Articles by Kim Yon-se
Kim Yon-se
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Policeman convicted of accessing cellphone messages
A Seoul court on Wednesday handed a former policeman an eight-month suspended prison sentence for accessing a woman’s mobile phone messages and leaking some investigative information.The ex-policeman, surnamed Tak, was dispatched to a street in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, to attend to a drunken woman in September 2013. After escorting the woman to her home, he pocketed her smartphone, according to the Seoul Central District Court.He accessed the KakaoTalk messages between the woman and her b
Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2014
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Big firms brace for CO2 emissions cap
The South Korean government on Tuesday notified local companies of their carbon dioxide emission quotas as the country is set to launch a platform next year to trade carbon credits amid growing concerns in the business sector. The Ministry of Environment said 525 Korean companies would be subject to the emissions restriction from 2015 to 2017, the first phase of the trading system. The aggregate quota for the 525 businesses is set at 1.598 billion tons over the next three years. The quota system
Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2014
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Female employment rate to climb sharply: ministry
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday that the ratio of female and senior members of the workforce would sharply increase in the coming decade.In its outlook on changes in the workforce structure for the 2013-2023 period, the ministry said women’s participation rate in economic activities is projected to increase by 6 percentage points, which will surpass the estimated 4.1 percentage points for men.The report said that 56.2 percent of working-age women will likely participate in econ
Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2014
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Growth of real wages continues to decline
The growth rate of real wages for salaried workers hit its lowest mark in 33 months during the third quarter, due mainly to the low purchasing power of consumers.The per-capita real wage ― adjusted from the minimum wage in reflection of on-year consumer prices growth ― stayed at 2.95 million won ($2,680) per month in the third quarter, inching up 0.08 percent from 2.94 million won over the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor showed Monday.The figure is the lowes
Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2014
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3 in 10 sex offenders given reprieves
Three in 10 defendants convicted of sexual violence in Korea receive a commutation of their prison sentence in trials at appellate courts, data from the Seoul Women Lawyers Association showed Monday.According to the data, the appeals courts commuted the terms of 299 (or 31.8 percent) out of 939 sexual crime case rulings in district courts, from January 2013 to June 2014.Among the 299 commutations, 59.5 percent (178 cases) were reduced to jail terms ranging between six months and two years, 30.4
Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2014
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U.S. film on N.K. leader to hit screens
A controversial American movie on an assassination plot targeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hit the screens in 63 countries starting late next month, a U.S. news report said Friday.The comedy, titled “The Interview,” will be released in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 25 before hitting the screens in European, Middle Eastern and African countries early next year, the Washington-based Voice of America said, citing the movie‘s distributor Sony Pictures.South Korea was not mentioned among th
Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2014
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Parties agree to raise cigarette tax by W2,000
The nation’s ruling and opposition parties tentatively agreed to raise the tax on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.80) per pack next year during their review of the 2015 budget.Under the agreement between the Saenuri Party and the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the cigarette prices are likely to range between 4,300 won and 5,000 won, depending on the product.The government announced in September that it would push to raise tobacco prices by 80 percent by January as part of its measures to decre
Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2014
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Sankei’s ex-Seoul head denies charges of defaming Park
Sankei Shimbun’s former Seoul bureau chief Tatsuya Kato on Thursday denied having had any intention of defaming President Park Geun-hye in his Aug. 3 report.In the 48-year-old defendant’s first trial hearing at Seoul Central District Court, an attorney for Kato said that he “does not understand why the article on the relations between Park, who is single, and a man is regarded as a libel case.”The attorney argued that the bureau chief wrote the article to inform Japanese readers of Park’s then-f
Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2014
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Japanese reporter denies defaming President Park
Sankei Shimbun’s former Seoul bureau chief Tatsuya Kato on Thursday denied the charges that his Aug. 3 report on President Park Geun-hye was aimed at intentionally defaming her.In the first trial hearing on the 48-year-old defendant at Seoul Central District Court, an attorney for Kato said that he “does not understand why the article on the relations between Park, who is single, and a man is regarded as a libel case.”The attorney argued that the bureau chief wrote the article to inform Japanese
Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2014
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Calls grow for retaining bar exam
Debates over the selection system for the legal profession are set to come to the fore again when the last group of individuals who pass the test will be unveiled, with the abolition of the state-run judicial examination slated for 2017.The Ministry of Justice said earlier this month that 204 individuals passed the national bar exam in 2014 ― a big decline compared to 1,009 in 2004.The number of legal trainees who passed the exam has continued to drop over the past decade, with only 506 in 2012
Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2014
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Ex-Assembly speaker indicted for sexual abuse
The prosecution on Tuesday indicted former National Assembly speaker Park Hee-tae without detention for sexually harassing a female gold caddie in Wonju, Gangwon Province, earlier this year.The 76-year-old political heavyweight ― as a standing adviser to the ruling Saenuri Party ― was embroiled in a scandal in September after the golf caddie, 23, filed a police complaint against him alleging inappropriate physical contact several times at a golf course.While there were speculations that investig
Social Affairs Nov. 25, 2014
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Apartment complex layoffs raise ire
An apartment complex in Gangnam district, southern Seoul, is moving to dismiss all of its security guards and contract cleaners.Dubbed New Hyundai Apartment, the wealthy Apgujeong-dong residential complex attracted public scrutiny after a security guard in his 50s attempted to burn himself to death in October, having suffered repeated insults from residents.According to a group of Seoul labor advocates, the complex has informed 106 workers, including 78 security guards and some female cleaners,
Social Affairs Nov. 25, 2014
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Man cleared of assault charge on 15-year-old girl
South Korea’s top court has handed down a potentially explosive ruling that recognizes sexual relations between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl.The Supreme Court said Monday it had overturned a ruling by the Seoul High Court, which convicted the man in his 40s of sexually assaulting the girl, who was then aged 15, several times when she was working for his entertainment agency.A Seoul district court had sentenced him to 12 years in jail on charges of raping the girl. Later, the appellate co
Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2014
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‘Putin ready for summit with Kim’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after holding talks with Kim’s special envoy.Russia confirmed that it is ready for contact with North Korea at various levels, including the highest level, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in response to a question from a Korean news provider whether his discussions with the North’s special envoy, Choe Ryong-hae, included the possibility of
North Korea Nov. 21, 2014
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Ex-first lady Lee to make overland trip to N. Korea
North Korea agreed Friday to former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho’s plan to make an overland trip to the communist country, one of her aides said.The North also promised to allow the wife of late former President Kim Dae-jung to stay at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, according to former culture minister Kim Sung-hoon.But no date has been set yet for the date of Lee’s planned visit and the size of her entourage, he added.“We agreed to discuss the matters in the second working-
Politics Nov. 21, 2014
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