The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday designated Seoul, Jeju and Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province as “leading cities” in promoting the use of electric vehicles across the country. Local authorities will provide residents with 168 electric vehicles and 251 recharging facilities. Korea plans to put more than 1 million electric cars in use by 2020. In Seoul, where electric buses already operate a

Money can’t buy you love but it often makes a relationship go sour.Couple.net, a matchmaking agency, said Tuesday that the number of divorces caused by financial problems has sharply increased in the past decade. In its survey of 4,405 couples divorced between 1990 and 2009, the number of people divorcing because of money problems marked 7.1 percent between 1990 and 1999, but jumped to 12.7 percen

A lifestyle of temperance seems to lead to longevity as shown in a recent study that found religious leaders live longer than other professions here. Journalists, on the other hand, with their high-stress lifestyles, binge drinking and chain-smoking habits, live 13 years less than the religious leaders, according to research by professor Kim Jong-in of Wonkwang University.The findings were based o

Cremation is rapidly replacing centuries-old burial customs here as eight out of every 10 people surveyed said they would like to be cremated when dead. Being less costly and more environment-friendly, more people are expected to opt for cremation in the future, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday. In a survey of 3,000 adults by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, affilia

Minister Chin says that fund will also seek long-term partnership with companiesThe investment of the 340-trillion-won ($300 billion) national pension fund will be diversified into emerging markets, green industries and overseas bonds over the next three years, Health and Welfare Minister Chin Soo-hee announced Friday. Overseas investment will rise to 20 percent of the total from the current 12.6

Adult males in Gangwon Province showed the highest smoking and drinking rates while those in the Jeolla provinces stayed the most sober and smoke-free, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The more stable a region’s economy, the more likely its residents will refrain from an unhealthy lifestyle, the institute said.According to its research based on data collected fro

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will help foreign spouses here find jobs through a set of programs in April. During the month, the candidates can receive subsidies for job training fees up to 3 million won ($2,600) and tailored job consultations. Successful candidates will then be able to work at social enterprises, as care-givers, factory workers and more.The applicants should visit their lo

A student of KAIST was found dead Tuesday in a suspected suicide, the third this year at the nation’s top university in science and technology, raising questions about the competitive environment there.According to police, a 25-year-old KAIST senior surnamed Jang was found in a parking lot of an apartment complex in Jamwon-dong, southern Seoul. He appeared to have fallen from the building. He was

Wyeth Korea said Wednesday that it has reduced the price of its rheumatism medication, Embrel, by 5 percent.As the Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to cover 90 percent of the medication fee through the national health insurance, the price of the drug will be set to less than 100,000 won a month, the drug distributor said. Previously, the national health insurance covered 90 percent of th

CHICAGO (AP) ― That nonstop crying of a baby with colic has some parents turning to popular folk remedies. Unfortunately, there’s no good evidence they work, according to a review of 15 studies.The results don’t surprise New York City mom Leni Calas, 32. She tried many treatments studied, including fennel extract, sugar drops and massage, and says nothing worked for baby Roxy, who cried almost non

The obese and smokers are likely to die before their peers, a state-run institute said Tuesday, stressing the importance of staying fit and smoke-free. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said Tuesday that overweight people are likely to die 2.6 years before those of healthy weight, while smokers die 5.6 years earlier on average than non-smokers, based on analysis of the National Hea

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs is to recruit a female marriage immigrant in the first such move for a central government agency, officials said Tuesday. The hiring is hoped to bring diversity to the ministry’s policies and eventually into other departments, which are also pushing multiculturalism. The ministry made the announcement of a job opening for an assistant position for

Hongik University, one of the leading higher-educational institutes in arts, will establish a campus in California to give its students the opportunity to study abroad and open their eyes to the broader world, the school said Monday. The move follows the recently announced guidelines of the Education Ministry allowing establishment of overseas campuses of educational facilities.Hongik said they ch

The National Red Cross has collected a record 20 billion won to aid Japan’s quake victims, the highest sum ever raised here to help victims of a natural disaster.The organization said donations totaled 21.3 billion won ($19.1 million) as of Saturday, breaking the previous record of 19.3 billion won collected for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. in 2005. The Katrina fund was collected o

Authorities announce measures to bring down TB prevalence, highest in the OECDTo many people, tuberculosis, often abbreviated as TB, is a disease in novels or TV dramas: The beautiful but pale protagonist spits blood on his or her white handkerchief and cries over their fate. A classic scene in a romantic novel. However, the real tuberculosis is nothing romantic. The hemoptysis and excessive cough

Mando, the nation’s largest automobile parts maker, has been fined 25 million won ($28,000) for paying extra wages to fulltime unionists, officials said Thursday.The Suwon District Court slapped fines of 15 million won and 10 million won on the company president and another executive in charge of labor affairs, for breaking the “time off” system adopted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor last

CHICAGO (AP) ― Sex and exercise can trigger heart attacks in older people who don’t get much of either, a new analysis finds. The risk is low, but it’s a good reminder that slackers should change their exercise habits gradually, especially in middle age.People who exercise regularly have a much smaller risk of having a heart attack immediately after sexual or physical activity, said lead author Dr

LOS ANGELES ― Theater owners to the FDA: Don’t mess with our popcorn.The nation’s cinema operators are fuming about proposed federal rules that could require them to disclose the calories in their concession food ― including popcorn, a highly profitable item for theater chains.Regulators could issue final rules as early as Wednesday that would force movie theaters to post calorie counts for popcor

A man in his 40s came in one day, complaining of fatigue. He had a hard time waking up in the morning and got easily tired. “Constant fatigue made me concerned about whether I have any serious illnesses,” he said. “Isn’t fatigue the root cause of all disease? I want to treat the root of the problem.” Fatigue is a common presenting symptom in everyday practice. It negatively impacts work performanc

Seo Min-jung, just admitted into a doctoral program in Japan, decided to leave for the earthquake-hit country despite the concerns of her family. Her course at the University of Tsukuba in a small town near Tokyo commences in April. Even though the repeated reports about the natural disasters and the leakage of radioactivity from a nuclear power plant in Fukushima frighten her and her family from