SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 2.3 million people in South Korea sought medical treatment for influenza last year, marking the second consecutive year flu cases have exceeded 2 million, government data showed Sunday. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 2.36 million people were treated for influenza in 2024, slightly below [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will soon allow organ donations from patients who die after life support is withdrawn and their hearts stop beating — not just those declared brain dead — in a major policy shift aimed at easing the nation’s severe shortage of transplant organs, the government announced Thursday. The change, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A new study has found that only 8 percent of South Korean adults would choose to continue life-sustaining treatment if diagnosed with terminal, untreatable cancer, with the vast majority preferring to end life-prolonging care or seek euthanasia or physician-assisted death. According to the Korean Society for Hospice and Palliative [...]
GWANGJU, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Combining chewing gum exercises with electrical stimulation therapy can significantly strengthen oral muscles and improve swallowing function among older adults, according to new research from Chosun University. A research team led by Professor Choi Jong-bae from the university’s Department of Occupational Therapy found that pairing gum-chewing exercises with targeted [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean scientists have discovered that bacteriophages — viruses traditionally regarded as a major cause of fermentation failure — may in fact play a beneficial role in sustaining microbial balance in kimchi and other fermented foods. The World Institute of Kimchi said Thursday that its research team, led by Dr. [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Thursday denounced a proposed amendment to the Medical Service Act that would allow licensed traditional medicine practitioners, or hanuisas, to use X-ray machines, calling it a “grave threat” to South Korea’s medical system. KMA President Kim Taek-woo said during a press briefing at the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has moved to dismantle decades-old billing practices between clinics and diagnostic laboratories, a reform it says is essential to restoring transparency and safeguarding patient safety. But the medical community is pushing back, calling the measure hasty and detached from on-the-ground realities. The Ministry of Health and [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ruled that the death of a 22-year-old man following a COVID-19 vaccination was causally linked to the shot, marking a rare judicial recognition of vaccine-related death in the country. According to a ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court, the man, identified only as A, received [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) pushed back on Monday against a recent study by domestic medical researchers suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines could increase the risk of cancer, saying the findings do not establish a causal link. “The mechanisms behind cancer development take years to identify,” a [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antibiotic consumption ranks among the highest in the OECD, fueling alarm over the nation’s growing risk of antimicrobial resistance — a potential “superbug” crisis that public health experts warn could endanger lives and strain hospitals. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and newly released [...]