One in four South Korean male children aged 5 to 17 are obese, a rate that is higher than the OECD average, according to the nation’s Health Ministry.According to the ministry, 25 percent of young male Koreans are obese, compared to the OECD average of 23 percent.The ministry announced the statistics using Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development data from no earlier than 2010. “Some 60 percent of obese children end up becoming obese as adults as well,” said the Health Ministry in a

Amid fierce resistance from the nation’s public servants to the ruling Saenuri Party’s proposal to cut their monthly pension, a lawmaker has revealed that one in five retired public workers receive more than 3 million won ($2,798) in pension payouts, an amount about nine times higher than what retired workers in private sectors receive.According to Rep. Cho Won-jin of the ruling party, the number of retired public workers who receive such large amounts will only increase rapidly if no reform is

One in 3 South Korean elderly people suffered from obesity last year, according to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The researchers discovered that 25.7 percent of Korean males aged 65 or older were obese, while 40.1 percent of their female counterparts were.Earlier this month, the state-run agency announced that Korean women in their 60s are most prone to develop obesity, while Korean men become obsess the most commonly during their 30s.While only 14.4 percent

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― A former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul has been appointed vice president of the Washington-based think tank Korea Economic Institute of America, the institute announced Wednesday.Mark Tokola retired as a career diplomat after 38 years of experience in the U.S. Department of State, where he served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassies in South Korea, Mongolia and Iceland. Most recently, he served as the minister-counselor for political a

No progress is being made on the anticorruption bill aimed at high-ranking energy industry officials, despite repeated calls for tougher measures from lawmakers themselves. The bill has been waiting for review by the National Assembly for almost 10 months since last year.The situation is creating an ironic twist during the ongoing parliamentary audit period, as many lawmakers are criticizing the poor maintenance of the country’s nuclear reactors ― while the standing committee has been sitting on

The name of Korean traditional medicine doctor Seo Hyo-seok’s clinic, Pyunkang Korean Medicine Hospital, has a special meaning. The word ― Pyunkang ― in fact reflects the doctor’s philosophy and vision for Korean medicine. “Pyun” means tonsils, and “kang” means wellness. Together, the words means “tonsils at ease” or “healthy tonsils.”Seo, who has been researching lung-related diseases for the past 41 years, believes that healthy tonsils make for healthy lungs, and healthy lungs bring longevity.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system due to the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra of the brain. While tremor at rest, bradykinesia, muscle stiffness and postural reflex impairment are the four most common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, the disease commonly causes various other symptoms. Parkinson’s disease is primarily diagnosed from the medical history and symptoms of the patient. Not everyone with certain suspected symptoms of

NEW YORK (AFP) ― A 4-year-old boy in the northeastern U.S. state of New Jersey died suddenly and without warning as a result of the outbreak of a respiratory virus, enterovirus D68, officials said.Eli Waller, who lived in Hamilton Township, died on Sept. 25 but his cause of death was only diagnosed at the weekend.The youngest of triplets, he didn’t go to school during the day and went to bed with red eyes. He never woke up.“I think Eli’s case is an exception to the other cases in the country,” J

The number of South Koreans receiving public pension payments will rise by 8.2 percent next year, according to a government report submitted to the National Assembly.The public pension system consists of four pension programs, including the state pension and separate programs for public servants, military officers and public school teachers.According to the report, 4.69 million Koreans will receive public pension payments next year, while only 4.33 million received them this year. In total, some

South Korea’s highest court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s decision to rule that the central government was responsible for cleaning up provincial government land that had been contaminated by U.S. Forces Korea from 1957 to 2007. The land, 73,243 square meters in size, is located in Paju, a border city between the two Koreas near the demilitarized zone in Gyeonggi Province. The central government put the land under the control of the USFK in 1957. U.S. infantrymen were stationed on the plot o

A U.N. expert on racism called on the South Korean government Monday to tackle the country’s xenophobia issue by stepping up education and legislating comprehensive anti-discrimination laws. “I have found incidents and problems (of racism and xenophobia in South Korea) that are serious enough to be brought to attention,” said Mutuma Ruteere, U.N. special rapporteur on racism, in a press conference in Seoul on Monday.He made these comments on the last day of a weeklong visit to Korea to examine t

More than half of South Korean mothers go through postpartum depression within the first five years after childbirth, according to a study by Inha University.Of 1,332 mothers who gave birth in 2008, 60 percent said they suffered from depression at least once between 2008 and 2012.Some major risk factors for postpartum depression included child care stress, low self-esteem and a poor marital relationship. Depression during pregnancy, low self-esteem, an unhappy marriage and financial trouble rais

More patients in South Korea are filing medical disputes after receiving cosmetic surgery or other aesthetic treatments at local clinics, raising concerns about the industry’s safety standards and false advertising. Last week, a woman in her 50s died of dyspnea while receiving liposuction at a clinic in Seoul’s affluent district of Gangnam. While the woman’s case is extreme, an increasing number of Koreans are seeking help for disappointing results and side effects of cosmetic procedures, accord

This year marks the 10th anniversary of South Korea’s establishment of its antiprostitution law, which criminalizes the buying and selling of sex. In spite of the special law, however, the number of female sex workers in South Korea increased 3.8 percent from 2010 to 2013, according to the latest report released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The number of women working in the sex trade stood at 5,103 in 2013, up from 4,917 in 2010. Almost 80 percent of these women were in their

Korean patients with brain diseases including dementia and depression may be able to treat themselves at home using the latest electroencephalography technology starting next year.Mensia Technologies, an emerging French company specializing in real-time monitoring of brain activity, on Tuesday announced its collaboration with a Korean firm which is currently developing the world’s first EEG-driven treatment option for brain disease patients. EEG is a means of measuring voltage fluctuations resul

Korean men and women are prone to develop obesity at different ages, according to research organized by the state-run Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.While Korean women in their 60s are most prone to develop the condition, Korean men become obese most commonly during their 30s, according to the latest report released by the institute.The report was written after researching some 10,000 Koreans nationwide last year.According to the study, more than 47 percent of Korean men in the

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon spoke with “Star Trek” producer Jeffrey Chernov in an effort to attract more foreign studios to shoot their films in South Korea’s capital, during his ongoing U.S. tour in Los Angeles on Sunday.The meeting took place some five months after shooting for the Hollywood blockbuster “Avengers 2” was held in Seoul back in April. The shoot was supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, led by Park, as well as South Korea’s central government.Chernov in 2009 worked as exec

Located in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital is paperless ― quite literally.Here, kiosks and computers replace people and paper documents. All of the medical charts have been digitalized, along with the personal data of the patients. Visitors make reservations, pay and browse their medical histories through kiosks and smart devices. Doctors and nurses know exactly how many hours ― or even minutes ― they have for each and every patient. Even during meetings an

The number of single and two-person households has increased dramatically in South Korea over the last 20 years, according to a study conducted by a state-run research institute.According to the report by Kim Yoo-kyung at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, almost half ― 48.2 percent ― of all Korean households in 2010 consisted of one or two people. That contrasts with just 22.8 percent of households in 1990.Meanwhile, the percentage of larger households has dropped from 77.3 perc

Chest pain refers to various pains in the chest, which can be due to a wide range of causes. Chest pain or discomfort in the chest is a relatively common condition found in 1-2 percent of all patients, and 1.9 percent of all emergency presentations. Its causes vary widely and the clinical significance and progress differs for each cause. Therefore chest pain should be diagnosed carefully. The main causes of chest pain include problems in the lungs, heart, esophagus or ribs. Of these causes, ches