Articles by Suk Gee-hyun
Suk Gee-hyun
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Railway talks face rough ride
Despite a dramatic end to the strike, a difficult set of tasks is ahead before differences are resolved over the state-run railway operator’s spin-off plan and the damage from the longest-ever train workers’ walkout is repaired.The union of the Korea Railroad Corp. on Monday decided to end its protracted strike after agreeing with political parties to form a parliamentary committee to address the dispute.The union began the strike on Dec. 9 in opposition to the government’s plan to set up a subs
Politics Dec. 30, 2013
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Korea’s largest ecological park to open next month
South Korea’s largest ecological park will open on Jan. 2 to boost public awareness of the environment and biodiversity, officials said Wednesday.The state-run National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, will display some 46,000 specimens from 4,500 plant species and 4,200 specimens from 240 animal species in its Ecorium exhibition center. Some 326.4 billion won ($308 million) has been spent on the construction of the facility on a 1 million-square-kilometer plot of la
National Dec. 25, 2013
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Police raid fuels labor strife
Labor unrest is fast escalating following the police’s bungled crackdown on railway strikers Sunday as a major labor confederation threatened a general strike while President Park Geun-hye pledged no tolerance against “illegal” actions. Political parties and civic groups jumped in the fray, heightening political confrontation over government agencies’ alleged interference in last year’s presidential election.Park expressed concerns about the strike by railway workers that has crippled the nation
Politics Dec. 23, 2013
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Police, unionists clash over rail strike
Police detained more than 120 labor activists in the first raid of a powerful labor organization in central Seoul on Sunday to arrest union leaders wanted for leading an “illegal” railway strike. Violent clashes erupted at 9:35 a.m. as some 500 policemen entered the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, where the strike leaders were believed to be hiding. Police broke windows on doors and fired tear gas to break up protesters who barricaded themselves and sprayed fire extingu
Politics Dec. 22, 2013
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Korea to permit 53,000 foreign laborers next year
Korea will allow about 53,000 migrant workers under the non-professional employment (E-9) visa next year, an increase of 3,000 from this year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday.The figure includes about 5,600 workers with a reentry visa under the government’s foreign work permit system. They will be assigned largely to the manufacturing, construction, agriculture and fishing industries, which are suffering a worsening labor shortage. Some 17,000 foreign employees will return to th
Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2013
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Police step up investigation of striking railway union
Police on Thursday detained a railway strike leader and raided four union offices across the country in an investigation of the “illegal” walkout. About 15,000 train service workers escalated their protest in a massive rally in Seoul demanding the cancellation of what they call the “privatization” plot and a halt to the police clampdown on unionists. A union member identified by the last name Yoon was taken into custody on charges of hampering business with an illegal strike. The court issued wa
Social Affairs Dec. 19, 2013
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Truckers back rail workers’ strike
Thousands of truck drivers are likely to join the ongoing strike by railway workers soon, a move that could cripple the nation’s cargo transport and port operations.In a news conference Wednesday, the Korea Cargo Transport Workers’ Union pledged to refuse to deliver cargo in protest of the government’s clampdown on railway strikers.Police began manhunts for 10 strike leaders Monday with court warrants for detainment. Police said Wednesday it planned to request warrants for an additional 18 union
Social Affairs Dec. 18, 2013
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Police launch clampdown as strike fallout worsens
A passenger was killed Sunday in a subway accident apparently caused by safety failures amid an ongoing strike by railway workers. Police on Monday began cracking down on leaders of the Korea Railroad Corp. union, whose walkout halted 70 percent of freight train services in its eighth day. President Park Geun-hye urged them to stop taking the economy hostage for their own interests. The union began a general strike on Dec. 9 in protest of the state-run rail monopoly’s plan to establish a subsidi
Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2013
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U.S. Navy expands sonar testing despite troubling signs
SAN DIEGO (AP) ― The U.S. Navy plans to increase sonar testing over the next five years, even as research it funded reveals worrying signs that the loud underwater noise could disturb whales and dolphins.Reported mass strandings of certain whale species have increased worldwide since the military started using sonar half a century ago. Scientists think the sounds scare animals into shallow waters where they can become disoriented and wash ashore, but technology capable of close monitoring has em
Dec. 16, 2013
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Ministry unveils steps to improve fine dust forecast
The government on Tuesday announced measures to better cope with harmful fine dust amid mounting criticism over its inaccurate forecasts in the past week. The Ministry of Environment is to have a taskforce of 12 experts from concerned ministries to release a fine dust forecast on a daily basis starting as early as next Monday, according to officials. The new plan came as smog blanketed much of the country in recent weeks. The smog level was way off from the calculation by the National Institute
National Dec. 10, 2013
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Opposition lawmaker demands Park resign
An opposition lawmaker on Sunday demanded the resignation of President Park Geun-hye over alleged irregularities in last year’s presidential election.The statement by Democratic Party Rep. Jang Ha-na added fuel to the ongoing dispute among political parties over government spy agents’ alleged interference in the election. This is the first time an incumbent lawmaker has publicly defied the result of the Dec. 19 election. “President Park may not have directly asked for aid in the election, but ev
Politics Dec. 8, 2013
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Incheon airport union goes on indefinite strike
The non-regular workers’ union at the state-run Incheon International Airport went on an indefinite strike Saturday, calling for higher wages and job security.Up to 700 of the 1,900 union members, who are largely cleaners and facility management workers, joined the action, they said.“There was no reason to delay our protest, as we have not received an answer for our request from the company,” the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Public Transportation Union said in a statement. “The official
Politics Dec. 8, 2013
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Korea, China to hold talks on smog crisis
Korean and Chinese experts are to meet in Beijing next week to discuss measures to fight acrid smog, according to the Ministry of Environment. A taskforce of 10 experts from concerned organizations is to meet with the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection on Dec. 12, to solve problems involving toxic airborne pollutants, particularly ultra fine dust particles. The organizations participating in the project are the Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office, National Institute of Environme
National Dec. 5, 2013
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Fine dust level 3 times higher than normal
South Korea is on alert over choking smog originating from wintertime coal use in China, which is threatening people’s respiratory and immune systems.The concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, or PM10, increased to more than three times normal levels Wednesday, with Gyeonggi Province recording the highest figure of 268 micrograms per cubic meter. The concentration in the province averaged 55 micrograms on Nov. 22, according to the National Institute of Envi
National Dec. 4, 2013
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Another animal escape raises zoo safety concerns
A white rhinoceros died of shock last year after it escaped its compound at a local zoo, raising questions about safety measures in public parks.The news was belatedly released after two different accidents in public zoos resulted in the death of a zoo keeper on Jeju Island and another falling into a coma at Seoul Grand Park.The park officials said they buried the 35-year-old rhinoceros near the zoo after it died, but did not report to police or emergency services. It was reported to the Ministr
Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2013
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