Articles by Yoon Min-sik
Yoon Min-sik
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com-
Former Yonsei professor faces jail term for calling 'comfort women' voluntary prostitutes
South Korean prosecutors on Friday demanded a prison term for a former professor at Yonsei University, who had said in a lecture that "comfort women" -- the euphemism for the tens of thousands of women coerced into sexual slavery by imperial Japan during World War II -- became prostitutes voluntarily. Ryu Seok-chun, who formerly taught sociology, sparked controversy in September 2019 after he told his class that the comfort women system was "a sort of prostitution." The prose
Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2023
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Court confirms prison sentence for SAT question leak
The Supreme Court has confirmed a three-year prison term for a private lecturer who used the time difference between South Korea and other countries to leak questions for the SAT exam used for US college entrance. According to local media reports on Friday, the tutor was convicted of selling SAT questions that he acquired illegally to the parents of students taking the test in other time zones. Song and his accomplices -- a teacher at a local high school and a broker -- acquired photos of the SA
Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2023
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[Korean History] In 2012, K-pop makes leap from 'Gangnam' to the world
South Korean bands claiming a spot on the top global charts is by no means a surprise at this point, with acts like Blackpink, NewJeans and BTS commanding massive international fan bases. But just a little more than a decade ago, even cracking Billboard's top 100 singles chart would put a K-pop act in the national headlines. And it could be argued that BTS and its contemporaries owe just a bit of their worldwide success to the first K-pop song to enjoy worldwide success: Psy's 2012 meg
Hashtag Korea Dec. 15, 2023
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School bullying hits 10-year high
The percentage of Seoul students who said they have been victimized at school was the highest in the past 10 years, according to a recent survey. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Friday that a survey of 486,729 students between the fourth grade of elementary school and the final year of high school found that 2.2 percent had been subject to some form of mistreatment at school. The figure increased by 2 percent compared to last year, and marked a 10-year high. South Korean law defines
Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2023
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Deliberate noise punished as stalking for 1st time
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling by a lower court that issued a suspended jail term for stalking to a man who deliberately made noise to pester his neighbor, marking the first time for South Korea's highest judicial body to decide such a crime constitutes stalking. The defendant in his 30s was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charge of stalking, which the Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking stipulates can be punishable by up to three years in
Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023
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Mom, unaware of son's death for 7 years, seeks state compensation
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against a woman who requested state financial compensation for her son's death in the 2014 sinking of Sewol ferry, which she only learned of in 2021. She was, however, granted the right to inherit her share of the compensation paid to her son by the government. The plaintiff filed charges for compensation for the son's death in 2021, after belatedly learning of his death in one of the worst maritime tragedies in the country's history. The 2014 s
Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023
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Woman becomes lawyer after assaulting police
A 31-year-old woman, whose assault of a police officer had thwarted her initial dream of becoming a prosecutor, has become a lawyer, local media outlets reported Thursday. The Korean Bar Association said it has accepted her application, as her previous criminal record from assaulting an officer is not in violation of the code of conduct for a lawyer. South Korea's Attorney-at-law Act stipulates that anyone who has received a suspended term for imprisonment without prison labor, or a more se
Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023
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FIFA takes down controversial Japanese flag in promo image
FIFA recently changed one of its promotional images for the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023, after South Korean fans complained over the controversial "Rising Sun" flag design in it. The image, posted on FIFA World Cup's official Instagram account, introduces the Urawa Red Diamond, participating in the event as the winners of the 2022 AFC Champions league. South Koreans, however, took issues with what appeared to be a Rising Sun flag in the background. Upon a flurry of comme
Soccer Dec. 14, 2023
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Gimbap, kimchi-jjigae prices go up, as cost of eating out keeps rising
State-run agency data showed Thursday that the average price for gimbap and kimchi-jjigae, two of the most popular eating-out options in South Korea, rose in November to 3,292 won ($2.50) and 7,923 won, respectively. The price for a roll of gimbap has been moving upward since breaking the 3,000-won mark for the first time in August of 2022, according to the Korea Consumer Agency, an affiliate of the Korea Fair Trade Commission. Price for a bowl of kimchi-jjigae -- conventionally served with a bo
Economy Dec. 14, 2023
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Voice-activated emergency call systems installed in women's bathrooms in Busan
Busan city officials said Wednesday that they have installed emergency call systems in public women's bathrooms in four underground shopping districts, including a voice-activated one in Busan Station. According to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation, officials have installed the emergency call systems in a total of 18 underground public bathrooms across the southern port city. They were installed at two bathrooms in the underground shopping district connected with Busan Station, six bathr
Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023
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New law gives police more authority in emergency situations
A new bill stipulating the authority bestowed upon police officers dispatched in emergency situations has recently been passed by the National Assembly, police officials said Wednesday. According to the National Police Agency, the parliament passed the law on operation of the 112 emergency dispatch service last Friday, providing legal grounds for the police's actions in emergency situations including evacuation of citizens, imposing fines and forcing entry into buildings. South Korea's
Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2023
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Man jailed after setting fire to mother-in-law in exorcism ritual
A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a 44-year-old man to two years and six months in prison for setting his mother-in-law on fire while performing what he claimed to be an exorcism. The defendant, surnamed Kim, was taking care of the 68-year-old victim at a hospital in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul, on May 29, when he lit pieces of tissue paper on fire and threw them at her. The victim sustained second-degree burns on various parts of her body including her scalp, left hand, face and neck. Kim w
Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2023
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S. Korean driver's tests to include section on self-driving cars
Starting next year, South Korean government will revise the traffic laws and driver's tests to accommodate for the rapidly advancing technology for automated driving systems and development of self-driving cars. The National Police Agency on Wednesday rolled out the traffic safety plans in preparation for when self-driving cars will hit the road, in which they announced that traffic safety education related to automated driving systems will be included in the state-issued driver's lice
Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2023
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S. Korea may downgrade COVID-19 alert level next year
The head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday that the government may downgrade the infectious disease notification level of COVID-19 from the current second-highest level of "alert" to the third-highest of "caution." "We (the government) are currently discussing the downgrade. Exactly when it will take place hasn't been decided yet, but we're watching the situation and thinking it should be after the winter season (sometime next year
Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2023
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Man awarded W100m by court over unlawful prison term
Incheon District Court on Tuesday ruled that the South Korean court should pay 100 million won ($76,000) in compensation to a man who was wrongfully arrested and jailed during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The civil suit was filed by a man who was arrested by police during the pro-democracy movement of May 18, 1980. The military junta Chun Doo-hwan had declared martial law as the anti-government movement spread across the country, and subsequently ordered the bloody crackdown on the cont
Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2023
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