South Korea - The Korea Times

Cheong Wa Dae to review dogs' legal status as 'consumable livestock'

Dog protection activists and dog meat advocates stage rallies in Jongno, Seoul, in 2017. / Yonhap.By Jung Hae-myoung, Park Si-sooThe presidential office said Friday it will review the legal status of dogs, which are now listed as consumable livestock. “Amid growing public attention to the animals' protection and welfare, we found some clashing points between the Livestock Industry Act and present culture,” said Choi Jae-gwan, a presidential secretary for agriculture, food and rural affairs, in live-streaming on Facebook. “We will review this to explore a way to fix the discrepancy.” It was Cheong Wa Dae's formal reaction to an outpouring of online petitions soliciting a revision of the law to ban eating dogs. A petition of this kind was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website on June 17 and it gained more than 200,000 signatures in a month. The online public petition system is promoted by the Moon Jae-in administration and top presidential aides are responsible for making a formal response to petitions that gain more than 200,000 signatures in a month.The current

Aug 10, 2018

Cheong Wa Dae to review dogs' legal status as 'consumable livestock'

NPS seeks to extend mandatory subscriptions by 5 years

By Lee Kyung-min The state-run National Pension Service (NPS) is expected to extend the mandatory subscription period to the age of 65, five years longer than the current 60, to counter growing concerns over the fund's sustainability amid the plummeting birthrate compounded by the soaring number of retirees, sources said Friday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the NPS and the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, the government is seeking to include the plan as part of its comprehensive, long-term pension management. The ministry will hold a public hearing next Friday. The hearing follows the recently wrapped-up fourth financial review, which concluded the NPS fund will be exhausted by as early as 2056, up to four years earlier than was previously expected in a 2013 review. Since 2003, a group of private experts has held a review every five years to facilitate effective management of the state-run institution. The plan is also expected to include maintaining the income replacement rate _ the percentage of a worker's pre-retirement income that is paid out by

Aug 10, 2018

Pharmacists, convenience stores clash over non-prescription drugs

The Korea Pharmaceutical Association and convenience store owners clash over which non-prescription drugs are to fill the shelves on Aug. 8. Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soonBy Kim Hyun-binPharmacists and convenience store owners are engaged in a dispute over whether to expand the list of over-the-counter drugs available at 24-hour stores.The Ministry of Health and Welfare held its sixth designation committee meeting, Wednesday, to select high-demand medications to be labeled as non-prescription drugs that can be sold at convenience stores around the nation.There are 13 household medications labeled as over-the-counter drugs currently available at convenience stores.The committee also decided to remove two unpopular digestion pills from the shelves.The committee consists of 10 members including civic group members and both the Korea pharmaceutical and medical association representatives.The committee agreed to place antacid and anti-diarrhea medication in convenience stores, which will replace the two digestion products. However, it failed to select a specific product as the member

Aug 9, 2018

Pharmacists, convenience stores clash over non-prescription drugs

59 high blood pressure drugs banned for containing cancer-causing substance

South Korea's drug safety watchdog said Monday that it has banned Daebong LS Co., a local maker of valsartan, from selling and making the active ingredient meant to treat high blood pressure over a cancer-causing substance in the drug.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has also prohibited 22 South Korean pharmaceutical firms from selling 59 products made by Daebong LS that contain valsartan.The move came as some of the valsartan made by Daebong LS has been confirmed to have an impurity known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.Daebong LS makes the active ingredient valsartan after importing crude valsartan from China's Zhuhai Rundu Mintong Pharmaceutical. (Yonhap)

Aug 6, 2018

59 high blood pressure drugs banned for containing cancer-causing substance

Freshly-squeezed juices contain 10 lumps of sugar

By Kim RahnFreshly-squeezed fruit juice at major franchise juice outlets contain the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar per serving on average, research by Seoul City and a consumer's group showed Friday. Between May and June, the city government and Consumers Korea analyzed five types of juice -- green grape, kiwi, strawberry, grapefruit and a mix of strawberry and banana -- at 31 outlets of top five juice franchise brands.According to the study, a regular-sized serving of juice contained 31.7 grams of sugar on average, or 31.7 percent of the recommended daily intake, and is equivalent to about 10 teaspoons of sugar, the city government said.Green grape juice had the largest amount of sugar with 39 grams on average, followed by the mix of strawberry and banana at 36.7 grams; kiwi, 31.4 grams; strawberry, 26.7 grams; and grapefruit, 26.4 grams.A large serving of green grape juice had 111 grams of sugar on average, surpassing the daily recommended intake.“The products contain such large amounts of sugar because the stores add sugar or syrup to enhance sweetness,&rdqu

