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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.

'Death with dignity' becomes possible

Law allowing end to life-sustaining treatment begins trialBy You Soo-sunDoctors will soon be able to end life sustaining treatment for patients with incurable conditions under a pending bill that allowed a trial run to begin Monday. The government is taking steps to prepare the “death with dignity” bill, with the trial which runs until Jan. 15. The bill will take effect next February.The purpose of the bill is to allow patients to end their lives with “dignity” by legalizing the release of patients with incurable conditions from care, under certain circumstances.Prior to the law, doctors were obliged to continue providing life-sustaining treatment regardless of the patient’s wishes. This, however, drew criticism for prolonging pain for patients and their families, as well as causing financial burdens. Controversy surrounding the issue dates back to 1997 when a physician was charged with murder for releasing a patient who died after being discharged. The family had asked for his release due to financial reasons. The debate did not materiali

Oct 23, 2017

UNESCO listing of “comfort women” awaits review

By You Soo-sun The first round of review of the “comfort women” archives submitted for UNESCO listing is slated for this week, Tuesday to Friday.The UNESCO International Advisory Committee will hold its general meeting, held every two years, to review applications for its Memory of the World register, established to preserve documentary heritage throughout the world.This year it is expected to examine around 130 applications, including one for the comfort women, a term used to refer to sex slaves of the Japanese during World War II.Around 2,744 documents for consideration have been submitted by civic organizations from 14 countries including Korea, China, Japan and the Netherlands.This will be the first review to take place since the application was filed.The Korean government is seeking to have it pass the review board before the incumbent UNESCO secretary general’s term ends next month.This may be unlikely, however, due to opposition by Japan which funds about 10 percent of the program and whose influence has grown after the United States recently pulled out

Oct 22, 2017

'개 물림' 사고 매년 2천건 넘어…

유명 한식당 대표가 자신이 사는 아파트에서 아이돌 가수 가족의 반려견에 물려 치료를 받다 숨진 사건이 알려지면서 반려동물 관리 및 안전 조처를 강화해야 한다는 목소리가 커지고 있다.    특히 최근 공공장소에서 목줄이나 입마개 등을 하지 않은 개가 행인을 공격하고, 반려견에게 주인이 공격당하는 사례까지 잇따르자 관련법을 제·개정해 처벌을 강화해야 한다는 주장도 나온다.    22일 국회 행정안전위원회 소속 윤재옥(자유한국당) 의원이 소방청에서 제출받은 자료에 따르면 개에 물리거나 관련 안전사고로 병원으로 이송된 환자는 2014년 1천889건에서 지난해 2천111건으로 증가했다.    사고는 서울과 경기 등 수도권에서 많았다. 경기에서 개에 물려 병원에 실려간 환자는 2014년 457건, 2015년 462건, 2016년 563건 등 증가세를 보였다. 서울에서도 2014년 189건에서 이듬해 168건으로 줄었다가 지난해 200건으로 늘었다.    경북(184건), 충남(141건), 경남(129건), 강원(126건) 등에서도 100건 넘게 개 물림 사고가 발생했다.    서울 도봉구 주택가에서는 올해 6월 맹견 두 마리가 한밤중 집 밖으로 나와 주민 3명을 무차별 공격하는 아찔한 상황이 발생했다.    지난달에는 전북 고창에서 산책하던 40대 부부가 사냥개 4마리에 물려 크게 다쳤고, 인천 부평구에서는 공장 앞에 목줄 없이 앉아있던 개에게 물을 주던 50대 여성이 팔을 물려 전치 6주의 중상을 입었다.    자신이 키우던 반려견에 물려 숨진 사례도 나왔다. 지난 7월 경북 안동에서 70대 여성이 기르던 풍산개에 물려 숨졌고, 이달 초 경기도 시흥에서 한 살짜리 여자아이가 진돗개에 물려 목숨을 잃었다.    동물보호법과 시행규칙에는 반려동물과 외출할 때는 목줄 등 안전조치를 하고 사람을 공격해 상해를 입힐 수 있는 커다란 맹견은 입마개도 채워야 한다고 규정하고 있다.    하지만 이를 어겨도

Oct 22, 2017
'개 물림' 사고 매년 2천건 넘어…

Doctors protest 'Moon Jae-in care'

By Kim Bo-eunThe Korean Medical Association (KMA) is stepping up its campaign against the Moon Jae-in administration’s plan to expand insurance coverage.Dubbed “Moon Jae-in care,” the health care policy is aimed at providing insurance coverage for all medical fees with the exception of those for cosmetic purposes, as a means to ease the burden of medical expenses on the public.Under the plan, insurance will cover costly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and sonograms as well as additional expenses for more experienced doctors and hospital rooms accommodating fewer patients.Doctors oppose the policy for a number of reasons.The doctors claim medical fees will fall, as insurance coverage will force doctors to provide services at lower costs. They say this will lead to an overall deterioration in the quality of medical treatment.They also claim patients will more likely visit general hospitals rather than small local clinics, with their medical fees subsidized. This is because large hospitals are known to provide better-quality services, yet at higher costs.The doc

