SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) prepares for the final appeal hearing in its landmark ₩53.3 billion ($39 million) lawsuit against tobacco companies, a new survey shows that nearly two-thirds of Koreans believe cigarette makers should be held financially responsible for medical costs linked to lung cancer. The [...]
SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Starting this June, South Korea will begin using artificial intelligence in clinical settings to assist with the interpretation of chest X-rays, aiming to enhance early detection of major pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer and tuberculosis. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has designated the AI-assisted diagnostic tool as an [...]
SEOUL, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Unregulated electronic cigarette vending machines selling synthetic nicotine products are proliferating near schools in South Korea, sparking public concern over youth access and health risks, amid mounting calls for legislative reform. A recent investigation revealed unmanned vape shops operating near elementary, middle, and high schools in central Seoul, often [...]
SEOUL, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) — In a groundbreaking development for regenerative medicine, South Korean researchers have safely administered the country’s first 3D cartilage cell therapy derived from stem cells to osteoarthritis patients, signaling a potential shift in how the degenerative joint disease may be treated in the future. The Catholic University of Korea’s Seoul St. [...]
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of young South Koreans are withdrawing from society and confining themselves indoors, emerging only at night — a pattern that is raising alarm among mental health professionals, law enforcement, and social policy experts. According to a March 2025 report by the Office for Government Policy Coordination, [...]
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s medical establishment is uniting in support of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) as it prepares for a pivotal appeals court hearing in its landmark lawsuit against major tobacco companies over smoking-related health costs. The NHIS filed a 53.3 billion won ($37 million) damage claim in 2014 [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of South Korean adults are experiencing prolonged emotional distress, with widespread perceptions of unfairness fueling rising levels of societal resentment and mental health strain, according to a nationwide survey released by Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health. The study, conducted in April 2025 and involving [...]
SEOUL, May 8 (Korea Bizwire) — With dementia-related missing person cases on the rise amid South Korea’s rapidly aging population, police are ramping up efforts to promote a fingerprint pre-registration system aimed at swiftly reuniting patients with their families. The initiative, known as the Preemptive Fingerprint Registration Program, allows dementia patients to voluntarily register their fingerprints, [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has dropped one spot to 20th in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) latest Human Development Index (HDI) rankings, despite a slight improvement in its overall score, highlighting growing international competition and widening inequality between countries. According to the 2025 Human Development Report released Tuesday by the UNDP, [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Elderly dementia patients in South Korea hold assets worth a combined 153.5 trillion won (US$110.9 billion), which is equivalent to about 6.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), data showed Tuesday. The assets had been owned by 1.24 million dementia patients aged 65 and above as of [...]