The Korea Herald

U.S. ups anti-smoking ante but will Korea?

USFDA OKs hard-hitting warnings on cigarettes but tobacco lobby checks similar Korean moveWith the unveiling of nine graphic images that will adorn every cigarette pack sold in the U.S. from the fall of 2012, government officials and outside experts predict there will be an initial wave of smokers seeking help in quitting. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the graphic labels released Tues

Technology June 23, 2011

U.S. ups anti-smoking ante but will Korea?

Heavy rain expected throughout this week

The rainy season officially started Wednesday, with up to 150 milliliters of rainfall expected to hit the central part of the peninsula through Thursday. The state weather agency forecast that the country would be under the rainy spell until the end of July, with up to 20 percent more precipitation than previous years. Over the weekend, typhoon Meari, which is heading north from the Philippines, i

Social Affairs June 22, 2011

Electrical glitch shuts down nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor in southeastern South Korea went offline on Tuesday because of a glitch in a power transmission line, which came in contact with a sheet of vinyl used for greenhouses, a state-run power company said. Electricity in the line, one of three high-voltage power lines connected to the reactor, was cut off suddenly when a 5-meter-wide vinyl sheet carried by wind touched the line, acc

Social Affairs June 21, 2011

22 killed in suicide car bombings south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Suicide bombers detonated two explosives-laden vehicles early Tuesday near a government compound by a southern Iraqi governor's home, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens, Iraqi officials said.The attacks come as Iraq's top political factions started to discuss in earnest whether to ask some of the U.S. troops to stay beyond the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline because of the securi

World News June 21, 2011

22 killed in suicide car bombings south of Baghdad

N. Korea could test-launch missile at new launch site this year: expert

North Korea could test-launch a missile this year from its second and more sophisticated launch site, in an apparent move to improve its long-range missile capabilities, a U.S. expert said Tuesday. South Korean and U.S. officials have monitored the new Tongchang-ri missile base on the North's west coast for more than two years, and satellite images showed early this year that construction of a

North Korea June 21, 2011

Plan aims to stop rookies being hired as judges

Reform bill to be submitted to parliament later this monthFrom 2013, only those with a certain period of judicial experience as prosecutors, lawyers, law professors and in similar positions will be appointed as judges according to a proposal by a parliamentary committee. The National Assembly’s special committee for judicial reform said it would vote Wednesday on a plan to change the way judges ar

Politics June 21, 2011

Heat wave to grip nation

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heat wave alert for Seoul and adjacent areas at noon Monday, advising people to refrain from going outdoors.The unusually early hot weather will subside no later than Wednesday when the country enters rainy season, or jangma. According to the weather agency, the mercury in Seoul as well as Suwon, Gyeonggi Province and Chuncheon, Gangwon Province ros

Social Affairs June 20, 2011

Call center opened for foreign wives

POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang (fourth from left), Rep. Kim Hye-seong (fifth from left) and Paik Hee-young (sixth from left), minister of gender equality and family affairs, applaud at the opening ceremony of Danuri Call Center on Monday in Seoul. (Yonhap News)A call center was opened Monday to help foreign wives adjust to life in Korea. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affa

Social Affairs June 20, 2011

Ministry makes sex offender’s identity public

The personal information of a sex offender has been made available to his neighbors for public safety, the Ministry of Justice said Monday. This is the first time public notification of this kind has been implemented in Korea after a relevant law came into effect on April 6. According to the ministry, the offender, identified as a 37-year-old man living in an adjacent area of Seoul, was sentenced

Social Affairs June 20, 2011

Prosecution, police clash over reform plan

Prosecutors defy plan to empower policeThe prosecution and the police have locked horns with each other over whether to share the rights to launch investigations, which is now exclusive for prosecutors. While prosecutors are concerned that empowering police could lead to redundant and abusive investigations causing various problems, police are determined to demand certain level of independence, wh

Social Affairs June 19, 2011

Hand-foot-and-mouth alert issued

The government issued an alert against the rapidly spreading hand-foot-and-mouth disease on Saturday, asking nurseries, kindergartens and medical facilities to take extra care to prevent the infection of children. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the HFMD diagnosis rate marked 21.1 per every 1,000 outpatients last week, marking a sharp increase from 9.8 per 1,000

Social Affairs June 19, 2011

Ministry on the rack over OTC drug market opening

Just 44 items to be taken from pharmacy controlThe Ministry of Health and Welfare’s attempt to permit sales of over-the-counter drugs, including cough drops, pain killers and digestion pills, was crushed Wednesday as representatives of pharmacists, doctors, consumers and the administration failed to reach an agreement. Instead, the group agreed to allow a total of 44 items including the energy dri

Social Affairs June 16, 2011

Obesity surgery fails to extend life in older men

CHICAGO (AP) ― Very obese older men hoping to live longer may be let down by a new long-term study that found weight-loss surgery didn’t increase survival for people like them ― at least during the first seven years.Prior studies have found stomach stapling and other obesity surgeries improved survival rates after two to 10 years. The new study in mostly older male veterans suggests one of two thi

Technology June 16, 2011

Concerned about low vitamin D levels?

Whereas vitamin D deficiency has long been recognized as a medical condition, vitamin D “insufficiency” has recently become a concern. Increased attention to this new “syndrome” has led to a substantial increase in testing for vitamin D levels in the blood, and it is expected that several million tests will be performed in the U.S. this year. If you worry about your vitamin D levels or wonder how

Technology June 16, 2011

FDA issues new rules for sunscreen protection labeling

LOS ANGELES ― The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued new guidelines for sunscreen labeling that will give consumers better information about the products’ effectiveness and that will, for the first time, allow labeling to claim that sunscreens protect against skin cancer and early skin aging.The agency has been considering such regulations since 1978 and released some proposed rules in

Technology June 16, 2011

FDA issues new rules for sunscreen protection labeling

Articles by 배지숙