Articles by Jo He-rim
Jo He-rim
herim@heraldcorp.com-
Supreme Court expected to make ruling on conscientious objectors
The Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling on conscientious objectors who refuse mandatory military service, amid increasing acquittals made by lower courts. According to the Supreme Court on Monday, two cases of conscientious objectors, which two panels of its judges have been reviewing, have been transferred to an “en banc session,” in which all justices of the top court participate in the cases. It has also scheduled a public hearing for the cases on Aug. 30. (Yonhap)All able-bodied Sout
Social Affairs June 19, 2018
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Presidential office says it may review introducing moratorium on death penalty
The presidential office said Tuesday it will review a moratorium on the nation’s death penalty system if the state human rights watchdog officially makes a request. The National Human Rights Commission on Monday revealed plans for the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, including a proposal that President Moon Jae-in should announce a moratorium on the death penalty. (Yonhap)Regarding the watchdog’s plan, the presidential office said the matter has
Social Affairs June 19, 2018
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[News Focus] Small political parties struggle to get their voices heard
While this year’s June 13 local elections ended in a landslide victory for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, small, extra-parliamentary parties made some eye-catching progress.Seoul mayoral candidate Shin Ji-ye of the Green Party Korea, which is an extra-parliamentary party, came fourth in the run against major negotiating blocs, winning an unexpected 82,874 votes, or 1.7 percent of total ballots cast. She even placed ahead of Kim Jong-min from the far-left opposition Justice Party, which ho
Politics June 18, 2018
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Police to look into Gyeonggi governor-elect’s alleged extramarital affair
Police have started an investigation into a scandal involving Gyeonggi Gov.-elect Lee Jae-myung who allegedly had an extramarital affair with an actress, after receiving the case from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday. During the local elections campaign period, a lawmaker from the center-right minor opposition Bareunmirae Party raised the allegation that Lee, a former Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor candidate, had an affair with actress Kim Bu-seon for nine months. Lee Ja
Politics June 17, 2018
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Incheon citizens to file class action suit against lawmaker for disparaging remark
Rep. Chung Tae-ok, a former spokesman for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, may soon face a class action suit from a group of citizens against his remarks defaming two cities, Incheon and Bucheon.The Incheon headquarters of the far-left Justice Party previously said it would file a damage lawsuit of 613 million won ($557,700) against Chung, and has been gathering 613 people to join the class action suit. The number matches the date of the local elections, which was held on June 13. Accord
Politics June 17, 2018
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[News Analysis] Conservative leaders resign after election debacle
Chairman Hong Joon-pyo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and Yoo Seong-min, co-chairman of the center-right minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, resigned from their positions Thursday, taking responsibility for their crushing defeat in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea garnered sweeping victories in most regions, winning 14 out of the 17 mayoral and gubernatorial posts. The Liberty Korea Party only managed to grab two posts, in the c
Politics June 14, 2018
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[2018 Local Elections] Turnout rate records second highest at 60.2 percent
The tentative voter turnout at this year’s local and gubernatorial elections is 60.2 percent, recording the second highest figure ever for local elections, the election watchdog said on Wednesday. As of 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday, about 22.7 percent of the ballots were counted. If the figure surpasses 60 percent, it will be the first time the turnout rate has passed the 60 percent mark in 23 years. The highest turnout rate was recorded in the very first local and gubernatorial election in 1995, at
Politics June 13, 2018
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[2018 Local Elections] A numerical look at local elections
In the quadrennial local and gubernatorial elections and by-elections this year, South Korea is electing 4,028 local administrative, legislative and educational officials, and 9,363 candidates made their bids for the positions, according to the National Election Commission. According to the NEC, this year’s budget for the elections was 1.7 trillion won ($1.58 billion), of which 511 billion won was used for voting facilities, staff and necessary materials. As by-elections for parliamentary repres
Politics June 13, 2018
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[Newsmaker] South Koreans hope Trump-Kim meeting brings lasting peace
With the world watching US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold a historic summit in Singapore on Tuesday, the eyes and ears of South Koreans were fixed to the live TV footage.Watching a summit thought unimaginable just months ago, South Koreans raised both hope and concerns for future relations with the “brethren” North, which has been separated from the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.At Seoul Station in the morning, busy passers-by stopped to watch the two leader
North Korea June 12, 2018
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[2018 Local elections] 100,000 foreign resident voters miss out on election information
South Korea became the first country in Asia to allow voting rights to foreign residents in local elections in 2005. At this year’s local elections on June 13, over 100,000 non-Korean nationals are eligible to vote. Although it has been more than a decade since the voting rights were granted, the non-Korean electorate still misses out on details of the elections and candidates’ platforms.Shah Rafiq, a Pakistani who has lived in Korea for over 14 years, said he would not vote in the upcoming elec
Politics June 11, 2018
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[2018 Local elections] Vandalism of feminist Seoul mayor candidate’s poster continues
Since official local elections campaign kicked off on May 31, Seoul mayoral candidate Shin Ji-ye of the minor Green Party Korea saw dozens of her campaign posters damaged and deliberately taken down. Shin denounced the vandalism as misogynistic. Her campaign posters carry the word “feminist.”As of Friday, 27 posters and two banners for Shin had been found damaged according to her camp. Some of Shin’s posters, which have a photograph of her face and the phrase “Feminist Seoul Mayor” in Korean on
Politics June 8, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Ruling party enjoys sweeping lead in parliamentary by-elections
As two-day early voting period for the June 13 local elections kicked off on Friday, citizens in 12 regions are also casting additional votes for their parliamentary representatives.The results of the by-elections could affect the status of political parties at the National Assembly. Local polls forecast the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to keep its position as the biggest negotiating bloc, as they estimate it has a sweeping lead in all 11 regions where they have fielded a candidate -- even i
Politics June 8, 2018
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[2018 Local elections] Naturalized Korean says Korea needs to embrace multicultural families
Life in South Korea has never been easy for Hwang Eun-hwa, who came to the country in 1996 from China with the “Korean dream,” married a Korean man and became a naturalized citizen.When she arrived here at the age of 26, Korean society was colder than Hwang had expected. She struggled to earn a living while experiencing discrimination against Joseon-jok, or Chinese people of Korean descent. She was born and raised in Heilongjiang province in China. (Courtesy of Hwang Eun-hwa)Now an owner of a c
Politics June 7, 2018
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[2018 Local election] Third-generation Hwagyo seeks to bring harmony
During her childhood, Yang Li-ly had always felt she was deprived of something. Yang is a third-generation Hwagyo -- ethnic Chinese and Taiwanese living in Korea -- holding Korean citizenship. She was born to a Taiwanese mother and a Korean father.“I was born and brought up in Korea, and I am Korean. But I was always confused in my teen years, and I could not be proud of my root as a Hwagyo, because the foreign background is alien to the Korean society,” Yang, 41, said in an interview with The K
Politics June 7, 2018
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Civic lawyer groups file petition to UN over top court’s alleged power abuse
Progressive civic groups on Thursday filed a petition to the United Nations human rights body over the alleged abuse of authority by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae. Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyeon, and the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a petition with the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, reporting that the former top court chief had allegedly meddled in legal affairs, consorting with the governme
Social Affairs June 7, 2018
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