Articles by Lee Jung-joo
Lee Jung-joo
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com-
Seoul to add 300 won surcharge for single-use cups at cafes in 2025
To reduce waste and increase rates of recycling, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will impose a 300 won surcharge for each single-use cup used at coffeehouses in the city, starting in 2025. Seoul intends to introduce the disposable cup deposit system by drawing insights from programs currently operating in the city of Sejong and on Jeju Island. Both require customers to pay a 300 won deposit when buying a drink in a single-use cup, which the customer can get back by returning the used cup throu
Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2023
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4 injured after false crime alert on Seoul subway
Four passengers were injured as they rushed to get off the subway upon being told to evacuate from a train in Seoul due to a crime taking place inside, Wednesday morning. Seoul Jungbu Police Station received a report about a “suspicious person” aboard the Line No. 2 subway heading to Euljiro 4-ga Station from Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station at 8:23 a.m. Seoul Metro also stopped subway operations at Euljiro 4-ga Station and made the evacuation announcement for passengers.
Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2023
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Hidden underground space in Seoul unveiled after 40 years
An underground space located 13 meters below Seoul Plaza will be open to the public for the first time in 40 years, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. The 335-meter-long underground space is located right above the tracks of the Line No. 2 subway and right below CitiStar Mall, the first underground mall built in 1967. It also lies in between City Hall Station on Lines No. 1 and 2, and Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line No. 2. For what purpose the underground space was built is still unkno
Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2023
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Seoul to launch Han River water-bus service in 2024
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Monday the inception of a new Han River water-bus service, slated to commence operations in September 2024. The city government signed a cooperation agreement with E-Land Group to operate the business, called "Hangang River Bus." According to the agreement, the water-bus service will operate a 30-minute water route from the Ara Han River Gabmun dock in Gaehwa-dong in Seoul's Gangseo-gu to Yeouido in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo-gu. The s
Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2023
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Residents protest Seoul’s new waste incinerator site
With the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s final decision on Sangam-dong in western Seoul as the site of a new waste incineration plant, protests have been sparked among nearby residents for the second time since the city government’s initial announcement in August 2022. According to Yonhap News Agency, residents of Sangam-dong have been requesting the city government to release the full minutes of the meeting held regarding the decision to build the plant in the area since April. The
Social Affairs Sept. 3, 2023
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Public concern grows over self-defense weapons used for crime
Public calls have risen for the need for tougher regulation of weapons intended for self-defense after a rape and murder in Seoul’s Sillim-dong on Aug. 17, in which the attacker punched a woman using brass knuckles he purchased online. The woman was declared dead two days after the incident, enraging the public even further. Brass knuckles are metal bands that are worn over the fingers to concentrate a punch’s force into a smaller area. Although tentative autopsy results revealed t
Social Affairs Aug. 29, 2023
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Ministry asks for more surveillance cameras in crime-prone areas
Considering the recent rise in “mudjima” crimes, or “don’t ask why” crimes that have no obvious motive, the Ministry of Interior and Safety called for local governments’ cooperation in preventing such crimes during a joint meeting held on Monday. During the meeting, the ministry requested more surveillance cameras to be installed in crime-prone areas around the country, such as alleyways. The ministry also announced the nationwide need to implement a “Cr
Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2023
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Man stabs 4 at bar, killing one
A man, 55, has been apprehended for going on a stabbing rampage at a bar in Geumho-eup, Yeongcheon city, North Gyeongsang Province on Sunday night, killing one person and injuring three others. According to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency on Monday, the suspect allegedly stabbed another man, 64, in the chest, who died while being transferred to the hospital. Three others sitting with the man also suffered injuries to the shoulder, wrist and left arm. When asked why he committed the crime,
Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2023
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45 winners get prize for Korea Herald English Speech Contest
The award ceremony for the 52nd Korea Herald English Speech Contest was held on Thursday at the Australian Embassy in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. The Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Catherine Raper, Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy to the Republic of Korea Alexandra Siddall, The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young, Vice President Shin Yong-bae and Managing Editor Lee Joo-hee were in attendance. “Some of the issues we face are daunting. But when I hear you speak w
Social Affairs Aug. 25, 2023
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Government ponders on designating Oct. 2 as special holiday
The government is considering designating Oct. 2 as a special one-off holiday, a presidential office official said on Friday. The consideration comes to bridge this year’s Chuseok holiday, which will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 and National Foundation Day, which is on Oct. 3. If Oct. 2 is designated as a special holiday, an extended holiday of six days will be created. "We received a proposal from the ruling People Power Party to designate a special holiday," the official told Yo
Social Affairs Aug. 25, 2023
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Seoul to help women freeze their eggs
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that it will provide up to 2 million won ($1,511) to 300 women who wish to freeze their eggs via cryopreservation from Sept. 1, as a part of the city government‘s measure to tackle the falling birth rate. All women of Korean nationality residing in Seoul who are of childbearing age -- between ages 20 and 49 -- are eligible to apply if they have resided in Seoul for more than six months and are looking to have children now or sometime in the f
Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2023
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Sillim rape-murder suspect identity revealed
The police have disclosed the identity and personal information of the suspect who is accused of raping and beating a woman to death in Seoul’s Sillim-dong as 30-year-old Choi Yoon-jong, Wednesday. By South Korean law, the police can disclose the identity of a suspect in a criminal case after the Personal Information Disclosure Committee agrees to reveal a suspect's personal information including their photo, name and age. However, problems have arisen in the past since there are no r
Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2023
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Schools to run response team to handle parents' complaints
A team that responds and handles parental complaints led by a school principal will be piloted at all schools starting next semester, the Ministry of Education said during a policy briefing Wednesday. Under the new policy, all communication from parents and carers -- including complaints, as well as informing teachers of the students' absence or tardiness -- will have to go through the school's response team from September. Parents could also be reprimanded for complaining to teachers
Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2023
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Man who disguised as police apprehended for mass stabbing threat
An office worker in his 30s was apprehended on Tuesday, a day after writing an anonymous post as a police employee on a popular online platform declaring that he would commit a mass stabbing near Exit No. 1 of Gangnam Station in Seoul. According to the National Police Agency, the suspect was caught near his home at 8:32 a.m. on Tuesday. The suspect is accused of writing a post on Blind, an online community and forum for verified employees. “I'm going on a mass stabbing at Gangnam Stat
Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2023
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Air Koryo runs Pyongyang-Beijing flights for first time in 3 years
An Air Koryo passenger flight from Pyongyang landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning for the first time since January 2020 when the pandemic began. Flight JS151 arrived at 9:14 a.m. there, 30 minutes ahead of its scheduled time of arrival. The electronic display board at Beijing Capital International Airport also showed another flight, JS152, was leaving for Pyongyang from Beijing at 1:05 p.m. Although it is unclear whether passengers were aboard flight JS151, a vehicl
North Korea Aug. 22, 2023
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