Articles by Lee Jaeeun
Lee Jaeeun
jenn@heraldcorp.com-
Korean doctors see income surge amid intensifying physician shortage
Amid a shortage of physicians and the second-lowest doctor-to-population ratio among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, South Korean doctors have seen a substantial increase in their income, making them some of the highest earners in the medical field across surveyed OECD nations. The Korean government plans to address the country's doctor shortage by increasing medical school enrollment quotas, a move prompted primarily by a market structure that limits
Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2023
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Police to crack down on impersonating officers during Halloween
Halloween partygoers wearing police costumes could face criminal punishment, police warned Thursday, saying that it could be seen as impersonating an officer. The National Police Agency added that an intensive crackdown on individuals wearing or selling police costumes would occur from this weekend until Nov. 5. “We will monitor whether police uniforms are sold online and crack down on any transactions found. We will also regulate those selling equipment of police under the counter,”
Social Affairs Oct. 26, 2023
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Korean women live longer but suffer more diseases than men
Korean women live longer than men on average, but women suffer from more diseases in their lifetimes than men, data showed Wednesday. According to data released by the Korea National Institute of Health, Korean women had a life expectancy of 86.6 years, while men had a life expectancy of 80.6 years, as of last year. As long as records have been kept practically anywhere, women have lived longer than men. Also, for almost every major cause of death, men are more likely to die sooner than women, t
Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2023
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Retailers skip Halloween promotions this year
Halloween marketing has all but disappeared in South Korea after last year’s crowd crush disaster that occurred in a small alley in Itaewon, central Seoul. Most large retailers have canceled or minimized their Halloween events, and those that are continuing to sell Halloween goods face a mixed reaction. According to retail industry insiders, the industry is minimizing sales of Halloween-themed products this year, with the event still seen as associated with last year's tragedy that le
Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2023
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Crowd crush victims forced to cope alone
Bereaved families and surviving victims of last year’s deadly crowd crush in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul say they have been left to deal with their pain on their own, as governmental resources were either unavailable or insufficient. Among the 159 people who died after overcrowding reached catastrophic levels in Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, was Choi Joung-joo’s daughter Yu-jin. “My wife wanted to get therapy after our daughter passed, so she made a call to our district offic
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023
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[From the Scene] Don't remember Itaewon alley as place of death, victims' families say
On a Saturday night in October, dozens of people were lined up outside the Waikiki Beach Pub in the narrow alley behind the Hamilton Hotel, in Itaewon, Seoul. “We should have arrived before 8:30 p.m.," one said. "There are always lines around 8:30 p.m. these days during the weekend. I heard that we need to wait more than 30 minutes to enter." It was not the only packed bar on Itaewon World Food Street, the center of Itaewon nightlife. Most bars along the street were full of
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023
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Yoon, doctors set to clash over medical school quota
The South Korean government is bracing for potential backlash from doctors as it seeks to unveil a plan that would increase the medical school enrollment quota to address doctor shortages. The government has decided to expand the number of placements for medical school, and President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to announce details including the specific figure on Thursday, according to multiple government officials. The government initially reviewed a plan to increase the medical school enrollment quot
Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2023
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Suicide caused more deaths than COVID-19 during pandemic
Some 40,000 people took their own lives over the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the suicide rate increasing among the younger generation, data showed Wednesday. A total of 39,453 people died from suicide from 2020 to 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Rep. Baek Jong-hean of the ruling People Power Party said in a release. The release highlighted that the number of deaths by suicide was higher than the 3
Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2023
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Human rights commission urges Korea to abolish death penalty
South Korea’s human rights commission on Tuesday called for the Korean government to abolish the death penalty now that the Ministry of Justice has also raised the possibility of introducing life imprisonment without parole. Song Doo-hwan, chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, urged the Korean people and the government to formally repeal capital punishment, in a statement issued on Tuesday to mark the 21st annual World Day Against the Death Penalty. Korea is already among
Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2023
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Number of unmarried women freezing eggs surges
The number of unmarried women opting to freeze their eggs for future use has skyrocketed over the past seven years, as the median age for first marriages has continued to rise, data released Monday showed. The number of egg-freezing procedures for unmarried women has witnessed a huge increase in recent years, according to data from CHA Medical Group, a health care provider with a network of major medical facilities across the country. In 2022, there were 1,004 such procedures at CHA, a significa
Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2023
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No. of drug-related offenders surges to record-high 12,700 this year
The number of apprehended drug-related offenders surged to a historical high of 12,700 this year, driven by crimes among teenagers and those over 60, police statistics showed Friday. According to National Police Agency data on drug-related crimes, a total of 12,700 drug-related offenders were apprehended as of August this year. Although this figure was only compiled from January to August this year, it exceeds the number of apprehended drug-related offenders, 12,387, counted for all of last year
Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2023
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Only one-third of overseas medical school graduates become doctors
Only one-third of graduates from overseas medical schools have obtained medical licenses in Korea, despite these institutions gaining recognition as an alternative path to becoming a doctor without entering more competitive domestic medical schools. Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, on Thursday presented the latest data on medical school graduates who completed their education between 2005
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2023
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Culture minister nominee warns celebrities to be cautious over political speech
Culture Minister nominee Yu In-chon said Tuesday that public figures should be careful when speaking out publicly, when asked about his thoughts on a social media post by a singer concerning Japan's discharge of contaminated water. “Although anyone is free to express their opinions, when it comes to celebrities or public figures who have social influence, they should be careful when they publicly speak about something because it comes along with responsibility," he said in a writ
Politics Oct. 4, 2023
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Hospital visits during Chuseok cost up to 50% more
Patients will have to pay up to 50 percent in additional charges when they go to hospitals or pharmacies during the Chuseok holiday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday. The higher rates are applicable beginning on Sept. 28 and run over the Chuseok holiday period and through Oct. 3. Additional charges ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent are applied in accordance with relevant government regulations, which require people to pay more while using medical facilities, including hospit
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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More seniors working but still not earning enough: data
More elderly Koreans are working after retirement to avoid poverty, but many find their income insufficient, data showed Wednesday. According to data released by Statistics Korea, 36.2 percent of those aged 65 or older in 2022 said they are still working, up 6.1 percentage points from 2012’s 30.1 percent. The rate was above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations’ average of 15 percent and the highest among the 36 OECD member countries. Japan reported
Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2023
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