S Korea's HIV cases rise to record high in 2008

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Chinese media) -- The number of reported HIV

cases in South Korea rose to a record high of 6,120, a government report said

Tuesday.

According to the report by the Korea Center for

Disease Control and Prevention, 797 new HIV cases were reported in 2008, adding

that the number of South Koreans contracted by the AIDS-causing virus to 6,120

by the end of last year, of whom 1,084 had died.

The newly reported HIV cases in 2008 was 7.1 percent

higher than 744 cases in 2007, the report said.

The report said 99 percent of the HIV cases have

resulted from sexual intercourse, with those in their 20s and 30s accounting for

more than a half of the total.

The agency said it will raise public awareness of the

disease and promote the use of condoms through education in an effort to detain

the spread of the fatal disease.