Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Seoul renews support program for multi-child families to boost birth rate
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that the city government will expand the pool of beneficiaries for a new program designed to support multi-child families by lowering the bar for “multi-child” family from the current three to two children. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the new child benefit scheme would beef up support for families with more than one child, explaining that it would alleviate the economic burden of households and improve child care services. To encourage m
Social Affairs May 16, 2023
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NHRC recommends prison grant individual cell to LGBTQ prisoner
The National Human Rights Commission issued a recommendation to a prison warden to come up with new measures to respond to an LGBTQ prisoner’s request to be given an individual cell. Dismissing the request violates human rights of pursuing happiness, the commission said. The commission refused to provide details on the prisoner's gender or the way in which they were LGBTQ, citing confidentiality. According to the human rights watchdog, the inmate asked for an individual cell in 2021,
Social Affairs May 15, 2023
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Man beats mother to death for refusing to let him move out
A man in his 30s was sentenced to seven years in prison for beating his mother to death because she refused to allow him to move out, according to legal professionals and media reports Sunday. The man assaulted his mother in January after she refused her son’s request to move out of the house. The mother reportedly suffered severe bodily injuries, sustaining broken ribs and a ruptured left kidney. She was sent to a nearby hospital and treated herself in emergency care, but later died from
Social Affairs May 15, 2023
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Teachers’ job satisfaction plummets to all-time low
A majority of Korean teachers said they wouldn’t choose to teach if they had the choice, as job satisfaction for the profession hit an all-time low, a survey showed Sunday. Some 80 percent of 6,751 teachers at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools and university said in the poll they wouldn’t be teachers if they were born again, according to the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations. When asked if they were satisfied with pursuing a career in teaching, only
Social Affairs May 15, 2023
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Doctors, nursing assistants to strike over Nursing Act as nurses await fate
A coalition of doctors, nursing assistants and other medical professionals is poised to go on a daylong nationwide general strike this week, as the medical sector remains split over the Nursing Act, which was passed in the National Assembly last month, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority. The coalition of 13 medical associations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association said they would go on a one-day nat
Social Affairs May 14, 2023
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Income inequality widens marriage rates among men
South Korean men in the top income bracket are likelier to be tying the knot, data showed Sunday, suggesting that income inequality could be a major factor in exacerbating marriage and childbearing rates. According to data released by the Korea Labor Institute analyzing labor and fertility trends, men with higher economic status were less likely to be unmarried and childless than low-income men. The finding came to light in research conducted from 2017 to 2019, which excluded variables related t
Social Affairs May 14, 2023
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Mixed feelings as Koreans set to return to pre-pandemic normalcy
Excitement at going back to normal life and a sense of relief was what Lee Ji-eun felt when she heard the news on Thursday morning that South Korea will lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, three years and four months after the country recorded its first case. “It gives me a complicated feeling that the pandemic that struck us so hard is fading. Many hospitals have already eliminated beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, so it is unlikely that there will be any major changes in our work a
Social Affairs May 11, 2023
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Seoul to develop AI system to manage subway congestion
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it would develop an AI-based congestion monitoring system to provide better information to passengers about crowd density at each subway station. According to Seoul Metro, the operator of the subway service in Seoul, the new service will help analyze the real-time flow of passengers and crowd levels in subway compartments, improving operational efficiency. Currently, the subway operator monitors crowding and measures the number of passengers
Social Affairs May 10, 2023
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Incheon wins bid to host new agency for overseas Koreans
The port city of Incheon will house the headquarters for a new state-run agency to provide consolidated administrative support to some 7.5 million people of the South Korean diaspora across the globe. Another office for handling citizen complaints will be set up in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. Incheon, which has been vying for the host title since last year, in its bid, touted its convenient and easy access to Incheon Airport, the main point of entry or departure
Foreign Affairs May 8, 2023
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Blustery Children’s Day disrupts flight operation on Jeju Island
Scores of flights were grounded at Jeju International Airport for two straight days due to strong winds and heavy rain, turning Children's Day into one of gloom and frustration. According to the Jeju Island branch of the Korean Airports Corp., 183 domestic flights to and from Jeju airport -- 92 departures and 91 arrivals -- had been canceled as of 8 a.m. A total of 488 domestic flights -- 238 arrivals and 235 departures -- and 15 international flights -- seven arrivals and eight departures
Social Affairs May 5, 2023
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Civic activists stage rallies over Kishida’s visit
With less than two days until a summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday, civic activists across the country took to the streets to stage protests, demanding a formal apology from Tokyo on Thursday. In the late morning, a group of students from 12 colleges in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province was the first to hold rallies over Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Seoul. Jang Ji-won, a 19-year-old student majoring in law at Sookmyung Women’s University, was
Social Affairs May 4, 2023
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K-pop concert opens 8-day ‘Seoul Festa 2023’
The Seoul Metropolitan Government kicked off its annual tourist event, “Seoul Festa 2023,” on Sunday, with a star-studded K-pop concert making its way back to pre-pandemic normalcy. The city embarked on the eight-day festival with an opening concert at the Olympic Main Stadium in Jamsil Sports Complex, southern Seoul, attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and some 40,000 attendees. In his opening remarks, Oh expressed hopes that visitors will be able to enjoy Seoul’s “style&
Social Affairs April 30, 2023
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6 soldiers caught smuggling drugs into army
Six soldiers stationed in a division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, were caught smuggling illegal narcotics into the army, according to local media and the South Korean military. The military said late Wednesday that the soldiers are currently under internal investigation for allegedly sneaking cannabis into the garrison through a parcel and smoking the banned substance inside the military base. One is facing a police investigation following his discharge from the military after the incident.
Social Affairs April 27, 2023
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[팟캐스트] (505) BTS 슈가, 솔로 앨범 ‘D-DAY’로 日 오리콘 차트 점령 / ‘돈 봉투 의혹’ 송영길, 자진 탈당
진행자: 박준희, Beth Eunhee Hong 1. BTS' Suga dominates Japan's Oricon charts with solo album 'D-Day 기사 요약: BTS 슈가, 첫 공식 솔로 음반 "D-DAY"로 전 세계 음악 차트 석권하다 [1] BTS' Suga has taken over the Japanese music charts with his latest solo album "D-Day." *Take over: 장악하다 [2] Dropped under his alias Agust D, "D-Day" and its tracks landed in the top tiers of Japan's Oricon charts. *Drop: 떨어트리다, 발매하다 *Land: 안착하다 *Top tier: 일류 [3] The album soared to No. 1 of Or
Podcast April 27, 2023
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21 colleges to consider school violence records in 2025 admissions
The Korean Council for University Education said Wednesday that 21 universities in South Korea will consider school violence records in their regular admission processes for the 2025 school year. The colleges include Seoul National University, the country’s top-ranked university, Korea University, Hanyang University, Konkuk University, Korea University Sejong Campus, Kookmin University and the University of Seoul. The decision comes after the government announced strengthened policies agai
Social Affairs April 26, 2023
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