With Internet addiction emerging as a serious social issue, the Gongju National Hospital in South Chungcheong Province has opened a clinic dedicated to the treatment of those caught in the Web. This is the first time a national medical facility has launched anti-Internet addiction program here. The five-week session helps Internet addicts as with other patients using diverse medical aspects. Visit

Regulations on passport issuance for those who have committed crimes overseas will be eased, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Monday.It said that the revision is likely to go into effect from July. Currently, those who have committed crimes in foreign countries are banned from being issued passports for a year. Passport issuance is restricted for three years for those who are charged

Police were told Monday that there are situations when use of their weapons is appropriate. The National Police Agency Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh said in a meeting of high-ranking officials that police officers are encouraged to use weapons such as pistols, tear gas guns and taser guns in situations including those taking place in police stations, especially if they threaten the authority of

Ministry seeks to dissuade patients from relying on top-tier hospitalsMore than 11 percent of Korea’s gross domestic product may be consumed by medical care in 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfares said Monday, stressing the need to reform medical facilities nationwide. Snowballing medical expenses will burden the nation’s economy as the population ages, putting further pressure on the medical

Vocational high schools, mostly attended by students who intend to land jobs right after graduation, are losing their reputation as a sure path to employment. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 463,888 students attended 692 vocational schools across the country in 2010, down from 578,865 students at 775 schools in 2001. While 54.7 percent of them got jobs after graduat

The number of North Koreans who have illegally migrated to Thailand has jumped 50-fold in the past six years and the Thai government is not happy about the sudden influx, a Thai newspaper reported last week. According to the Bangkok Post, an English newspaper in Thailand, the number of North Korean defectors to Thailand marked 2,482 in 2010, compared to 46 in 2004. From October until April, 899 No

Korean and U.S. ministers of education and science will hold talks to discuss ways to boost personnel and research exchanges, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday. The talks will be the first of their kind in 30 years.Education and Science Minister Lee Ju-ho will visit Washington Tuesday for the talks with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan from May 11-13. The two min

Retired provincial public service employees and politicians dominate management posts of local public firms, even though many have no corporate management experience, reports said.Chief executives or board chairmen in 95 of the 127 provincial public firms are former local civil servants or politicians, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday, citing the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.Ou

More and more high schools are selecting Chinese and Japanese as their second foreign languages, elbowing out French and German, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday. Experts say practicality was the main drive, which may hurt the diversity of language education in the society. According to the education office, 196 out of 222 high schools in Seoul established Japanese classes an

Women tend to think that breast cancer is their biggest health threat. While it is important, heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of women, even young women.The risk of heart disease in women increases with age. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 40 years old, especially after menopause. Every year, more than 500,000 U.S. women die of heart disease. This translates to app

DETROIT ― Johanne Erickson could handle two to three hot flashes a week when her perimenopause symptoms began two years ago, when she was 44.But by February, 40 to 50 hot flashes a day plagued the Oxford, Michigan, woman.Erickson, a human resources manager for an automotive supplier, turned into the office joke. Friends bought her a cache of fans.“At some point you either have to laugh about it an

Chin Soo-hee tells of new volunteer scheme for KoreaA new era of sharing in Korea has been heralded by the minister of health and welfare. Chin Soo-hee urged the public to realize that sharing even the smallest things could foster a charity culture here, during an exclusive interview to mark the launch of The Korea Herald’s new “Sharing” page. “Sharing is the single most noble thing one can do for

You Young-koo, head of the Korea Baseball Organization, was arrested on Wednesday for misappropriating funds from his school foundation in 2006. He has offered to resign from the governing post of the Korean professional baseball league, officials said. Officers at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said You had made a payment guarantee for a 150 billion won ($138 m) loan to Myongji Co

Prosecutors requested a local court on Wednesday to issue an arrest warrant for Hong Song-won, head of Gallery Seomi, one of the most prominent art galleries in Korea, for laundering slush funds of business conglomerate Orion Group. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Hong received 4 billion won ($3.7 million) in slush funds from Orion last year and bought several pieces o

The government’s efforts to facilitate domestic adoption are not paying off as the number of cases has failedto increase strongly. The number of adoptions was 1,462 in 2010, compared to 1,314 in 2009, 1,306 in 2008 and 1,388 in 2007, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The ministry has offered several perks to adoptive families including special days off for civil servant-parents, exem

The Korea Herald’s new “Sharing” page has been praised by the minister for health and welfare, who noted that: “Benevolence does wonders to both givers and takers.”Minister of Health and Welfare Chin Soo-hee said she hoped the page would nurture Korea’s giving culture, commenting that she believed Koreans already had “sharing in their DNA.”The new page ― to be published every Thursday ― will cover

Changgyeong Palace and Jongmyo, a shrine dedicated to memorial services for the kings and queens of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), will be linked again after being separated for 80 years,According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the restoration work will begin with the destruction of the Yulgok Road that divides them. The road, which was a small passage to link the two places, was expanded

Korea’s low birthrate is not just a problem for policymakers worried about declining tax revenue but for businesses looking to secure a stable supply of manpower and a large market. Twenty-three companies, including household names, pledged Tuesday to promote procreation at an event hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to induce their cooperation in tackling the issue.Officials from POSCO,

PC room owners protest law, demand revisionAs early as late next year, a nationwide smoking ban will be imposed on all PC and billiard rooms, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday as a related bill passed the National Assembly. According to the ministry, the revision also covers public organization buildings, tourist attractions, large concert halls, sports stadiums, playgrounds for child

Former President Roh Tae-woo had an acupuncture needle removed from his lung on Thursday, Seoul National University Hospital confirmed Friday. The hospital refused to elaborate on how or when the needle penetrated Roh’s lung, which caused the 78-year-old former state leader to check into the hospital two days earlier. “The 6.5 centimeter-long material had a small part of ‘handle’ which is used in