A former worker of Ssangyong Motor was found dead Tuesday at a subcontractor’s plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the company’s union said Wednesday. His death is the 15th among Ssangyong Motor’s former employees or their family members, which recently completed a bailout program after bankruptcy. According to the union, the 45-year-old man identified by the family name Kang was working at th

Social Affairs May 11, 2011

A group of researchers has found a new way of detecting Alzheimer’s at an early stage using a biomarker, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The finding will help in the early treatment of the disease, which is one of the most common forms of dementia in Korea, Dr. Kim Young-yeul, who was in charge of the study, said. According to his report, the amount of interleu

Social Affairs May 11, 2011

Nearly nine out of 10 child abuse cases were committed by family members, and the majority of offenders were biological parents, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday. About 40 percent of victims were assaulted every day. Experts say both victims and offenders need special therapyAccording to the ministry, a total of 5,657 cases of child abuse were reported in 2010. Among them, 530 wer

Social Affairs May 11, 2011

Fears rise over possibility of the deadly disease afflicting pregnant womenA 36-year-old woman who had recently given birth died of complications from an unidentified virus Tuesday at a Seoul hospital, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. This is the first fatality reported from the pneumonia-causing virus and authorities are still struggling to trace its origin and find trea

Social Affairs May 10, 2011

With Internet addiction emerging as a serious social issue, the Gongju National Hospital in South Chungcheong Province has opened a clinic dedicated to the treatment of those caught in the Web. This is the first time a national medical facility has launched anti-Internet addiction program here. The five-week session helps Internet addicts as with other patients using diverse medical aspects. Visit

Social Affairs May 10, 2011

Regulations on passport issuance for those who have committed crimes overseas will be eased, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Monday.It said that the revision is likely to go into effect from July. Currently, those who have committed crimes in foreign countries are banned from being issued passports for a year. Passport issuance is restricted for three years for those who are charged

Politics May 9, 2011

Police were told Monday that there are situations when use of their weapons is appropriate. The National Police Agency Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh said in a meeting of high-ranking officials that police officers are encouraged to use weapons such as pistols, tear gas guns and taser guns in situations including those taking place in police stations, especially if they threaten the authority of

Social Affairs May 9, 2011

Ministry seeks to dissuade patients from relying on top-tier hospitalsMore than 11 percent of Korea’s gross domestic product may be consumed by medical care in 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfares said Monday, stressing the need to reform medical facilities nationwide. Snowballing medical expenses will burden the nation’s economy as the population ages, putting further pressure on the medical

Social Affairs May 9, 2011

Vocational high schools, mostly attended by students who intend to land jobs right after graduation, are losing their reputation as a sure path to employment. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 463,888 students attended 692 vocational schools across the country in 2010, down from 578,865 students at 775 schools in 2001. While 54.7 percent of them got jobs after graduat

Social Affairs May 9, 2011

The number of North Koreans who have illegally migrated to Thailand has jumped 50-fold in the past six years and the Thai government is not happy about the sudden influx, a Thai newspaper reported last week. According to the Bangkok Post, an English newspaper in Thailand, the number of North Korean defectors to Thailand marked 2,482 in 2010, compared to 46 in 2004. From October until April, 899 No

Social Affairs May 8, 2011

Korean and U.S. ministers of education and science will hold talks to discuss ways to boost personnel and research exchanges, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday. The talks will be the first of their kind in 30 years.Education and Science Minister Lee Ju-ho will visit Washington Tuesday for the talks with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan from May 11-13. The two min

Social Affairs May 8, 2011

Retired provincial public service employees and politicians dominate management posts of local public firms, even though many have no corporate management experience, reports said.Chief executives or board chairmen in 95 of the 127 provincial public firms are former local civil servants or politicians, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.Ou

Social Affairs May 8, 2011

More and more high schools are selecting Chinese and Japanese as their second foreign languages, elbowing out French and German, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday. Experts say practicality was the main drive, which may hurt the diversity of language education in the society. According to the education office, 196 out of 222 high schools in Seoul established Japanese classes an

Social Affairs May 8, 2011