Articles by Kim Yon-se
Kim Yon-se
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[Weekender] Governor envisions balanced development
The head of Jeju’s provincial administration says he will push for the expansion of the island’s crowded airport to allow it to handle the soaring number of tourists, while supporting local businesses and enhancing education infrastructure. “(I will) take Seogwipo area into consideration primarily in terms of balanced growth if a new airport is to be built,” said Gov. Won Hee-ryong, in a recent email interview with The Korea Herald. The central government is choosing whether to build a new airpo
Social Affairs Sept. 26, 2014
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Korea signs U.N. mercury use pact
South Korea has joined the global accord to limit mercury emissions under its commitment to fighting climate change.Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday, the ministry said. The treaty was adopted by Japan last October.The signing means that Korea will actively coordinate with major economies to protect citizens and the environment worldwide from the harmful element, ministry officials said.The tre
Social Affairs Sept. 25, 2014
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Wage peak scheme expanded
Economic policymakers have decided to increase funding to companies that introduce the wage peak system as part of detailed measures to promote employment for the elderly.Currently, companies that adopt the system receive 8.4 million won ($8,150) per year per worker over age 50 if the company employs the worker until age 60.The annual state budget allotment will be expanded to 10.8 million won, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Employment and Labor said in a joint statement Wednesday. Fin
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2014
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Korea fosters green start-ups
The following is the first in a series of articles on the creative green economy, focused on generating the nation’s new growth engines, which has been initiated by the Park Geun-hye administration and the Ministry of Environment ― Ed.South Korea is set to infuse fresh momentum into small and mid-sized enterprises by making it easier to enter new businesses based on green technology. The move is expected to boost Korea’s efforts in Korea’s the economic and environmental spheres.The policy is one
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2014
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Porn addiction ruled grounds for divorce
A man has been instructed by a court to concede to his wife’s demands for a divorce because of his addiction to Internet pornography, according to a verdict from the Seoul Family Court on Tuesday.The wife, who filed for a divorce litigation against her husband, had reportedly been attracted to the man’s religious devotion when they married in 2010.She did not known that he was addicted to online lewd material as they married after only six months of dating. Despite frequent quarrels, the man’s h
Social Affairs Sept. 23, 2014
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Judge resigns after assaulting policeman
The Supreme Court said Monday that it had accepted the resignation of a senior judge indicted on charges of assaulting a policeman.The 51-year-old judge, surnamed Lee, tendered his resignation after the prosecution indicted him without detention for unlawful interference with a police officer in the execution of his duty last April. But the judge’s departure does not mean that he has been debarred from practicing as a lawyer.He was found to have assaulted the policeman, who was dispatched to a b
Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2014
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Seoul to hold labor forum for Latin economies
South Korea has arranged a conference on coordinating with major countries over pending labor issues in South and Central America.The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday that a senior level committee meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank will be held at the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul on Sept. 25.“As an extraordinary case, the annual conference has been arranged not in the United States but in Korea this year,” said the ministry. “Korea is scheduled to share its know-how in the
Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2014
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Ex-Japan leader conveys Abe’s message to Park
A former Japanese leader conveyed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s message to President Park Geun-hye on Friday, an official said, a move that may pave the way for a potential summit between the two neighbors.Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori delivered the message to Park during their meeting in the presidential office in Seoul, the official said, though details of the message were not immediately available.The message came as South Korea and Japan are seeking to repair bilateral relations
Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2014
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North Korean patrol boat violates western sea border
A North Korean patrol boat briefly violated the tensely guarded western maritime border on Friday, but it retreated after the South Korean Navy fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The boat crossed the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea at around 12:10 p.m., but it returned to its territory six minutes later as the South Korean Navy fired six warning shots, the JCS said. “The military is keeping close tabs on any North Korean military movement, maintaining our war readiness,”
North Korea Sept. 19, 2014
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Hyundai worker ruling likely to affect Samsung, GM
A Seoul court’s ruling on Friday paved the way for 253 more nonregular employees of Hyundai Motor to be given regular employee status with the automaker, following a similar verdict the previous day.The Seoul Central District Court, which on Thursday ruled that 994 nonregular workers are believed to have been “directly” hired by Hyundai Motor, ruled in favor of the 253 workers in their class action suit against the automotive giant and its subcontractors.The court found that the combined 1,247 e
Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2014
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Sexual abuse accusations grow against ex-Assembly speaker
Fresh allegations about former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae’s sexual assault of a woman are magnifying public anger with him, as he earlier downplayed the charges raised by investigative agencies.Park argued last week that he only displayed affection toward the complainant, a golf caddie, as he would to a granddaughter, but did not cross a line. However, the caddy stated that she was harassed by the former Assembly Speaker during “every play until the ninth hole,” according to police.F
Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2014
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Hyundai Motor temp workers gain regular status in court case
A group of contract workers in the automotive industry has partly won their class action suit against Hyundai Motor. The company had previously designated them as nonregular workers.The Seoul Central District Court ruled Thursday that the plaintiffs ― 994 employees of subcontractors for Hyundai Motor ― are to be regarded as employees “directly hired by Hyundai Motor.”Though the 994 workers have been working alongside Hyundai Motor’s regular workers at assembly lines, their labor contracts were t
Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2014
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Korea detains U.S. man trying to cross border
South Korean border guards arrested an American man who they believe was attempting to swim across the border into North Korea, a South Korean defense official said Wednesday.The man was arrested Tuesday night at a river near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, part of a restricted military area, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to office policy. He said investigators are questioning the man about the purpose of his apparent attempt to enter North Korea but gave no further de
Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2014
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Korea, U.S. to hold talks on nuke energy
South Korea and the United States will have another round of talks on renewing a bilateral nuclear energy pact in Vienna this weekend, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.The delegates from South Korea and the U.S. plan to hold the 11th round of negotiations in Austria on Sunday on the renewal of the accord over Seoul’s civil nuclear energy use, also known as the “123 agreement.” The meeting will be held on the sidelines of a plenary meeting for the International Atomic Energy Agency.The pac
North Korea Sept. 17, 2014
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Man gets suspended sentence for assaulting air stewardess
The Daejeon District Court on Wednesday sentenced a man in his 50s to one year in jail, suspended for three years, for assaulting a female flight attendant on board a flight from Incheon to Australia last March.The man was found to have hit the attendant on the face and chest after being asked to sit down. He had been lying asleep in the aisle. He also verbally abused the flight attendant and refused to follow her instructions.Police and the aviation industry have continued to express concerns o
Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2014
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