Articles by Lee Jung-Youn

Lee Jung-Youn
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Depression patient number exceeds 1m in Korea
The number of patients with depression in Korea has increased by more than 30 percent over the past five years, exceeding 1 million as of 2022, the data showed Tuesday. According to the data Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and the Health and Welfare Committee received from the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients treated for depression has increased every year since 2018. From 752,976 in 2018, there were 799,011 in 2019, 832,378 in 2020 and
Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2023
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[Herald Interview] 'UN peacekeeping forces need better gender equity'
United Nations peacekeeping force officers who visited Seoul earlier this month emphasized the need to enhance gender inclusivity within peacekeeping forces and to recruit more talented women into the military. Colonel B. Maureen Wellwood, the first woman in the Canadian Infantry to attain the rank of colonel, said women’s strength plays a key role in situations where peacekeepers should build trust with suffering residents, referring to her missions in several countries including Afghanis
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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Korea’s parental leave benefits lag behind OECD average
Korea's parental leave benefits average at 44.6 percent of actual wages, placing it near the bottom of the list among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations, data revealed Sunday. Although the country offers an extended parental leave period, the actual utilization rate remains low, with especially adverse impacts on low-income workers, the data showed. In Korea, workers insured for more than 180 days can take up to a year of parental leave to care for ch
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2023
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Cooler weather with large daily temperature range expected over weekend, Chuseok holiday season
As the season begins to turn, a large daily temperature range and rain are expected across the country, the weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the nationwide minimum morning temperature would drop to around 15 degrees Celsius on Friday, and to around 10 C in the mountainous areas in Gangwon Province. The weekend is likely to see the greatest daily temperature differences between day and night, with clear skies expected during the daytime -- a typ
Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2023
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Railroad strike over, but second strike may follow
The Korean Railroad Workers' Union ended its four-day general strike Monday morning, but announced the possibility of a second general strike without specifying when. “The second general strike plan has been set internally, but we will decide whether or not to go on a second strike and the exact schedule based on the Land Ministry's response,” Baek Nam-hee, the media communication chief of the railway union, said to The Korea Herald. “There are many concerns regarding
Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2023
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Cases of teachers treated for depression rise 180% in four years: data
The number of cases of teachers getting treated for depression has risen by about 180 percent over the past four years, data showed, another worrying sign that teachers are being pushed to the brink in and outside the classrooms. According to data from the National Health Insurance Service obtained by Rep. Shin Hyeon-young, the number of cases of teachers getting treated for depression surged 179.4 percent to 158,066, up from 88,127 in 2018. Similarly, the number of cases involving anxiety disor
Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2023
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Korea to shut down foreign worker support centers despite labor expansion
Even as the government recently announced its plans to increase the number of E-9 visas for workers of foreign nationality to the largest number ever next year, the institutions that directly support foreign workers' lives in Korea are set to be abolished, as next year's budget for them has been completely cut for the first time in 20 years. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, there will be no government budget for the Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers for 2024. T
Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2023
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Rail strike set to begin Thursday
A strike by the Korean Railroad Workers' Union is to begin Thursday morning, raising concerns over transportation and logistics turmoil. According to unionized workers at the state-run Korea Railroad Corp., also known as Korail, the union will go on a four-day strike from 9 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Monday. The strike is the union's first since November 2019. Members voted 64.4 percent in favor in a strike ballot at the end of August. The railway union's requests include the expansi
Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2023
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A year after Sindang murder, stalking crimes persist, bills pending
A year has passed since the Sindang Station murder, in which a female Seoul Metro employee was killed after being stalked by her ex-colleague, but most bills proposed since to beef up protection for stalking victims remain pending in parliament. Korea's anti-stalking law was revised to punish perpetrators without the consent of stalking victims and a law to support stalking victims was enacted in the wake of the murder case last year. Despite the revision, the scope defining stalking as a c
Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2023
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South Korea slashes funding for sex crime prevention initiatives
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has set its budget for next year at 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion), marking a 9.4 percent increase from this year. However, funding for teenage sex education and initiatives to prevent the recurrence of sexual and domestic violence have been reduced. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Sunday that the budget for programs aimed at preventing the recurrence of domestic and sexual violence, including correctional treatment programs for perpetrators
Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2023
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Summer 2023 was hotter, wetter than usual
This year's summer was unusually hot and humid, with the average summer temperature ranking the fourth-highest in South Korea's modern history, while the average quantity of rainfall ranked fifth, according to the national weather agency Thursday. The average temperature nationwide this summer was 24.7 degrees Celsius, 1 C higher than the average and the fourth-highest average temperature since 1973, when the weather observation network was expanded nationwide and started to compile re
Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2023
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More women in Korea's workforce yet wage gap widening: data
Women are more economically active in South Korea's workforce than ever. The employment-to-population ratio for women aged 15 to 64 here hit an all-time high of 60 percent last year. However, the wage gap between women and men is widening, data showed Wednesday, as women still earn significantly less than men on average. It is the first time that this figure entered the 60 percent range since the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family started compiling data in 1997. The percentage of women
Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2023
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S. Korea hit by unusual September tropical night
Seoul and Incheon were hit by an unusual "September tropical night" from late Monday to early Tuesday. It was the first such tropical night in September in 88 years, according to the weather agency, citing data. Tropical nights refer to hot evenings with the lowest temperature at over 25 degrees Celsius from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, temperatures remained above 25 degrees not only in Seoul and Incheon
Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2023
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Mergeplus ordered to compensate victims over Mergepoint app refund chaos
Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that Mergeplus, the operator behind the problematic discount app, Mergepoint, must pay roughly 225 million won ($170,000) to 148 victims who had purchased unusable virtual coupons. The decision comes after a collective civil lawsuit identified the app's role in causing widespread refund chaos. The court found Kwon Nam-hee, CEO of Mergeplus Corporation, and its affiliated companies responsible for the incident but absolved six online shopping si
Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2023
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Officer arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from drug offender
A probation officer was arrested on suspicion of ignoring a drug offender's repeated offenses in exchange for bribes, the Ministry of Justice announced Friday. The ministry pledged to intensify the oversight of drug offenders and relevant personnel to prevent such incidents in the future. Seongnam Jungwon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Thursday that it had arrested a probation officer in his 50s who is suspected of taking 5 million won ($3,789) in return for overlooking drug use b
Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2023
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