Apr. 26

• ●'4-year-old admissions tests' to blame? Depression, anxiety surge among young children in Seoul's Gangnam area The Korea Times
  The number of children aged 9 and under diagnosed with depression or anxiety in Seoul's Gangnam area has more than tripled over the past five years, recent data show.

Apr. 28

• ●'Sorry I didn't give you a healthy body': baby with rare disease found dead with mother The Korea Herald
  A woman in her 30s and her six-month-old son were found dead at a home in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, with what appears to be a suicide note apologizing for the child having a rare medical condition.
  
  

• ●Health Ministry to subsidize ova, sperm freezing for patients facing medically-induced reproductive function loss Korea JoongAng Daily
  Ministry of Health and Welfare will help cover the costs of ova and sperm freezing for individuals expected to experience permanent infertility due to ovarian or testicular removal or chemotherapy, the ministry said Monday.
  
  

• ●'A national crisis': Suicide deaths rising among middle-aged Kroean men amid economic woes Korea JoongAng Daily
  Korea is facing a surge in suicides among men in their 30s to 50s, driven by worsening economic hardship, social isolation and high-profile celebrity deaths, highlighting urgent calls for stronger national suicide prevention measures.
  
  

• ●Refusing surgery on HIV patient is discrimination The Korea Herald
  Refusing to conduct surgery based on a person's HIV status is an infringement on one's right to equality, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday.
  
  

• ●[Bill in Focus] Enhancing workplace safety, employment of older adults The Korea Herald
  The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated.
  
  

• ●S. Korea's school violence penalties create big business for lawyers The Chosun Daily
  A high school student, A, in Gyeonggi Province was accused of school violence earlier this year.

Apr. 29

• ●A third of Korea's at-risk adolescents have felt 'depressed,' survey finds Korea JoongAng Daily
  One in three at-risk adolescents in Korea have experienced feelings of "depression," a new government survey found, a proportion much greater than that of the general adolescent population.
  
  

• ●'Social and psychological murder': 17-year-old indicted on charges of child pornography Korea JoongAng Daily
  A 17-year-old boy was indicted on charges of producing sexually exploitative material after allegedly luring teenage girls online by claiming he could identify people circulating deepfake videos of them, police said Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Over half of single parents in bottom 20% income group: study The Korea Herald
  A substantial number of single parents in South Korea have low financial instability and far less time to spend with their children than two-parent households, a study by a state-funded research institute showed Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Korea expected to face shortage of 1 mil. care workers 20 years later: report The Korea Times
  Korea is projected to face a shortage of nearly 1 million care workers 20 years from now amid the country's rapidly aging population, a government report showed Tuesday.
  
  

• ●Wedding disputes rise in South Korea over refund denials and forced bundling The Chosun Daily
  Lee, a 32-year-old bride-to-be, signed a 2.2 million won ($1,600) contract last December with a wedding planner for a "photo studio, dress, and amkeup" package, commonly referred to in South Korea as the "SDM"bundle.

Apr 30

• ●Over 40% of child sex exploitation victims targeted via chat apps: report The Korea Herald
  Four out of 10 child and teenage victims of sex exploitation in South Korea last year were targeted through online chat applications, according to a new government report set to be released Thursday.
  
  

• ●Korea grapples with escalating school violence, raising safety concerns The Korea Times
  Monday began like any other for Lim (identified only by his surname), a 43-year-old father of two.

May 1

• ●Young diabetics in Korea double in 10 years: study The Korea Herald
  The number of Koreans in their 20s and 30s diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes has more than doubled in a decade, with approximately 370,000 people in this age group now living with the disease, a recent study shows.
  
  

• ●6 our of 10 Korean children play less than 2 hours per day: survey The Korea Times
  About six out of 10 Korean children have less than two hours of playtime per day, a recent survey by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) showed Thursday.

May 3

• ●Why S. Korean mothers are opting for C-sections at record rates The Korea Herald
  When 33-year-old Lee, who is due to give birth in four weeks, made her birth plan, she had no medical complications, no known risks and no family history of difficult pregnancies.
  
  

• ●Why do so many Korean Gen Z still live with their parents? The Korea Herald
  Despite social pressure to leave home and "grow up," a vast majority of Koreans in their 20s still live with their parents.

May 4

• ●Korea reports 52 cases of measles this year Korea JoongAng Daily
  Korea has confirmed 52 caes of measles so far this year, health authorities said Sunday, marking the nation's highest confirmed cases in six years amid a global resurgence of infectious diseases once deemed to be eradicated.
  
  

• ●Fraudulent health insurance claims by foreigners rise after 2-year decline Korea JoongAng Daily
  Fraudulent health insurance claims by foreign nationals and overseas Koreans increased sharply in 2024, reversing a two-year decline.

May 5

• ●Korean middle schoolers rank high in academic achievement, low in peer relationships Korea JoongAng Daily
  Korean middle school students rank among the top in academic achievement across the OECD but remain near the bottom in peer relationships and autonomy, according to a new report.
  
