after Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said last month that he would allow telemedicine. President Moon Jae-in also said last week that he deemed telemedicine offering medical services in remote areas a positive aspect of the contentious issue.Moon, who campaigned agains

Aug 24, 2018
previous page
481482483484485
next page

Most Read in South Korea