South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea to intensify radiation tests on seawater amid Fukushima concerns

Members of Korea's YWCA and Japan's YWCA hold up signs as they take part in a joint rally to protest against Japan's plan to discharge radioactive water from the crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima into the ocean in front of Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul, July 10. YonhapKorea will more than double the number of maritime spots under emergency radiation tests to ease concerns over Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the oceans ministry said Tuesday.Last month, Korea began conducting radiation tests on ocean water at 92 points around the Korean Peninsula, and it will add 108 more coastal spots to beef up the monitoring of radioactivity levels, Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon said during a regular briefing on the Fukushima issue.Japan plans to release radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea soon, as the International Atomic Energy Agency found Tokyo's plan to be consistent with its safety standards after a two-year review.Korea will employ a "rapid analysis method" to draw results in a swift manner, rather than usi

Jul 18, 2023

Korea to intensify radiation tests on seawater amid Fukushima concerns

Medical workers continue sporadic strikes despite end of general walkout

A hallway of Pusan National University Hospital is empty, as about 80 percent of unionized medical workers continue their walkout at the hospital in Busan, Sunday. YonhapDespite the end of a two-day general strike, some unionized medical workers continued a walkout across the country Sunday, causing patient inconvenience and disruptions at hospitals.On Friday, around 45,000 nurses, caregivers, and other members of the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) from 140 medical institutions nationwide ended their two-day general strike meant to demand better working conditions and greater state support for public medical institutions.But some of them have yet to reach an agreement with their respective management side on details and have been on a strike, according to the union.The collective actions continued at Ajou University Medical Center and Hallym University Medical Center, both located in Gyeonggi Province, as well as several other hospitals in the southwestern city of Gwangju and the eastern province of Gangwon.At Pusan National University Hospital, in particular, some 8

Jul 16, 2023

Medical workers continue sporadic strikes despite end of general walkout

Korea's food safety agency to retain daily intake level of aspartame

A customer selects a bottle of "makgeolli" at a retail outlet in Seoul, amid worries over the news that aspartame, an artificial sweetener, may be designated as a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, July 4. YonhapKorea's food safety agency said Friday it will maintain the daily intake level of the artificial sweetener aspartame, which was classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the World Health Organization (WHO) but remains safe to consume.Earlier in the day, WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer placed aspartame in category Group 2B, meaning there is limited evidence that the substance can cause cancer.At the same time, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), organized by the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization, recommended people keep the consumption level of 40 milligrams of aspartame per kilogram per day.Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has decided to retain the country's daily intake level of 40 mg/kg, considering the JECFA's recommendation and the aspartame consumption of Korean

Jul 14, 2023

Korea's food safety agency to retain daily intake level of aspartame

Korea to lift quarantine requirements for COVID-19, mpox

A man sits in front of a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport in this March 29 photo. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea will no longer require arrivals to the country to register their health information on pre-entry quarantine information system, known as Q-Code, concerning COVID-19 and mpox, beginning Saturday. Still, temperature checks will continue to see if travelers show symptoms associated with the two diseases, according to a statement from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Thursday.The KDCA announced that it decided to lift all quarantine management zones related to the two diseases, as cases of the diseases and death rates have stabilized. In July 2020, Korea designated all countries around the world as quarantine management zones due to COVID-19.Korea has also designated 47 countries including some nations in Europe and the Americas as quarantine management zones in relation to mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. The KDCA said that the number of deaths from COVID-19 has remained low, though a daily average of new infections for the first wee

Jul 13, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Korea to lift quarantine requirements for COVID-19, mpox

No. of mosquitoes carrying malaria surges amid heat wave, torrential rain

gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeHealth authorities have issued an alert, urging citizens to heighten their safety measures against malaria as the number of mosquitoes that can transmit the disease has increased rapidly this summer due mainly to heat waves and heavy torrential rain.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Wednesday, the daily mosquito index for the 25th week of the year (from June 18 to 24) stood at 7.1, and rose to 9.2 the following week.The figures released by the KDCA measured the density of mosquitos at 50 places in Incheon, northern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province, which were designated as malaria danger zones.The mosquito index for the 25th week has more than doubled from the same week a year earlier, and increased nearly five times from the average of the last five years.The index for the 26th week has also increased 1.3 times from a year earlier and 2.5 times from the average of the last five years.The ratio of mosquitoes carrying malaria among the total collected by the KDCA has increased as well, standing at 54 percent in the

