Articles by Suk Gee-hyun
Suk Gee-hyun
-
Korea’s employment rate rise led by baby boomers
South Korea’s employment rate has surged to the highest level in 12 years, largely driven by a huge return of economically inactive middle-aged workers to employment, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday.The ministry said in its labor report that 767,000 people had been newly employed in January and February, marking the fastest growth since March 2002.Authorities note that the growing participation of economically inactive people in the job market ― those that have either chosen not
Social Affairs March 17, 2014
-
More women say marriage is not a must
More young Korean women see marriage as an option, a study showed on Monday.According to a survey by The Herald Business, about 45.5 percent of the 264 freshmen questioned at Duksung Women’s University said marriage is not a must, five percentage points higher than in a similar survey conducted on women in their 20s and 30s last month.More than 39 percent of the students who said marriage is optional answered that they want to “bet on their life for social success,” followed by 16.6 percent sayi
Social Affairs March 17, 2014
-
Suspected AI infection found in dog
A dog was found to have been infected by the bird flu virus in Korea, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday, sparking concerns that the disease may affect mammals. Meanwhile, avian influenza was also detected in a goose in Gwacheon, just outside Seoul. Authorities banned the movement of poultry in southern parts of Seoul after confirming the infection.The dog at a poultry farm in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province tested positive for antibodies against the H5 avian influenza virus after eating i
Social Affairs March 14, 2014
-
Court upholds defamation jail term for ex-police chief
South Korea’s top court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a former police chief to eight months in jail for making defamatory remarks against late President Roh Moo-hyun.Former National Police Agency head Cho Hyun-oh was found guilty of defamation for saying in 2010 that Roh committed suicide a day after investigators found his slush funds under a borrowed-name account.The Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s final appeal against a verdict given by two lower courts, saying
Social Affairs March 13, 2014
-
Man arrested for growing pot in Seoul
A Korean man has been taken into police custody for growing marijuana plants on the rooftop of a building in downtown Seoul, police said Thursday.The 45-year-old suspect is accused of cultivating 18 marijuana plants worth approximately 27 million won ($25,200), for four months from August 2013. Police found them in a greenhouse on the rooftop of a six-story commercial building in central Seoul, which had been converted into a marijuana farm. The greenhouse was equipped with ventilation, lighting
Social Affairs March 13, 2014
-
Mysterious rocks could be first Korean meteorites in 70 years
Interest is growing in the two mysterious black rocks found at Korean farms, with early analysis results indicating that at least one may be a meteorite.On Wednesday, a second rock suspected of being a meteorite was found in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. The owner of the farm where the new rock was found, located 4 kilometers from the farm where a suspected meteorite was found on Monday, has requested that it be analyzed. If scientists confirm that the stones are meteorites, they will become
Social Affairs March 12, 2014
-
[Graphic News] Korea has fewest practicing doctors
The number of practicing physicians in Korea is the lowest among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, although the figure has increased over the past few years, according to OECD data. Korea recorded 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people in 2012, well below the OECD average of 3.2. Austria topped the list with 4.8 doctors per 1,000 people in 2011, followed by Italy, Spain and Germany.
Social Affairs March 11, 2014
-
Nuke operator executive probed
Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the office of the state-run nuclear power plant operator’s senior executive in Seoul, as part of its investigation into the company’s corruption scandal. Investigators have been widening their probe into Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corp. since last year for turning a blind eye to the falsification of test certificates for parts and materials used in nuclear reactors. The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office confiscated hard drives and documents from KHNP executive v
Social Affairs March 11, 2014
-
Police probe finds no evidence of threats, pressure behind reality-show suicide
Police said on Monday they had found no evidence that a female contestant on a matchmaking show had been put under intense pressure by the TV crew before committing suicide. The 29-year-old woman, only identified by her family name Chun, was found dead in a guesthouse on Jejudo Island last Wednesday during shooting of a popular reality show titled “Jjak.” Chun’s body was found by the show’s producer in a bathroom of the guesthouse with a note saying she did not want to live anymore, the police s
Social Affairs March 10, 2014
-
Doctors’ strike set to cripple hospitals
The country’s largest group of doctors said Sunday it would go ahead with a scheduled one-day strike Monday to protest the government’s plan to introduce telemedicine and for-profit subsidiaries of hospitals.“We doctors have made a very difficult decision to shut doors and refuse treatment (of patients). We can only blame the government in making such a radical choice,” said Roh Hwan-kyu, president of the Korea Medical Association, in a press conference in Seoul on Sunday. Doctors affiliated wit
Social Affairs March 9, 2014
-
Key witness in spy scandal attempts suicide
A key figure in an espionage case involving a former Seoul city official tried to kill himself on Wednesday, creating a major setback for the investigation. The witness, only identified as ethnically Korean with Chinese nationality, is accused of giving the National Intelligence Service forged immigration documents regarding a former Seoul official suspected of spying for North Korea. Investigators said the man slit his neck with a knife at a motel in Seoul, after being questioned by the prosecu
Social Affairs March 6, 2014
-
Policies fail to curb noise pollution
A 73-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in jail last year for starting a fire in the apartment above his that killed two people. A three-year dispute over noise pollution at the apartment complex ended in tragedy. Shortly after that incident, a 43-year-old man stabbed two brothers to death, angry over the noise they made in the upstairs apartment during the New Year holiday. These sad incidents are just a sample of the neighborly clashes ranging from fist fights to horrendous homicides that
Social Affairs March 5, 2014
-
Court clears Korean-Japanese man of spying charges
The nation’s top court upheld a ruling by an appeals court to acquit a Korean-Japanese man accused of espionage for a pro-North Korean organization. The 63-year-old defendant, only identified by his last name Park, was indicted in 1982 on charges of working as a spy at the behest of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.“There’s lack of evidence proving his spying activities. (The appeals court) has made the right decision based on legal principles,” the presiding chief justice, K
Social Affairs March 5, 2014
-
Top court rules spamming software as malware
The nation’s top court on Monday classified auto blog commenting and mass emailing software as malware programs, citing their damage to the digital network.A South Korean programmer on Feb. 13 was charged with selling seven types of spamming software that offer services such as collecting email addresses, auto-blog commenting and bulk emailing to an unspecified number of individuals.The Supreme Court sentenced the man, surnamed Kim, to eight months in prison with a two-year stay of execution and
Social Affairs March 3, 2014
-
Former Japanese premier says war apology must stand
Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said Thursday the landmark 1993 Kono Statement admitting the country’s conscription of sex slaves should not be re-examined, amid growing speculation that the Japanese government will attempt to revise it.Muramaya also said in a press conference that his 1995 apology for the country’s wartime atrocities was an international pledge that could not be retracted. “The 1993 Kono Statement came after comprehensive research of the evidence,” the former P
Politics Feb. 28, 2014
Most Popular
-
1
Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
-
2
Korea enters full election mode
-
3
Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
-
4
Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
-
5
Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
-
6
Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
-
7
S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
-
8
Kia EV9 wins world car of year
-
9
Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
-
10
Korea misses out on global bond index boost