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Health authorities in Korea have formulated countermeasures against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, aiming to reduce the number by half the current level by the end of 2030.

The measures came as the number of people who newly contract HIV has continued to hover around 1,000 every year, especially among young people and foreign nationals, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Thursday.

HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system and can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). While AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV, a person with HIV will not necessarily develop AIDS.

The KDCA draws up plans on the control and prevention of AIDS every five years, and the latest plan was the second of its kind after the inaugural plan concluded last year.

The public health agency said the rate of AIDS-related deaths decreased over the last five years, but new infections, especially among young people and foreign nationals, have been consistently reported.

The number of people who newly contracted HIV stood at 837 in 2010, 1,016 in 2020, 975 in 2021 and 1,066 in 2022.

In the 2022 data, 92.3 percent were men, 67.6 percent were those under 30 and 22.6 percent were foreign nationals.

The KDCA decided to invest 20 billion won ($15 million) annually from this year to 2028 to reduce the infection rate and diagnose new patients more actively to offer treatments promptly.

The agency is also seeking to establish a more effective disease management system to halve the number of new infections by 2030.

In particular, it will enhance activities to prevent infections among men who engage in sexual intercourse with men.

"We will implement our plans without a hitch in cooperation with related ministries, local governments, private institutions and experts," KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said.