Jul 12, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

No. of mosquitoes carrying malaria surges amid heat wave, torrential rain

Nurses, healthcare workers to go on nationwide strike Thursday

Na Soon-ja, second from left, who heads the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union, speaks during a media conference at the union's office in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District, Monday. YonhapEssential workers for ER, ICU and surgery to stay on By Jun Ji-hyeThe Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU), comprised of nurses, caregivers and other healthcare workers, will go on an indefinite general strike beginning Thursday, calling on the government to hire more medical personnel and improve their working conditions, the union announced, Monday. If the walkout takes place, it will mark the first general strike by the union in 19 years, after its members walked out in 2004 calling for a five-day workweek.The planned strike will inevitably cause disruptions in the medical industry, considering that 85,000 members of the union work in a variety of medical fields across the country.The representatives of the union said during a media conference that 92 percent of its members agreed with the need to stage a strike in a vote that was carried out from June 28 to last Friday. The turnout w

Jul 10, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Nurses, healthcare workers to go on nationwide strike Thursday

Health authorities, experts caution against excessive concerns over aspartame

gettyimagesbankGroup 2B carcinogens also include kimchi, aloe vera extractBy Jun Ji-hyeHealth authorities and experts warn against excessively creating fear and panic over aspartame amid deepening confusion among consumers, as the common sweetener is expected to be labeled a possible carcinogen later this week.The authorities and experts say aspartame is safe for the general population as long as they take in proper amounts as they have done so far. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) ― the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization ― will reportedly classify aspartame as a Group 2B carcinogen ― which it considers to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” ― in its report to be published Friday. Discovered in 1965 by U.S. chemist James Schlatter, aspartame is approximately 200 times sweeter than regular table sugar. As a low-calorie sugar substitute, it has become one of the world's most popular artificial sweeteners, being widely used in a variety of sugar-free foods and fizzy drinks including some brands of makgeolli (Korean rice wine), as well

Jul 9, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Health authorities, experts caution against excessive concerns over aspartame

Korea says Fukushima water release to meet int'l standards if carried out as planned

Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Friday, July 7. YonhapThe government said Friday that Japan's plan to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima plant would meet international standards, including those set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), if carried out as planned.The government announced its own scientific analysis of the discharge plan, based on the findings of an on-site inspection of the plant completed in late May and other related data, as well as an analysis of the IAEA safety review."After a review of the treatment plan of contaminated water presented by Japan so far, the total concentration level of radioactive materials of Japan's plan would meet the standards for a release into the ocean," Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu told a daily briefing.Bang said, therefore, the plan has been confirmed to meet international standards, including those of the IAEA.According to a simulation based on an emission standard set by Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the pla

Jul 7, 2023

Korea says Fukushima water release to meet int'l standards if carried out as planned

Korean doctors flee paediatrics as low birth rate bites

Pediatrician Song Jong-geun performs a medical treatment on a baby as his mother Jung Seung-yeon, 38, looks on at his pediatric clinic in Seoul, June 14. Reuters-YonhapKorea is suffering from a shortage of paediatricians, partly a result of the world's lowest birth rate and increasingly a factor behind it, leaving hospitals unable to fill posts and raising risks for children's health, doctors say.The number of paediatric clinics and hospitals in the capital has fallen by 12.5 percent over the five years to 2022, to just 456. Over the same period, the number of psychiatry clinics increased by 76.8 percent, while anaesthesiology centres saw a 41.2 percent rise, according to the Seoul Institute, a public administration think tank.At the root of the problem is a birth rate that fell to 0.78 in 2022 ― that's the average number of babies expected per woman ― combined with the failure of the insurance system to adapt to it, leaving paediatrics starved of resources and doctors shunning a field they think has no future, seven paediatricians told Reuters.The Ministry of Health and Welfare ackn

Jul 6, 2023

Korean doctors flee paediatrics as low birth rate bites

Gov't to unveil results of own analysis of Fukushima release plan Friday

Park Ku-yeon, right, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a daily briefing, Thursday. YonhapThe government will announce its own analysis of Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant later this week, an official said Thursday.The outcome of a scientific analysis of the discharge plan, based on the findings of an on-site inspection of the plant completed in late May and other related data, will be revealed at a daily briefing Friday, according to Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that its two-year review found Japan's plan to release water from the plant into the sea to be consistent with its safety standards. The nuclear watchdog also said the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact on both people and the environment."We have been independently conducting a review on Tokyo Electric Power's release plan of contaminated water," Park said. The company operat