A nurse working at a pediatric unit at one of the major general hospitals in Seoul has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, just weeks after another TB case was reported among nurses at a different hospital in the city, raising concerns over the nation’s control of the disease.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 27-year-old nurse was diagnosed with the disease Monday during a regular health examination provided by her employer -- the Samsung Medical Center in sout

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2016

Elderly Koreans -- those aged 70 or older -- only accounted for 21 percent of all reported unattended deaths in Korea last year, defying general perception that it is mostly the elderly left alone in life and death. According to data released by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, the number of reported unattended deaths increased from 719 in 2012 to 1,245 last year, and those who lived in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province accounted for 53.1 percent of cases in 2015. Among t

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2016

More than half of married Korean men have had extramarital affairs at least once in their lives, while 40 percent of them think “buying sex is not cheating,” a study showed on Monday. The study was jointly compiled by Lina Korea -- the Korean unit of U.S. insurance giant CIGNA -- and a local sexologist clinic, and surveyed some 1,100 Koreans aged 20 or older. The study found that 50.8 percent of the surveyed men, and 9.3 percent of the surveyed women, have cheated on their legal spouses at least

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2016

The South Korean government announced Friday additional measures to combat domestic violence and child abuse, in response to recent high-profile cases that caused public outrage.“People are growing increasingly anxious due to the series of child abuses and sexual violence in remote regions,” said Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn at a national policy coordination meeting.“We will strengthen our sexual violence prevention programs in remote regions nationwide, as well as our investigative efforts.” Pr

Social Affairs July 29, 2016

Throughout her 20s, Lee Jin-song has received unwanted advice on how to “improve” herself so she can enjoy dating. The advice came from friends, both male and female, as well as acquaintances of different ages. “Some told me to grow my hair longer (so I can look more feminine), some told me not to talk too much,” the 27-year-old author told The Korea Herald.“Some even told me, ‘Make sure you look impressed when talking to a man -- use phrases like “Really?” “I had no idea!” Be sweet when you lis

Social Affairs July 29, 2016

Women only accounted for 2.3 percent of all high-ranking executives at South Korea’s 100 major conglomerates last year, while more than half of the firms did not have any women in top leadership positions, a government report showed on Thursday.The report, compiled by the Gender Ministry, analyzed the nation’s top 100 companies with the biggest sales as of last year. Only 165 women were working in the top leadership positions including executives and board members.(123rf)By company, Citibank Kor

Social Affairs July 28, 2016

Unemployment affects Korean men’s marriage prospects much more so than women’s, with a vast majority of jobless Korean men in their late 20s and early 30s staying single, a study showed Monday.The report, released by the Korea Women’s Development Institute, discovered that only 4.1 percent of unemployed men aged 25-29 were married as of last year, while 48.8 percent of unemployed Korean women in the same age group were married. The difference was even larger for jobless men and women aged 30-34.

Social Affairs July 25, 2016

A South Korean man with a history of domestic abuse killed his wife using drugs and took his life last week, just weeks after a Seoul court rejected a second arrest warrant against him for domestic violence, police said Thursday.The bodies of the man, 61, and his wife, 58, were found in their apartment in the Gwanak district of Seoul on July 14, according to the police. An autopsy by the National Forensic Service found intoxicating substances in both the husband and wife, they added.  (123RF)The

Social Affairs July 21, 2016

For Kim Eun-jin, a 36-year-old working mother in South Korea, being at work is her “break.” She gets up at 4:30 a.m. every morning, leaves for work and returns home at about 8:30 p.m. What awaits after her long commute -- she lives in Incheon and works in Seoul -- are dirty dishes and unfolded laundry. She makes dinner, does the dishes, mops the floor and folds the laundry. Then she spends about 30 minutes talking to her kids -- one 8, the other 12 -- who are looked after by Kim’s mother-in-law

Social Affairs July 19, 2016

South Korea’s gay and lesbian teenagers are more likely to develop substance abuse and suicidal thoughts compared to straight students, a study by a medical institution showed Monday.The study, organized by physicians at the Samsung Medical Center, analyzed survey data on some 129,000 Korean teenagers in grades seven to 12 from 2008-2012. Researchers found that among all participants, a total of 2.306 of them have engaged in sexual or romantic encounters with same-sex individuals. They accounted

Social Affairs July 18, 2016

Police said Sunday they plan to file charges against a farmer who is accused of enslaving a man with intellectual disabilities for 19 years at his farm. The farmer, identified as Kim, is suspected of holding the 47-year-old man identified as Goh at his farm in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, forcing him to work without pay and abusing him.Kim, 68, was questioned by police last week as a witness. He is most likely to face charges of violating laws on welfare for those with disabilities and la

Social Affairs July 17, 2016

South Korea’s senior prosecutor was placed under arrest Sunday on charges of taking bribes from Nexon -- a leading online game maker here -- and spending the funds on stock investments. It is the first time that an incumbent top prosecutor has been placed behind bars since 1948 when South Korea’s prosecution system was established. Jin Kyung-joon, the 49-year-old prosecutor, is accused of taking 425 million won ($374,000) from the online game maker Nexon Co. in 2005. He eventually used the funds

Social Affairs July 17, 2016

A Seoul appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision to order disciplinary action against a male sergeant for sexually harassing his female superior in 2014. The sergeant had claimed the decision was unfair and asked the disciplinary order to be revoked. The case is one of the relatively rare sexual harassment cases in Korea in which the victim was harassed by someone of a lower rank at work. The victim, an army captain and one of the sergeant’s superiors at his unit, filed a compla

Social Affairs July 14, 2016

Back in March, Lee Da-kyung found something disturbing while dining with her boyfriend at a restaurant near Seoul National University in Seoul. It was the property’s bathroom sign -- it showed a stick figure animation of a male peeping tom looking into a female restroom. “I told the cashier -- who looked like the owner of the restaurant -- that the sign made me feel very uncomfortable and he should remove it,” the 23-year-old university student told The Korea Herald. “And his response was even m

Social Affairs July 13, 2016

Shin Ji-hun has dated a number of women throughout his 30s, but none of them were very happy with his thoughts on how the cost of marital housing should be financed. He thinks that both the groom and the bride should share the cost. All of his ex-girlfriends, except just one, fiercely disagreed. “They said the groom’s family should provide the marital house as that’s the norm and the tradition,” The 36-year-old told The Korea Herald. “My parents have no such money, and I can’t really afford an a

Social Affairs July 12, 2016