Articles by Jo He-rim
Jo He-rim
herim@heraldcorp.com-
[Newsmaker] Minister under fire as opposition chokes on NK’s naengmyeon remark
Taking issue with inaction against a remark by a high-ranking North Korea military negotiator, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted a proposal for the dismissal of Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Wednesday.It cited the pushing of the inter-Korean railway without ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration that calls for it, the banning of a defector from covering an inter-Korean meeting in Panmunjeom and an insulting remarks made to businessmen during September’s North-South
Politics Oct. 31, 2018
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South Gyeongsang governor denies collusion on opinion-rigging scandal
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo flatly denied alleged collusion with a power blogger in a massive opinion-rigging scheme, questioning the credibility of testimonies by the blogger’s close associates.After the first court hearing that lasted about 14 hours, Gov. Kim reiterated his denial.“Those who watched the testimonies of the witnesses will be able to make the (right) judgment. I will sincerely follow the remaining legal procedures,” Kim said upon leaving Seoul Central District C
Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2018
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Gov. Kim ordered manipulation of online comments: witness
A witness said he manipulated online comments on South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo’s orders, in Kim’s first court hearing for his involvement in a massive opinion-rigging scandal, Monday.“I am starting a new journey to shed light on the truth of this case. I will sincerely follow all the legal procedures and do my best to make sure the truth is clarified via the court trials,” said Gov. Kim, appearing in front of Seoul Central District Court at 9:46 a.m. to attend the hearing. Gov. K
Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor grilled for power abuse, election law violations
The path seemed to be wide and smooth for lawyer-turned-politician Lee Jae-myung, a two-term mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and previously a prominent presidential primary candidate for the ruling party.Now, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee stands at the center of public scrutiny over a series of unsavory scandals related to family problems, an extramarital affair and organized crime.On Monday, Lee appeared at Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province for questioning over a series of allegati
Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2018
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23 referred to prosecution over online attacks on Gov. An’s former secretary
The police plan to refer 23 people to the prosecution for posting malicious online comments about the former secretary of An Hee-jung, a former governor of South Chungcheong Province, who accused the ex-governor of sexual assault but lost her case in a controversial verdict in August. According to the cybercrimes department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Saturday, two of An’s former aides were referred to the Seoul Central District Court for indictment on charges of online defamation
Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2018
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Ruling camp to reinforce monitoring of private kindergartens’ accounts
The government and the ruling party vowed Thursday to reinforce monitoring of accounting practices at private kindergartens and to increase the number of the state-run facilities, after accounting fraud was discovered at thousands of kindergartens across the country.The Education Ministry will also improve transparency at private kindergartens by applying a new accounting system, Minister Yoo Eun-hae and ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers said during a meeting at the National Assembly.Mo
Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2018
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Driver’s license test for foreigners offered in three languages, down from 10
The written test for driver’s licenses previously available in 10 languages will now only be offered in three, making it more difficult for some foreigners to take the tests.The Road Traffic Authority has stopped providing the written exam part of the driver’s license in seven languages, citing the lack of test-takers for the abolished languages. The remaining three languages are English, Chinese and Vietnamese. A driver’s license examination office in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)The driver’s licen
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2018
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Warrant sought for court administration body
Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant late Tuesday for a former deputy chief of the National Court Administration accused of abusing his power. In the application, they named former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae as an accomplice, closing in on the high-ranking judge at the center of a massive scandal over judiciary power abuse.Seoul District Court will review the request for the arrest warrant for Lim Jong-hun, the former deputy chief of the court administration body, Friday morning,
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2018
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Military court lax in punishing sex crimes: lawmaker
The military court is too generous in its sentencing of military personnel found guilty of sex crimes, with about 30 percent of cases receiving reduced sentences upon appeal, a lawmaker claimed Wednesday.According to General Military Court data released to Rep. Song Ki-hun of the Democratic Party of Korea, 1,279 military personnel were tried for sex crimes at the court from 2015 to 2017. (Yonhap)More than 34.2 percent of the personnel had allegedly violated military criminal law -- committing s
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2018
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Opinion-rigging blogger’s group aimed to take over conglomerate to implement economic democracy theory: investigators
A power blogger, who is standing trial on opinion-rigging charges, and his economic organization aimed to “promote economic democracy by taking over a conglomerate and creating a social community from the profit earned,” investigators said Tuesday. In the hearing of Kim Dong-won, nicknamed “Druking,” and members of his organization, the independent counsel team led by Huh Ik-bum revealed documents and testimony from the group. (Yonhap)Kim, with his group, has been indicted for manipulating thou
Politics Oct. 23, 2018
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Conflict over kindergarten accounting fraud deepens
A conflict between public and private kindergartens is deepening following a lawmaker’s revelations of thousands of cases of accounting fraud by private kindergartens.As the Education Ministry and government are moving to introduce stronger measures to monitor the private institutes, the kindergartens are lashing back, announcing a move to not admit new students. The Education Ministry is to open the results of all past inspections of private kindergartens that took place from 2013 to 2017 on Th
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2018
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Education Ministry to disclose private kindergartens found with accounting fraud
The Education Ministry began operation of a corruption report center to monitor private kindergartens for irregularities Friday, after thousands of private institutes were found with accounting fraud. On Thursday, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae announced the ministry will open the results of past inspections conducted on private kindergartens across the nation from 2013 to 2017 and also reveal the names of institutes found to have committed accounting fraud. The results will become available on
Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Only 28% of school buildings reinforced for earthquake in Korea: lawmaker
Only 28 percent of schools in Korea have undergone earthquake-resistant construction, and it will take over a decade for all the buildings to be reinforced a lawmaker said Friday. According to the data Rep. Kim Hyun-ah of Liberty Korea Party received from the Education Ministry, only 28.1 percent of 61,670 schools have undergone seismic reinforcement in Korea.(Yonhap)By region, 17.2 percent of schools in Jeju were reinforced to withstand earthquakes; 20.3 percent in North Jeolla Province; 21.3 p
Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2018
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[Weekender] Hiking a national pastime with benefits, consequences
Hiking is a hugely popular pastime in Korea, with 32 million of the 51.6 million population said to visit a mountain at least once a year. Hiking’s popularity, and older generations’ apparently love of hiking attire for everyday activities, has led to a massive market for “outdoor” clothing, peaking at over 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in 2014. The popularity of hiking also comes with a downside. The sheer number of hikers comes with environmental concerns, especially with trash left behind by
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Taxi drivers rise against Kakao’s new carpooling service
Tens of thousands of private and corporate taxi drivers took to the streets Thursday to protest Kakao Mobility, a new carpooling service to be launched by the end of the year. At Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, some 70,000 taxi drivers gathered, according to the rally organizers, to fight what they called “illegal carpooling services” to be offered by the mobile messaging giant Kakao. (Kim Sung-woo/The Korea Herald)“Let’s take down Kakao, which is stomping on the taxi industry,” chanted the p
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2018
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