Oct 22, 2017

13,500 AIDS patients in South Korea

The number of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients nearly tripled over the past 10 years, data showed Friday.A total of 13,584 people were diagnosed with AIDS in 2016, up from 5,316 tallied in 2007, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data submitted to the National Assembly.By age, patients in their 30s accounted for 27.2 percent of the total, followed by those in their 20s with 25.9 percent and 40s with 21.3 percent, and between 10-20 with 3.1 percent, the data showed.The number of people newly diagnosed with AIDS also increased from 740 in 2007 to 773 in 2010 and 1,062 in 2016, the data showed. (Yonhap) 

Oct 20, 2017
13,500 AIDS patients in South Korea

Korea braces for typhoon

The image of typhoon Lan in progress released on Oct. 19 / Screen captured from National Typhoon CenterBy Bahk Eun-ji, Park Si-sooTyphoon Lan, recently classified as “powerful,” is approaching the Korean Peninsula.The typhoon is moving toward Japan’s Okinawa from 1,080 kilometers east of the Philippines as of 3 p.m. Thursday, at a speed of 18 kilometers an hour, according to the state weather agency. Japan and the southern part of Korea are expected to come under its influence from Saturday.The Korea Meteorological Administration plans to issue wind warnings for southern regions during the weekend. It has told mariners to stay informed of the typhoon’s direction.

Oct 19, 2017
Korea braces for typhoon

Disabled to be able to issue English certificates online

The disabled will be able to have certificates outlining their disabilities in English issued online.The Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission said Tuesday it advised the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Interior to revise related regulations to make this possible in an effort to reduce inconveniences disabled people face.A certificate on disability is used for purposes such as immigration inspection procedures at the airport and when needs arise while staying abroad.However, unlike the Korean-language certificate, which individuals could get issued online, English certificates could only be acquired upon visits to a local community center.If a person lost their certificate while overseas, they had no means to get it reissued.The human rights watchdog advised the improvements be made based on complaints filed by the public.Once revisions are made, the English-language certificates will be ready for issue at minwon.go.kr.

Oct 17, 2017

220,000 Koreans gave up citizenship 2007-2016

By Jung Min-hoMore than 220,000 Koreans ditched their citizenship between 2007 and 2016, according to data revealed Tuesday.Data from the IOM Migration Research and Training Center, a Korean research institute concerning migration policy, shows 223,611 Koreans gave up their citizenship during that period. Among them, 94,908 acquired American citizenship, followed by Japanese (58,870) and Canadian (32,732).The number of Koreans renouncing their citizenship more than doubled to 36,404 last year from 17,529 in 2015.During the 10-year period, 153,257 people acquired Korean nationality. Chinese accounted for more than 50 percent of them with 87,118, followed by Vietnamese with 27,310.“An increasing number of Koreans are leaving their country, while the problem of the low birthrate is getting more serious,” Rep. Yoon Sang-jick of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said. “The government should do more research to figure out why this is happening and come up with ways to secure national competitiveness.” 

Oct 17, 2017
220,000 Koreans gave up citizenship 2007-2016

More teenagers suffer from alcoholism: data

The number of teenagers suffering from alcoholism has been on the rise, with the total receiving treatment hitting 7,800 over the past five years, data showed Monday.According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service data submitted to the National Assembly, teens categorized as alcoholics increased from 2012 through 2016.The numbers have generally been on a steady ascent from 1,415 in 2012 to 1,304 in 2013, 1,588 in 2014, 1,728 in 2015 and 1,767 in 2016, the data showed.The data showed that 29.2 percent of such alcoholic adolescents were considered at high risk. High risk is viewed as a person drinking more than 8.8 shots of the Korean distilled liquor soju in one sitting for males and 5.9 for female.The latest findings also showed that the number of female teenagers suffering from alcoholism jumped from 590 in 2012 to 716 in 2016, while that for males increased from 825 to 1,006 during the cited period. (Yonhap) 

Oct 16, 2017
More teenagers suffer from alcoholism: data

Audit to focus on settling 'toxic' sanitary pad dispute

By You Soo-sunAn ongoing controversy over alleged toxicity of sanitary pads is expected to become a major dispute during an audit of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety slated for Tuesday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare will summon key figures embroiled in this scandal as witnesses, according to the National Assembly, Saturday.This includes Prof. Kim Man-goo of Kangwon National University and Leean So-young, director general of the Korean Women's Environmental Network (KWEN). They raised suspicions over the possible health consequences of domestically produced sanitary pads as well as executives at Korea’s leading manufacturers Yuhan-Kimberly and Kleannara.The issue has surfaced after Kim announced his study on toxicity levels of 11 types of pads of domestic manufacturers, which he conducted upon request from KWEN.Kim questioned the safety of domestic sanitary pads as he found volatile organic compounds (VOCs) included in all 11 of the products he examined. They included styrene, characterized as “carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research

Oct 15, 2017
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