Kookmin University’s faculty association is holding a vote on a proposal to reassess some academic papers written by first lady Kim Keon-hee, despite the university having earlier cleared her of allegations of plagiarism after a monthslong probe. The faculty association at Kookmin University, a Seoul-based university where Kim did her Ph.D. program, has decided to survey professors asking them whether it should reassess the four papers written by Kim. The online survey will continue unti

Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2022

Seoul has sustained the heaviest damage from the heavy downpour that has hit Korea over the past week, government officials said Tuesday. The torrential rain that hit the greater Seoul region last week moved to the southern coastal areas of Korea on Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the southern coastal regions will receive up to 150 millimeters of rain through Wednesday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the week of rain has flo

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2022

The Education Ministry is again under fire, this time from teachers against its new all-day schooling policy. With its minister Park Soon-ae announcing her willingness to resign after proposing to lower the elementary school entry age to five, the ministry said it will run all-day schooling programs to offer state-provided childcare. The plan involves elementary schools offering childcare services through afterschool classes until 8 p.m. At the National Assembly meeting held Tuesday, the min

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2022

The Korean government on Friday announced a plan to ensure the safety of children, based on the Child Safety Management Act, enacted in May 2020. In cooperation with other ministries, the Ministry of Interior and Safety pledged to ensure the safety of children from traffic accidents by improving the pedestrian environment in school zones and tightening the management of traffic lights, and more. It will designate roads without sidewalks as “pedestrian priority roads,” giving pr

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday issued an apology over the downpour that plagued the greater Seoul area, and pledged fundamental measures to prevent a repeat of Monday night’s havoc. Due to the record-setting heavy rain which hit Seoul, its surrounding regions and Gangwon Province from Monday to Tuesday, nine people have been reported dead, seven missing and some 600 displaced as of Wednesday morning. The president presided over an emergency meeting held at the governmental comp

Social Affairs Aug. 10, 2022

With the education minister offering her resignation, the controversial plan to lower the school entry age to 5 could be shelved, nearly 10 days after it was first introduced. The Education Ministry on Tuesday apologized for a lack of communication concerning the previous report to the president, which proposed the system reform, saying it caused confusion.　 “It has become realistically difficult to push for the lowering of school entry age,” Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2022

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Park Soon-ae offered to resign on Monday, nearly a month after taking the office, overwhelmed by the controversies surrounding the school entry age reform plan. Park is the first minister in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to resign. “I am resigning from my post as the deputy prime minister and education minister. I took the office wanting to give the education benefits that I had to other people, but it was not enough,” Park said, h

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2022

With the Education Ministry flip-flopping on its plan to scrap “elite high schools,” foreign language high schools have been once again pushed to the brink of abolition. Confusion has ensued over the fate of elite schools every time the government changed hands. The previous Moon Jae-in administration had planned to end autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools and international schools, abolishing them or turning them into regular schools by March 2025, over

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2022

The Ministry of Education proposed a reform of the school system to send children to elementary school 1 year earlier. The Education Ministry got the green light to work on a reform of the current school system that would lower the age of entry to elementary school by one year on Friday afternoon. Education Minister Park Soon-ae directly briefed President Yoon Suk-yeol on the ministry’s agenda at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, to which Yoon ordered Park to push fo

Social Affairs July 29, 2022

A police officer who is not a graduate of the National Police University has been appointed as the head of the new police bureau, which will be launched under the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. Senior Superintendent-General Kim Sun-ho, the head of the National Security Investigation Bureau under the National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency, will take office as the chief of the newly launched bureau. Kim graduated in political science from Sungkyunkwan University. He ear

Social Affairs July 29, 2022

The police are taking a step back from a confrontation with the government over the launch of a police bureau under the Interior Ministry, withdrawing its plan to hold a large-scale meeting and instead calling for legislative efforts to deter the move. 　 Kim Seong-jong, a senior inspector at Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul, who called for a meeting of police officers this weekend, withdrew the suggestion Wednesday. “The launch of the police bureau has been confirmed as the decree has

Social Affairs July 27, 2022

The enforcement decree regarding the launch of a new police bureau passed the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, shortly after President Yoon Suk-yeol slammed the collective action of police officers who are against the launch to be a “breach against state discipline.” The Cabinet approval means the new police bureau under the Interior Ministry will be launched as planned on Aug. 2. Yoon, who had stayed on the sidelines of the conflict regarding the launch, increased his criticism Tuesday

Social Affairs July 26, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol requested the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to develop a roadmap for abolition soon. “(Yoon) has requested that (the Gender Minister) come up with a roadmap for abolition after figuring out the overall duties of the ministry,” spokesperson Kang In-sun said at a briefing held Monday after Gender Minister made her first report to the president. Gender Minister Kim Hyun-sook said the ministry is working on the agenda. 　 “We have launched a ta

Social Affairs July 25, 2022

The government and the ruling People Power Party continued to call out police officers opposing the new “police bureau,” with Interior Minister Lee Sang-min comparing resistance to a coup d’etat. Lee further explained the legitimacy of the launch, arguing it is an act of democracy. Lee attacked Saturday’s meeting held by police chiefs, saying it was an act of insubordination. “To leave one’s garrison and gather is similar to the Dec. 12 coup d’etat

Social Affairs July 25, 2022

　 The National Police Agency has been struggling with internal opposition a mere week ahead of the launch of a new “police bureau” under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Hours after a meeting of police chiefs from around the country who were against the launch of the new police bureau, Yoon Hee-keun, the national police chief nominee, ordered superintendent Ryu Sam-yeong to go on stand-by Saturday. The police agency is also looking into inspecting some 50 superintendents wh

Social Affairs July 24, 2022