Taxi fares in Seoul will rise on Feb. 16, the city government said Wednesday.The basic taxi fare will increase from the current 3,000 won ($2.60) to 3,800 won, while the basic late-night fare from midnight to 4 a.m. will also rise -- from 3,600 won to 4,600 won.  (Yonhap)Meters will rise faster as well. Under the current fare system, taxis go 142 meters per 100 won after the basic fare covers the first 2 kilometers. When taxis travel slower than 15 kilometers per hour, 100 won is added to the fa

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2019

More women in Korea take into consideration a potential partner’s financial capability than men when they choose a spouse, a recent survey showed Wednesday.According to research from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, which surveyed 1,140 unmarried men and 1,324 unmarried women aged between 20 and 44 , 92.7 percent of female respondents answered that they think of the partner’s financial capability as an essential factor in selecting a spouse, while 53 percent of male respondents

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2019

The Seoul city government will remove memorial tents set up for the 2014 Sewol ferry tragedy at Gwanghwamun Square and build a commemorative space at the site, Mayor Park Won-soon said Tuesday.Park announced the plan during a visit to the tents Tuesday to participate in a Lunar New Year memorial service. “Seoul city has been discussing with the victims’ families about renovating the place and finishing the construction before April,” the mayor said. Memorial tents set up for the 2014 Sewol ferry

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2019

A suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease was reported in North Chungcheong Province on Thursday, amid escalating concerns over the highly contagious animal disease spreading in the country ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Thursday that a cattle farm in Chungju reported that a cow had showed symptoms of FMD, such as drooling and blisters.As the cow tested positive for FMD in an initial inspection, quarantine authorities culled 11 cows

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2019

More than 35,000 people have refused life-sustaining medical treatment since legislation on end-of-life care went into effect Feb. 4, 2018, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy said Wednesday.The law enables terminally ill patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment, including CPR, hemodialysis and the use of respirators or anti-cancer drugs, when there is no chance of recovery or improvement.  (Yonhap)Under the law, any individual over the ag

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2019

More changes are needed in society to root out sexual violence, said Seo Ji-hyun on Tuesday, a year after she publicly accused her former boss of groping her in a TV interview, igniting the #MeToo movement here. “Victims of sexual violence have suffered, as society takes sides with perpetrators while criticizing victims,” the 45-year-old prosecutor said at a roundtable at the National Assembly on Tuesday.“The era in which victims have to sacrifice themselves to speak the truth and justice should

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2019

The government will expand support for female North Korean defectors, Gender Equality Minister Jin Sun-mee said Monday.The plans were revealed during a visit to a resettlement center for North Korean defectors, where the minister participated in discussion with female escapees. The discussion was held as part of the government’s effort to provide more help for the defectors’ settlement in South Korea. Gender Equality Minister Jin Sun-mee (Yonhap)“North Korean defectors’ successful settlement in

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2019

On a Friday afternoon, a customer enters a beauty spa that looks like the whole place has been dipped in pink.The difference from ordinary spas is that everything here at Shushu & Sassy is miniature-sized, from the gowns to the chairs.Clad in a pink bathrobe and a hair band shaped like rabbit ears, the customer lets go of her mother’s hand and soaks her feet in a bubbly basin. A spa specialist then carefully covers the child’s tiny face with a sheet mask and massages her hands and arms with loti

Social Affairs Jan. 24, 2019

The Young Skater Association on Monday raised further allegations of sexual abuse by skating coaches, amid snowballing revelations of #MeToo cases in South Korea’s sports community.The association held a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday afternoon with Rep. Sohn Hye-won, who had represented the ruling Democratic Party on the parliamentary culture committee. Sohn stepped down from the position and left the party on Sunday over allegations of property speculation in Mokpo, South

Social Affairs Jan. 21, 2019

The Test of Proficiency in Korean will include a speaking test starting in 2023, local media outlets reported Sunday.According to the reports, the National Institute for International Education, which administers the TOPIK, has plans to incorporate a speaking test into the exam and change its format to internet-based testing.TOPIK is a written test held six times a year and designed to evaluate the Korean-language skills of nonnative speakers. Many test takers hope to gain employment in South Ko

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2019

The government will inspect massage parlors and adult entertainment establishments throughout South Korea to root out the hiring of foreign nationals who live and work here illegally.The investigation, announced Sunday by the National Policy Agency and the Ministry of Justice, will be carried out from Feb. 18 to March 31. (Yonhap)The agencies said they would take countermeasures against the businesses because they corrupt public morals and encourage people to stay in the country illegally.If pol

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2019

Japanese exchange student Aoi still remembers the “shocking moment” when she saw a trash bin in a Korean restroom stall for the first time.“As there are no such trash bins in toilets in Japan, I was shocked when I saw the bin overflowing with used toilet paper,” Aoi said.“The stink from the bin and the dirty toilet paper scattered on the ground caused panic immediately. I still have a fear of opening a restroom door, guessing whether it would be clean or not.”Aoi is one of many people who been d

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2019

Amid the snowballing revelations of coaches’ sexual misconduct, the government on Thursday unveiled its scheme to root out sexual abuse in the sports community. “The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will form a consultative group with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Education in February to formulate measures to combat sexual abuses in the sports community,” Gender Ministry Vice Minister Lee Sook-jin said during a briefing Thursday. Lee Sook-jin, vice minist

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2019

The National Health Insurance will offer partial coverage of the cost of Chuna manual therapy starting March, amid controversies surrounding the treatment’s effectiveness.Chuna manual therapy is a treatment that corrects spinal disorders by pushing and pulling body parts by hand, similar to Western chiropractic treatment. As the procedure is not paid for by the National Health Insurance, the cost of the procedure varies widely, from 8,100 won ($7.20) to 200,000 won, according to the National Hea

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2019

The government plans to take strong measures to root out sexual abuse in sports, as Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee’s claim of sexual assault by her former coach has triggered the #MeToo movement in the sports community.After Shim publicly accused Cho Jae-beom of sexual assault on Tuesday, two more skaters came forward accusing their respective coaches of sexual abuse on Wednesday. According to the Young Skaters Asociation, which has investigated sexual abuse in Korea’s skating communi

Social Affairs Jan. 11, 2019