The Ministry of Justice said Tuesday that 49 hospitals and clinics would be allowed to apply for foreign patient visas as they have been certified as safe, exemplary medical facilities for patients from overseas.Foreign patients who wish to be treated at the designated facilities, as well as those who accompany the patients to care for them during the recovery process, do not need to apply for visas before entering South Korea.This will “boost the sales of South Korea’s medical industry, while e

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2014

Six in 10 Korean transnational adoptees have sought treatment for mental conditions, while 68.2 percent experienced discrimination while living in their adoptive countries, according to the latest study released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.The report, cowritten by scholar Kim Mee-sook, chronicles the results of surveys of 1,033 Korean transnational adoptees last year. She summarized that adoptees who were low-income earners, were adopted in northern European countries, h

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2014

The reasons why 1 in every 10 infants dies in South Korea are widely unknown partly due to a lack of proper record keeping, according to a report released by a state-run research institute.According to the recently published paper, a total of 979 Korean infants died within their first 12 months from 2007 to 2011. They accounted for 12.6 percent of all 7,798 infant deaths in the same period. “Unknown cause” was the third-biggest reason for infant deaths from 2007 to 2011, following illnesses and

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2014

A group of foreign business leaders discussed with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon how to deal with Seoul’s low birth rate and aging society at the 2014 meeting of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council on Friday.A total of 21 experts, including Richard Smith, the president of the Pinkerton Foundation and Christopher Forbes, the vice chairman of American business magazine Forbes, spoke about issues related to Seoul’s aging society, including work and life balance, immigration policies, and

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2014

The Gender Equality Ministry is releasing a set of video guidelines for those interested in contacting international marriage agencies to marry a foreign spouse, as a growing number of South Koreans are being swindled. To date, some 20 percent of all marriages between a South Korean and a foreign national here are arranged through such agencies. According to Kim Dae-jung from the Gender Equality Ministry, such firms charge a commission fee that usually ranges from 10 million won to 20 million wo

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2014

South Korea’s Health Ministry is receiving a surprisingly high number of applications from health care workers here who wish to be sent to West Africa to treat Ebola, in spite of the safety concerns expressed by the country’s biggest representative body of physicians.Some 40 health care workers, including doctors and nurses, have applied for the 10 spots since Oct. 24, according to the Health Ministry. The application period ends Nov. 7. The competition rate is already 4-to-1. Once selected, the

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2014

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was criticized during a parliamentary inspection Wednesday for its poor maintenance of websites on the experiences of Korean wartime sex slaves during World War II.Lawmaker Nam Yoon In-soon pointed out that although 140 million won ($130,000) was spent every year to maintain the websites, most of the statistics, such as the number of surviving victims in South Korea, haven’t been updated since August last year. While there are currently 50 surviving vic

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2014

South Koreans who have foreign migrants and naturalized citizens as their family members will be encouraged to help them receive necessary education, including job training and language courses, according to a proposed legal revision.A revised bill which advises Koreans not to interfere with their migrant family members’ pursuit of education was approved at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, the Ministry of Gender Equality announced Wednesday.The new bill, which is scheduled to take effect early next ye

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2014

The proposed group of South Korean heath-care workers to be sent to West Africa to care for Ebola patients next month will be taken to medical facilities in the U.S. or in Europe should they get infected by the deadly virus, the South Korean government announced Friday.The decision was announced shortly after the biggest representative body of South Korean doctors expressed worries about the lack of safety training to guard against Ebola among health-care workers here, as well as their inexperie

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2014

One in 10 of female migrant workers were sexually harassed while working in South Korea last year, according to Rep. Lee Jasmine’s office.According to Lee, who is the first non-ethnic Korean and naturalized citizen to become a lawmaker in South Korea, 10.7 percent of the female workers from foreign countries experienced sexual harassment in South Korea last year. Among them, 35.5 percent were raped, 35.5 percent had to endure unwanted physical contact, and 29 percent were inappropriately touched

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2014

South Korean parents with children aged 8 and younger will soon be able to work shorter hours at their normal pay for up to two years, if they choose not to use their parental leave, the government announced Thursday.Currently, parents who opt not to take their one-year parental leave are only allowed to work shorter hours ― 30 hours or less a week ― for a maximum of 12 months. Even if they take leave for less than a year, those months will still be included as their short-time working period. F

Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2014