The Korean Service Corps Battalion held a send-off ceremony Sunday for a 22-year-old soldier who fell victim to a drunk driver last month. After the incident, the government is moving to toughen punishment against drunk driving.Yoon Chang-ho, a 22-year-old soldier of the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army, was with a friend when they were hit by a drunk driver in Busan on Sept. 25, during the Chuseok holiday leave period.(Yonhap)The driver, surnamed Park, was intoxicated with a

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2018

Measures to tackle fine dust will be reinforced and support programs for diesel vehicles abolished, the government announced Thursday, as part of plans to combat particulate matter pollution. The Environment Ministry scrapped the “clean diesel policy” and announced other measures to curb fine dust at the government policy coordination meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon.  Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)Pointing to diesel vehicles as among the factors aggravating the fine dust

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2018

The Seoul Metropolitan Government lifted an ultrafine dust warning Wednesday afternoon, 24 hours after it was issued, while the ultrafine dust advisory remained in effect for the country’s western regions, including the North and South Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces.Following alarming levels of ultrafine dust in Korea, the Environment Ministry and metropolitan governments issued emergency fine dust reduction measures on Wednesday. The warning in Seoul was lifted after the level of particulate

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2018

The police on Tuesday said that five people have been booked in relation to an oil storage tank fire last month, holding an oil pipeline company and a construction worker responsible for the accident. Goyang Police Station, which has been investigating the case in Gyeonggi Province, said it booked three officials including the district chief from Daehan Oil Pipeline Corp. without detention for violating the Oil Pipeline Safety Control Act.  (Yonhap)The police also booked a former labor superviso

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2018

Gov. Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province is to file a complaint against the chief police officer of the Seongnam Police Station and other police investigators over alleged abuses of authority. In a statement on his Facebook page, Lee said he would file a complaint against the investigators and the commanding officers of the Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, who had filed criminal charges against him over alleged power abuses and violations of election law.  Gyeonggi Province

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2018

In an effort to encourage green growth, the Global Green Growth Institute is turning to the many young entrepreneurs around the world who have innovative business ideas, but lack finance and technical trainings.Recognizing the role of young people in accelerating the world’s transition toward green growth, the Seoul-based international organization hosted a pilot Greenpreneurs Program, designed to supercharge green growth startups particularly in and for developing countries. (GGGI)The 10-week g

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2018

Amid the global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change, President Moon Jae-in has vowed to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 percent of the country’s total power generation by 2030. Commenting on the goal, Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute, urged the country to aim higher -- to increase the use of renewable energy to 100 percent. “South Korea has seen a very rapid growth of its economy and the government developed (coal-fired

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2018

The recent string of murders and violent crimes making headlines are causing great frustration and anxiety among the public, who fear that they will receive light sentences after claiming they committed their offenses on impulse.　When a man surnamed Kim, 45, set fire to a convenience store in Seoul in July, he told the police he was angry at the owner for being “not kind enough” to him. The owner’s husband died from serious burns. In October, the court sentenced Kim to 13 years in prison.The rec

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2018

Gyeonggi Province’s GSEEK online education program is outperforming similar regional programs in terms of both quantity and quality, according to the provincial office.GSEEK offers some 1,200 massive open online courses for residents of Gyeonggi Province, six times more than the average for other provincial programs. Whereas other educational programs are typically one-way, with professional educators leading a group of learners, Gyeonggi Province’s program is more flexible and encourages the pr

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2018

Taking issue with inaction against a remark by a high-ranking North Korea military negotiator, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted a proposal for the dismissal of Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Wednesday.It cited the pushing of the inter-Korean railway without ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration that calls for it, the banning of a defector from covering an inter-Korean meeting in Panmunjeom and an insulting remarks made to businessmen during September’s North-South

Politics Oct. 31, 2018

South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo flatly denied alleged collusion with a power blogger in a massive opinion-rigging scheme, questioning the credibility of testimonies by the blogger’s close associates.After the first court hearing that lasted about 14 hours, Gov. Kim reiterated his denial.“Those who watched the testimonies of the witnesses will be able to make the (right) judgment. I will sincerely follow the remaining legal procedures,” Kim said upon leaving Seoul Central District C

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2018

A witness said he manipulated online comments on South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo’s orders, in Kim’s first court hearing for his involvement in a massive opinion-rigging scandal, Monday.“I am starting a new journey to shed light on the truth of this case. I will sincerely follow all the legal procedures and do my best to make sure the truth is clarified via the court trials,” said Gov. Kim, appearing in front of Seoul Central District Court at 9:46 a.m. to attend the hearing. Gov. K

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2018

The path seemed to be wide and smooth for lawyer-turned-politician Lee Jae-myung, a two-term mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and previously a prominent presidential primary candidate for the ruling party.Now, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee stands at the center of public scrutiny over a series of unsavory scandals related to family problems, an extramarital affair and organized crime.On Monday, Lee appeared at Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province for questioning over a series of allegati

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2018

The police plan to refer 23 people to the prosecution for posting malicious online comments about the former secretary of An Hee-jung, a former governor of South Chungcheong Province, who accused the ex-governor of sexual assault but lost her case in a controversial verdict in August. According to the cybercrimes department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Saturday, two of An’s former aides were referred to the Seoul Central District Court for indictment on charges of online defamation

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2018

The government and the ruling party vowed Thursday to reinforce monitoring of accounting practices at private kindergartens and to increase the number of the state-run facilities, after accounting fraud was discovered at thousands of kindergartens across the country.The Education Ministry will also improve transparency at private kindergartens by applying a new accounting system, Minister Yoo Eun-hae and ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers said during a meeting at the National Assembly.Mo

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2018