Articles by Kim Yon-se
Kim Yon-se
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Chief of Sewol firm gets 10 years
A district court on Thursday handed down a prison term of 10 years to Kim Han-shik, chief of Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the sunken ferry Sewol, for neglecting the safety of the vessel.Eight other officials of the marine company were given prison sentences ranging from three to six years, and two officials were handed suspended jail terms, the Gwangju District Court said.They included the executive in charge of maritime affairs, surnamed Ahn, who was given six years in prison with a
Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2014
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Temp workers’ strike halts school meals
About 20,000 nonregular workers of schools launched a two-day strike on Thursday, which led to the suspension the school lunch services at some schools.The strikers demand to be hired as full-time staff, citing unfair employment policies. They are also calling for paid lunch breaks and paid vacation, and stressed that the two-day protest could expand to a general strike if negotiations fall apart.The 20,000 strikers make up about 30 percent of the three major unions of contract school workers na
Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2014
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State sports lobby execs probed for embezzlement
Nineteen incumbent and former officials of a state-funded sports agency have been implicated in an embezzlement scheme involving corporate funds, police said Wednesday. The suspects include Jung Jung-taek, former chairman of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation; the incumbent chief secretary, surnamed Kim; and 17 other officials. The KSPO is a state-owned company that uses taxpayers’ money with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.Ex-chairman Jung, 69, has been booked wit
Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2014
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University of Suwon probed over hiring of Saenuri chief’s daughter
The University of Suwon is suspected of irregularly appointing the daughter of a political heavyweight as its faculty despite her ineligibility for the post, a civic group alleged Tuesday.The daughter of the ruling Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung is working as an assistant professor of the university’s college of art & design in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.While the prosecution on Monday cleared the university of any irregularity, the Peoples’ Solidarity for Participatory Democracy has expre
Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2014
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Court rules sex trade taxable
The Seoul High Court ruled Tuesday that bar owners should pay taxes on the income they earned from arranging sex-for-money activities between female employees and male customers; a ruling that effectively allows authorities to collect taxes from illicit sex businesses.The appellate court sentenced a bar owner surnamed Jeon to four years in prison for selling alcohol and letting female workers have sexual relations with customers in return for money.Jeon was also ordered to pay a criminal fine of
Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2014
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Part-timers urged to learn labor rules
The number of young applicants for part-time jobs is expected to surge in the coming weeks as the annual college entrance exam took place last Thursday.Seoul YMCA said Monday younger jobseekers, aged 18-20, must check the basic labor laws and regulations such as the nation’s minimum wage and the upper ceiling on working hours when signing on for part-time positions. Citing its previous poll of 1,540 high school students, Seoul YMCA said that employers of young part-time workers break an average
Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2014
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2 found guilty of accessing info on ex-chief prosecutor’s son
A Seoul court on Monday sentenced a government official to eight months in prison for illegally accessing personal data on a former prosecutor general’s extramarital son. Cho I-je, 54, a high-ranking official at the Seocho District Office in southern Seoul, was found guilty of accessing and leaking the boy’s information, a move that prompted Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook to resign in September last year. In addition, a National Intelligence Service official was given a suspended jail term fo
Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2014
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Hybrid subsidy limited to 32,500 vehicles in 2015
Earlier this year, the government unveiled its plan to offer a 1-million-won subsidy for hybrid cars per unit. But the number of beneficiaries will likely stay at 32,500 next year under a recent budget adjustment.The Ministry of Environment has been pressured to scale back its spending on subsidies for eco-friendly hybrid vehicles by 18 percent from its earlier plan, which may lead to a backlash from consumers and automakers.Though the ministry had planned to provide 40,000 retail buyers of hybr
Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2014
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[Herald Interview] ‘Korea to step up investment in green technology’
Environmental protection is often associated with long-term visions and carefully designed projects. As with other industries, however, governments and agencies around the world are newly discovering the importance of speed in the worldwide competition to develop green technologies.The stakes could not be higher. The eco-friendly market is developing at a rapid pace, spurred by a slew of innovative technologies amid intensifying competition around the world. A revolutionary technological breakth
Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2014
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Diesel taxis to run despite pollution worries
Taxi operators are set to enjoy higher fuel efficiency as the government will allow them to introduce diesel-powered taxis in the second half of next year.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has paved the way for the taxi industry to operate vehicles powered by diesel. The ministry argued that fuel diversification is necessary to improve the financial status of the operators and to weather fluctuations in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas.Most of the 250,000 taxis nationwide run
Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2014
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Sewol captain gets 36 years, cleared of murder charge
A district court Tuesday sentenced Lee Joon-seok, the captain of the sunken Sewol ferry, to 36 years in prison for abandoning the vessel without taking any measures to evacuate or save passengers during its lethal sinking. The Gwangju District Court, however, acquitted Lee of homicide by willful negligence and of murder charges. The captain was among the first to leave the ill-fated ferry as it sank in waters near the southwestern port of Jindo Island on April 16. A total of 295 people, mostly t
Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2014
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Seoul City moves to probe U.S. bases over alleged contamination
Seoul City said Sunday that it would hold working-level talks with the United States Forces Korea later this month to discuss the alleged contamination in Koreans’ residential districts around Yongsan Garrison (south post) and Camp Kim (main post).While the two parties have already held several rounds of preliminary talks to take countermeasures against the residential area around the U.S. military bases in central Seoul since the first half of 2013, the coming meeting would mark the first in wh
Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2014
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Korea to send Ebola aid team to Sierra Leone
South Korea said Sunday it will dispatch medical personnel to a British-led Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone to help West African countries that have been hit by the deadly disease.A group made up of volunteering doctors, nurses and military officers will be stationed at the Ebola Treatment Center under construction in the capital city of Freetown, the Foreign Ministry said.South Korea previously had said it would send a medical team to Sierra Leone or Liberia to participate in the global
Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2014
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Human rights commission
An internal sexual abuse case at the National Human Rights Commission has come under the spotlight after the state agency allegedly sought to gloss over the misconduct of two male officials.The two officials were found to have sexually harassed a female junior staff member. The woman officially notified the commission of the two senior staff members’ irregular practices in a petition, but the agency dragged its feet for about a month.In her petition, the woman said that she was sexual harassed f
Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2014
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New autopsy planned for singer Shin’s body
State forensic experts will perform an autopsy on tissue removed from late rock singer Shin Hae-chul’s small intestine to determine whether medical negligence led to his death, police said Wednesday.The Seoul Songpa Police Station said it has sent the tissue submitted from the Asan Medical Center to the National Forensic Service for an additional autopsy.The 46-year-old rock singer was pronounced dead at the general hospital in southern Seoul a week ago after being transferred from another hospi
Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2014
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