Aug 3, 2018

Ex-marathoner appointed honorary ambassador of World Firefighters Games

Marathon hero Lee Bong-ju, left, holds a certificate appointing him as an honorary ambassador of the World Firefighters Games Chungju 2018, after receiving it from National Fire Agency Commissioner Jo Jong-mook at the Government Complex in Sejong, Tuesday. / Courtesy of National Fire AgencyBy Kim Jae-heunMarathon hero Lee Bong-ju, 46, has been appointed as an honorary ambassador of the 13th World Firefighters Games that kick off Sept. 10 in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province.The National Fire Agency held the appointment ceremony at the Government Complex in Sejong, Tuesday, with Fire Commissioner Jo Jong-mook giving Lee the certificate of ambassadorship.“It is an honor to take part in the World Firefighters Game Chungju, which brings all the firemen around the world to participate in this global festival, as an ambassador,” Lee said. “I will participate in one of the events, a 5-kilometer marathon, and run with the firefighters.”The commissioner also expressed his satisfaction with Lee's appointment and said he cannot feel more confident to have Lee.“Yo

Aug 3, 2018

Ex-marathoner appointed honorary ambassador of World Firefighters Games

Beware: Gov't wants to regulate your eating habits

Banzz, the popular host of a “mukbang,” binge-eating shows with 25 million YouTube subscribers, eats spicy chicken during a broadcast. Korea Time fileBy Lee Kyung-min Opinion is split over the government's recent move to set up guidelines against what it deems “unhealthy eating habits,” primarily targeting “mukbang,” binge-eating shows that are available online. Supporters of the move say regulations are needed to raise awareness about mindless overeating and the consequent health risks including obesity. However, those opposing it say the government's “simple-minded approach” lacks fundamental understanding about why such shows are popular -- especially with young women who are under enormous stress to stay “thin.” Others claim the move also infringes upon individual freedom of choice. The issue became politicized after Kim Byong-joon, an emergency committee chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, called the guideline plan “statism,” adding individuals and businesses should be given more autonomy.

Aug 2, 2018

Beware: Gov't wants to regulate your eating habits

Helping hand

Korea Love Sharing Community President Lee Eun-deuk, fifth from right, poses at an event during which the group received a combined 400 million won ($355,000) in medicine and medical supplies from Medica Korea and Shin Poong Pharm, at the organization's office in Seoul, Thursday. The donated materials will be shipped to 10 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. / Courtesy of Korea Love Sharing Community

Aug 2, 2018

Dutch doctor campaigns to lift Seoul's abortion ban

Rebecca Gomperts, second from right, raises her fist with women's rights activists before participating in a rally calling for lifting the abortion ban in Seoul, July 7. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-wonBy Park Ji-wonRebecca Gomperts, founder and executive director of the legendary abortion rights groups Women on Waves and Women on Web, visited Korea recently to discuss ways to legalize abortion ahead of the upcoming decision by the Korea's Constitutional Court on whether to overturn the abortion ban.“A democratic government like Korea should base its law, policies and actions on science and not religion or dogma. Independent scientific studies about the effect of restrictive abortion laws have shown it harms women,” the Dutch doctor told The Korea Times in an email interview on July 30.“Best practices on abortion care to make it legal, affordable and accessible?as described by the World Health Organization can be implemented in Korea.”Rebecca Gomperts / Courtesy of Women on WavesThe organization has been traveling by ship, helping women to have abortions by

Aug 1, 2018

Dutch doctor campaigns to lift Seoul's abortion ban

Suspected MERS patient tests negative, awaits 2nd test

A young nurse who recently returned from working in Saudi Arabia is being tested for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). YonhapBy Jung Hae-myoungA young nurse suspected of having Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has tested negative to the disease, the Busan Public Health and Environment Research Institute said Tuesday. A second test is pending. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nurse, 20, had worked at a hospital in Saudi Arabia since February and entered Korea on July 26. The woman went to hospital and was isolated after showing symptoms of a sore throat and chills. MERS symptoms include fever, chills, difficulty in breathing and a sore throat. If the second test proves negative, the patient will be released from quarantine. The result will be known Wednesday. MERS is a contagious respiratory disease that hit South Korea in 2015. Thirty-eight people died out of 186 confirmed patients. Last year, 220 people were suspected of MERS but all tested negative. If symptoms are experienced, the patient must call the hospital to alert it before

Jul 31, 2018

Health