  

• ●15% of Korean wage workers have flexible work schedules: data The Korea Herald
  Government data showed Thursday that 15 percent of all wage workers in South Korea had flexible work schedules as of August last year, with nearly half of the remaining workers saying they wish to have such arrangements, too.
  
  

• ●Korea faces mental health crisis as children's psychiatric care visits soar The Korea Times
  As South Korea celebrates Children's Day, new data shows a worrying surge in the number of children seeking psychiatric care, with visits more than doubling over the past four years due to conditions such as depression and anxiety.
  
  

• ●Illegal health insurance claims by foreigners rebound with 30 percent jump last year The Korea Times
  After years of decline, illegal health insurance claims by foreigners and overseas Koreans saw a sharp increase in 2024, rising nearly 30 percent in total costs, according to newly released data.

May 6

• ●Loss of memory leads to loss of money as dementia patients get scammed Korea JoongAng Daily
  For the past four years, hundreds of dollars oftntimes disappeared from the account of a dementia patient in their 80s living in Seoul.
  
  

• ●Older dementia patients in Korea hold $110.5 billion in assets, gov't data shows Korea JoongAng Daily
  The total assets held by older dementia patients in Korea are estimated at 154 trillion won ($110.55 billion), equivalent to roughly 6 percent of the country's GDP, according to government data released on Tuesday.
  
  

• ●'Distress' as doctor shortage, language barrier hinder foreigners' access to urgent care Korea JoongAng Daily
  When a slight rash appeared above her eyebrows, Charlotte-a 35-year-old teacher working in Korea-initially thought it was caused by irritation from her new facial cleanser and hoped the inflamed patch would go away if she washed her skin with only water.
  
  

• ●Work takes priority over marriage, children for Koreans in 20s to 40s: survey The Korea Times
  A majority of Koreans in their 20s to 40s place greater importance on their careers than on marriage or having children, according to a report released Monday by the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion.

May 7

• ●Half of Koreans feel resentful, one in three depressed, survey finds Korea JoongAng Daily
  More than half of Korean adults are in a "state of chronic resentment," and one in three people - especially people in their 30s and with lower income - were feeling depressed, revealed a recent survey.
  
  

• ●Blame it on the bears? Plant sculptures to be removed for 'lowering birth rate' The Korea Herald
  Bush and shrub sculptures depicting a family of three bears will be removed from a Seoul-based botanical garden this month, following a petition that asserts the figures work against the national policy to boost the country's fertility rate.
  
  

• ●Locked billions: S. Korea's dementia-linked assets spark legal and economic alarm The Chosun Daily
  As South Korea's population continues to age, the country is confronting an emerging economic and legal challenge: the vast pool of assets held by people with dementia, often locked away and inaccessible.

May 8

• ●Hospital short-staffing has tragic results as patients die after being turned away Korea JoongAng Daily
  A woman in her 60s died after being denied an emergency transfer from a secondary hospital to a tertiary care center in Changwon, South Geyongsang, according to her family.
  
  

• ●Do women who don't give birth live longer? Fact-checking controversial claim by medical professor The Korea Herald
  South Korean medical professor Yoo Seong-ho's recent claim on the supposed trafe-offs between longevity and multiple childbirths have sparked a controversy here, with some complaining that the comment disparages women from giving birth.
  
  

• ●Seoul launches interpretation support for multicultural students in school violence cases The Korea Times
  An interpretation support service to assist students from multicultural backgrounds involved in school violence cases will launch this month in eastern Seoul.

May 9

• ●Inside Seoul's playground where children play - and parents get a break Korea JoongAng Daily
  The moment children stepped into the Daebang-dong indoor playground in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, their eyes lit up.
  
  

• ●Nonmarital births a solution to low birthrate, vice minister says to public outrage Korea JoongAng Daily
  One might not expect to hear a high-ranking government official advocating for giving birth to children out of wedlock as a solution to low birthrates.
  
  

• ●Over 8,300 medical students held back, 46 expelled after monthslong standoff The Korea Herald
  More than 40 percent of South Korea's medical school students have been officially held back following a prolonged class boycott that disrupted the first semester of 2025, the Education Ministry announced Friday.
  
  

• ●Philippine caregiver program faces uncertain future amid gov't doubts The Korea Times
  The future of the Philippine caregiver program in Korea, designed to supply foreign care workers to local households in response to the country's declining birthrate, has been cast into doubt as the country's labor ministry raised financial concerns about its planned expansion just weeks before its scheduled full-scale launch.
  
  

• ●Experts call for gradually raising age threshld for seniors to 70 by 2035 The Korea Times
  A group of experts on Friday proposed gradually raising to 70 from the current 65 the age threshold for senior citizens, a move aimed at focusing resources to support those who need the most in a country that has already become a "super-aged" society.
  
  

• ●S. Korea experts propose raising elderly age to 70 The Chosun Daily
  A group of academics and civic experts in South Korea has formally proposed that the country's official elderly age, currently set at 65, be gradually raised to 70.