The new secretary general of the Community Chest of Korea said Sunday that he will donate 1 million won ($890) from his salary every month. The announcement came after the nation’s only legal charity was dealt a serious blow in an internal corruption scandal at the end of last year. “There were some criticisms that the salary of our executives is too high. As I’m working for a charitable organizat

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2011

The government is considering making those convicted of repeated robberies wear electronic anklets, which are currently required for sex offenders and murderers, from next year. The Justice Ministry said Thursday that it is pushing to revise the law to apply the traceable electronic device to robbers.The law is currently imposed only on criminals considered likely to repeat crimes such as sex offe

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2011

A medical team led by a Korean doctor has succeeded in verifying the effectiveness and safety of an oral iron chelator in treating aplastic anemia a Seoul hospital said Wednesday. According to Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, it is the first study of a large number of aplastic anemia patients to find that Deferasirox, the first oral medication approved in the United States, 2005 is effective in treating

Arts & Design Jan. 20, 2011

The government has decided to launch a consulting group to discuss international marriage and multicultural policy together with foreign ambassadors here.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will hold an inaugural meeting Thursday inviting high-ranking diplomats from seven Asian countries where a growing number of women seek a Korean husband. The discussion forum comes amid concerns growing

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2011

Livestock farmers and their families will be obliged to receive medical inspections when they return from a country where an infectious animal disease has broken out, according to a revised bill approved Tuesday. The revision, which belatedly passed through the National Assembly on Thursday, was approved during the Cabinet meeting in order to better control the rampant foot-and-mouth and other con

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2011

Nearly eight out of 10 Korean households considered additional private health insurance a necessity even under the obligatory national health insurance scheme, a recent survey found Tuesday. In 2009, Korean families had an average of 3.62 private health plans, up from 3.48 in 2008, according to a study conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. Of the 6,300 households surveyed

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2011

Fast-aging Korea could see a deficit of 16 trillion won ($14 billion) in its medical insurance financing by 2020, a report warned Monday. Without “fundamental change” in the overall system, the deficit would continue to swell in the coming years, the Institute for National Health Insurance, an affiliate of the National Health Insurance Corporation, said in its mid- and long-term financial report.

Technology Jan. 17, 2011

A legal revision was proposed Sunday to unify the government offices responsible for helping multicultural families and enhance the effectiveness of related support programs. Rep. Lee Chan-yeol of the main opposition Democratic Party submitted a revision bill to the current law on supporting multicultural families, suggesting that a legal committee be set up under the Prime Minister’s Office.Eight

Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2011

All too often, we look at our bodies as a white-elephant offering rather than as a treasured gift. We’d happily pass to someone else our varicose veins, oversize nose, frizzy hair, extra-wide feet. We’d swap in a minute our pokey metabolism, our allergies, our bellies that hurt when we eat dairy products.Yet whatever we might think, the body is, indeed, a gift. Hair and skin, blood and bones, croo

Arts & Design Jan. 13, 2011