Articles by Lee Jaeeun
Lee Jaeeun
jenn@heraldcorp.com-
World Bio Summit to explore new ways to fight potential pandemic
The 2023 World Bio Summit, jointly hosted by the South Korean government and the World Health Organization, kicks off Monday for a two-day run in Seoul to explore ways to strengthen capacity to handle another potential pandemic. Taking place at the Conrad Seoul Hotel, over 200 health policymakers, bio and medical experts as well as business representatives from around the world are to participate in the summit in its second year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Under the theme o
Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2023
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Seoul to push through bill to ban dog meat consumption
The South Korean government and the ruling People Power Party on Friday agreed to introduce, before the end of this year, a special act to end dog meat consumption in Korea by 2027. In a special consultative meeting at the National Assembly, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and ruling party officials agreed to push for the passage of an anti-dog meat bill banning breeding and slaughter of dogs, as well as dog meat delivery and sales. Under the legislation, farms, butcheries, distribution compani
Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2023
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Suneung difficulty rekindles 'killer question' controversy
A majority of Suneung test takers viewed this year’s College Scholastic Ability Test or Suneung as being difficult overall, rekindling doubts that the government was able to tackle "killer questions." A poll on 2,764 students conducted by the Educational Broadcasting System showed Friday that a combined 85.9 percent found this year's Suneung either "extremely difficult" or "moderately difficult." This came after test takers who took the state-administered
Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2023
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Air pollution causes 43 premature deaths per 100,000 population in Korea
Poor air quality contributed to about 1 1/2 times more premature deaths in South Korea than the average of countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Sunday. According to the 2023 OECD Health at a Glance report, South Korea had 42.7 premature deaths from ambient air pollution per 100,000 population in 2019. The OECD average stood at 28.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2019. In contrast, some countries, such as New Zealand, Sweden and Finland, had relatively low mo
Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2023
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Yoon announces new nominee for Supreme Court chief justice
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday named Cho Hee-dae, a former Supreme Court justice, as the new chief of the highest court, the presidential office has announced. The nomination comes while the position has remained vacant. The opposition-controlled National Assembly declined Yoon's previous appointment for Supreme Court chief justice, Lee Gyun-ryong, early last month, marking the first such instance in 35 years. Cho, born in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1957, began his judici
Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2023
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Around 30 bedbug infestations reported nationwide
Around 30 recent suspected bedbug cases had been reported across the country as of Monday, according to a governmental task force dedicated to combating bedbugs. Bedbug reports began to surge here in mid-September after a student was reportedly bitten by the insects in a dorm room at Keimyung University in Daegu. Recently, bedbugs have increasingly appeared in public facilities nationwide such as hotels, other accommodations, public saunas and bathhouses. With just nine other reports received pr
Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2023
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S. Korea goes all-out to eradicate bedbugs as reports surge nationwide
South Korea has launched a pangovernmental initiative to comprehensively combat the proliferation of bedbugs, fueled by a recent surge in reports of bedbug infestations and concerns over the pest spreading nationwide. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has taken the lead in assembling a pangovernmental task force, initiated last Friday, comprising ten relevant ministries and local governments. The objective of this joint effort is to promptly and efficiently stop the spread of bedbugs by mo
Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2023
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Patients resist plan to exempt doctors from criminal charges for mistakes
A government push to exempt doctors from facing criminal charges for medical errors has been met with resistance from patient and civic groups, who say it is already too difficult for injured patients and their families to seek redress. Korea is struggling to address severe shortages of doctors in vital fields such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and neurosurgery. Doctors argue greater legal protection should be part of any measures to address the issue, saying that fear of punishment is one of the r
Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2023
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More pension should be paid to impoverished seniors: Human rights commission
South Korea's human rights commission has ruled that low-income older people should receive more pension benefits, as Korea's rate of elderly poverty is the world's worst. In its official recommendation issued Friday to the health and labor ministers, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea stated there is an urgent need to protect the human rights of older people by launching immediate measures to reduce elderly poverty. As of this year, older people in Korea in the bottom
Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2023
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Supreme Court acquits ex-coast guard leadership over Sewol ferry sinking
The country's top court on Thursday acquitted Kim Seok-kyun, former chief of the Korea Coast Guard, and nine other top officers, of involuntary manslaughter due to professional negligence in the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which left 304 passengers dead or missing, and 142 injured. The Supreme Court found Kim, who was head of the Coast Guard when the 6,825-ton Sewol ferry sank in waters off the country's southwestern coast on the morning of April 16, 2014, not guilty of involuntar
Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2023
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[Korea Unmasked] Decoding Korea's 'virtuous' drinking culture
The pressure to attend corporate evening gatherings has diminished in recent years, especially while social-distancing measures to contain COVID-19 were in place, but drinking remains a source of stress for many Korean workers. As the year-end holiday season approaches, Lee Ha-seong, a 31-year-old Seoul-based economic news reporter, has a worry on his mind, saying that he doesn't drink well. For Lee, the most challenging part of life as a journalist in Korea is not the reporting but the dri
Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2023
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S. Korea to reduce antibiotic usage, combat antimicrobial resistance
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on Tuesday that South Korea would participate in the World Health Organization-organized program to monitor antimicrobial use from this year. The WHO's Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System and the Global Antimicrobial Use Surveillance System aims to protect the public from bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse can lead to resistance in bacteria, causing the drugs to become less effective, as we
Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2023
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Most elite earners live in or near Seoul
Nearly 80 percent of the top earners in South Korea reside in the Seoul metropolitan area, data showed Monday, highlighting the concentration of good job opportunities in this region. According to tax agency data released by Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the number of the top 1 percent of earners in the country was 199,591. Their average annual income was 317 million won ($234,500) in 2021. Among those, 77.1 percent of them, said they work in Greater Seoul, w
Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2023
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Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo named chair of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff
In a surprising move that underscores the growing importance of naval defense, Naval Operations Commander Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo has been named the new chairperson of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Ministry of National Defense announced Sunday. Kim was promoted to four-star general in the military personnel reshuffle to replace incumbent JCS Chairperson Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, according to the ministry. The appointment marks a significant shift from the traditionally Army-dominated role a
Politics Oct. 29, 2023
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Korean doctors see income surge amid intensifying physician shortage
Amid a shortage of physicians and the second-lowest doctor-to-population ratio among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, South Korean doctors have seen a substantial increase in their income, making them some of the highest earners in the medical field across surveyed OECD nations. The Korean government plans to address the country's doctor shortage by increasing medical school enrollment quotas, a move prompted primarily by a market structure that limits
Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2023
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