Embassies from five Central Asian countries signed a memorandum of understanding with universities in South Chungcheong Province and the provincial government to attract international students, Sunmoon University said Tuesday. Under the memorandum, the five countries, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan, will dispatch students with Korean language skills to universities in the province. The agreement also covers measures to prevent students from dropping out mid-seme

Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Korean actor Yoo Ah-in, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, on Monday over allegations of illegal drug use. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said at a press conference on Monday that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested an arrest warrant for the 37-year-old actor. The actor is suspected of using five illegal or prescription drugs for non-medical purposes -- marijuana, cocaine, ketamine, propofol and the insomnia medication zol

Some 40 percent of Korean women suffer from menstrual disorders, including painful cramps, heavy bleeding and premenstrual syndrome, survey showed Sunday. According to the report titled “Menstruation Management in Korean Women," published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, and Korea University College of Medicine, over 40 percent of Korean women suffer from menstrual disorders, such as painful cramps during menstruation,

South Korea's top court has ruled that a shop tenant who couldn't pay the rent during the COVID-19 pandemic should not be evicted, news reports said Wednesday, quoting the court's decision. The ruling by the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by the tenant against the landlord confirmed the lower courts' decisions that the landlord could not get rid of tenants behind on their monthly rent, ruling in favor of the plaintiff. The landlord’s appeal to the Supreme Court was di

South Korea's parliament is expected to ratify the Hague Adoption Convention, aimed at ensuring that inter-country adoption only occurs when in the best interests of the child, as early as 2025. The convention, known officially as the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, deals with international adoption, child laundering and child trafficking in an effort to protect t

South Korean government is contemplating lifting the isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients as soon as this month, as part of efforts to transition to pre-pandemic normalcy. The decision will be announced as early as this week, officials said. The mandatory isolation rule was introduced as one of the first preventative measures in January 2020. The move is being considered as the isolation requirement has been lifted in a number of countries. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Thailand, France

A department head at a large company who recommended a female subordinate go on a date with a male employee was found guilty of sexually harassment and ordered to compensate the victim, news reports said Monday, quoting the court order. The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court was upholding a lower court's decision that ordered the department head to pay 3 million won ($2,265) to the victim. The incident occurred in 2021, when the woman had lunch with three of her bosses, including th

An increasing number of local governments are subsidizing medical expenses for young people suffering from hair loss amid an increase in the number of Koreans in their 20s and 30s seeking the treatment. Saha District Office in Busan amended an ordinance Wednesday to provide free alopecia treatment for residents aged 19-34. Saha ward office is the latest in municipalities' drive to fund hair loss treatments for residents. Seongdong District Office in Seoul has also been offering cash voucher

The number of international students enrolled in Korean higher education institutions hit a record high last year, data showed Sunday. According to the data released by the Ministry of Education, there were 166,869 foreign students enrolled at domestic universities and colleges as of April 1 2022, marking an increase of 10 percent from a year earlier and exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The number of international students included those enrolled in both degree and non-degree programs, such as l

A group of doctors and other medical workers said Tuesday that they will stage a nationwide strike in protest of the passage of a so-called nursing bill, which they say would give nurses legal rights to establish their own medical institutions. A statement released Tuesday morning said the association of 13 medical groups led by doctors and nursing assistants will go on a one-day nationwide strike on May 17. The protest, which is planned for a weekday, is feared to disrupt the country's med

Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets nationwide on Monday in South Korea to mark Labor Day with protests against labor reforms being pushed by the Yoon Suk Yeol government. Workers belonging to the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korea Trade Unions -- the country’s two major umbrella labor organizations -- participated in large-scale rallies across the country, including in the metropolitan cities of Seoul, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and the southern island

Yoo Jun-hwan, 31, never thought that he would be leading a labor union until just two years ago. The research engineer who had studied in the US was awarded a smaller-than-expected annual bonus from his company, LG Electronics, in early 2021. However, the company had marked a record high operating profit in the previous year at nearly 3.2 trillion won ($2.3 billion). In quite an unusual move at a Korean company, Yoo asked management why he was getting a bonus far lower than those given out by th

A group of doctors and other medical workers are reportedly considering launching a nationwide strike following the passage of a bill that stipulates a clear definition of nursing and nurses’ roles in medical services at the National Assembly's plenary session on Thursday. They have been opposing to the bill, saying that it would provide legal ground for nurses to open their own medical institutions. Despite strong opposition from the ruling People Power Party, the main opposition Dem

Foreigners are returning to South Korea to undergo medical treatment or get cosmetic surgery as the COVID-19 pandemic has eased in most parts of the world, government data showed Monday. The number of medical tourists visiting Korea shot up 70.1 percent year-on-year in 2022 to 248,000, up from 146,000 in 2021, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The industry has seen a rebound, with the number of medical tourists reaching a cumulative 3.27 million since 2009 when the ministry began

Women who go on extreme diets are more likely to suffer menstrual pain, a study showed Monday. Women engaging in extreme dieting practices had a higher risk of developing dysmenorrhea, according to research conducted by the Korea National Institute of Health. Dysmenorrhea refers to severe and frequent cramps during menstruation. The study looked at 5,829 women aged 14 to 44 from March through June 2016, during which 22 percent of those went on an extreme diet. An extreme diet involves practices

More than 90 percent of Koreans consider domestic abuse as something perpetrated by men against women. Domestic violence, defined in the Domestic Violence Punishment Act, is any abusive act between family members, including violence against a wife, husband, children, parents and between siblings. A survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute in November of last year which included 754 respondents found that only 11.5 percent of individuals correctly understood the definitio

Tensions have been rising between doctors and nurses due to proposed legislation that aims to clarify the roles and responsibilities of nurses separately from other health care professionals. Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong was scheduled to accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the United States on Monday, but the trip was cancelled due to the ongoing conflict. Minister Cho plans to hold emergency meetings to mediate between the two groups this week. The proposed Nursing Act is set to b

The number of shingles infections has been climbing in South Korea, data showed on Thursday. According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, a total of 722,257 people were infected with the disease in 2021, a 2.4 percent increase from 705,661 in 2017. The total amount of medical expenses related to the disease borne by individuals, families and the Korean government amounted to 166.1 billion won ($125 million) in 2021, an 11.9 percent increase from 2017. Chances of getting infected with

The number of locally transmitted cases of mpox infection is on the rise, but the country is unlikely to face a massive surge of the virus, which is most commonly transmitted through close personal contact, not via air, Korea's health authorities said Wednesday. Kim Sung-ho, the vice interior minister in charge of disaster and safety management, said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters that “Given the characteristics of the virus, which spr

Metabolic syndrome, a term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, has been linked to an increased risk of developing gastric cancer, a common cancer among Koreans, a study showed Tuesday. People with metabolic syndrome had a 26 percent higher risk of developing gastric cancer, according to research led by professor Kang Dae-hee of the Preventive Medicine Department at Seoul National University College of Medicine. This risk was further increased when accompanied by smoki