[Feature] Basic income experiments gain momentum

In May, Ahn Hyo-bin, a young professional living in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, received 250,000 won ($212) from the provincial government because he was 24 years old. Nothing else was required for him to claim the benefit. 　Ahn is one of the first recipients of the “Youth Basic Income” -- 1 million won given to every 24-year-old citizen of Gyeonggi Province over the course of a year. 　“It is not a lot of money, but it helps me feel more stable emotionally,” Ahn said, add

Social AffairsJune 4, 2019

Korea considers raising purchase limit at duty-free shops

The government is considering raising the purchase limit at departure duty-free shops from the current $3,600 and the tax exemption limit from the current $600, officials said Tuesday.“In consideration of increased national income and inflation, (the government) is reviewing the need and means to raise the limit of purchase and tax exemption at duty-free shops,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a release.The decision will be confirmed later this month, when the ministry an

IndustryJune 4, 2019

South Korea's largest job fair for foreign firms kicks off

South Korea’s largest job fair for foreign companies began on Tuesday at Coex in Seoul, with 159 firms readying to recruit young job seekers. The two-day annual career expo with the largest number of participating companies this year is co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Seoul Metropolitan Government and co-organized by Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Financial Supervisory Service. The companies include Hewlett Packard Korea, Tokyo Electron Kore

IndustryJune 4, 2019

[Diplomatic circuit] Experts discuss gender equality in Seoul

World leaders, activists and academics gathered to discuss gender equality in South Korea during a conference organized by the Canadian Embassy in Seoul on Monday. The event held in Seoul marked the opening of the Women Deliver Conference 2019, which is being held over three days in Vancouver, Canada. According to the embassy, some 7,000 participants from over 160 countries were to participate in the conference, with an additional 100,000 people joining online.  During the conference in Seo

Diplomatic CircuitJune 4, 2019

SsangYong’s Tivoli facelift adds new gasoline engine, colors

South Korean SUV maker SsangYong Motor on Tuesday launched the sale of its facelifted Tivoli, a B-segment crossover that has taken the No. 1 spot in the category in recent years. Introduced in 2015, the compact SUV has a new 1.5-liter turbo gasoline engine, a larger digital interface and more body colors, in an effort to lure young drivers looking for their first cars, officials said. SsangYong takes pride in the new gasoline engine, as it was strategically developed to make the Tivoli stronger

MobilityJune 4, 2019

Schizophrenic man causes traffic accident, killing three

Three people were killed in a traffic accident caused by a mentally-ill man who drove in the wrong direction on an expressway Tuesday, police said.The accident took place on the Dangjin-Daejeon Expressway located south of Seoul at 7:34 a.m., when the 40-year-old light truck driver, surnamed Park, drove in the wrong direction and collided with a sedan.  Park and his 3-year-old son and the 29-year-old driver of the sedan, surnamed Choi, were immediately rushed to a hospital where they were pr

Social AffairsJune 4, 2019

[Newsmaker] Former vice justice minister referred to trial on bribery charges

Former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui was indicted and referred to trial Tuesday on charges of receiving bribes and sexual favors worth 170 million won ($143,700) from a construction contractor.A special team of prosecutors, winding up months of a probe into Kim's suspected sexual assault a decade ago, announced the indictment of the 63-year-old who briefly held the No. 2 post at the Ministry of Justice in 2013.Kim is accused of receiving bribes and sexual favors worth 130 million won between

Social AffairsJune 4, 2019

Internet cafe murderer gets 30-year prison term

A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday for killing a part-time worker at an internet cafe in Seoul in October last year.On Oct. 14, Kim Seong-soo, 30, mercilessly stabbed the part timer, surnamed Shin, about 80 times at the internet cafe in western Seoul when he asked Shin to clean his table. Kim insisted later that he had committed the homicide as Shin had been rude to him. The 20-year-old victim was taken to a hospital where he died of excessive blood loss, as arteries in his nec

Social AffairsJune 4, 2019

Consumer prices stay stagnant for 5th month

South Korea’s consumer price growth remained below the 1 percent level for the fifth consecutive month in May, due to a decline in price of petroleum products and increased welfare costs, government data showed Tuesday.The latest figures, which fell far below the Bank of Korea’s consumer price target of 2 percent, are once again seen as a signal that the central bank may consider a policy rate cut within the year. The consumer price index stood at 105.05 in May, up 0.7 percent from a

EconomyJune 4, 2019

Samsung CEO says Galaxy Home to be launched in Q3

Samsung Electronics’ Consumer Electronics CEO Kim Hyun-suk said Tuesday that the company will launch the Galaxy Home speaker in the third quarter of this year. “The Galaxy Home speaker, which will be the center of Samsung’s home appliances, is planned to be launched in mid-second half of the year,” Kim told The Korea Herald in response to a question. Kim answered the question after a press conference held to unveil Samsung’s new lifestyle-focused vision for consumer

TechnologyJune 4, 2019

Silence, security in Beijing on 30th Tiananmen anniversary

BEIJING (AFP) -- China marked 30 years since the deadly Tiananmen crackdown on Tuesday with a wall of silence and extra security after arresting activists and tightening internet censorship ahead of the politically sensitive anniversary. On a grey, overcast day, police checked the identification cards of every tourist and commuter leaving the subway near Tiananmen Square, the site of the pro-democracy protests that were brutally extinguished by tanks and soldiers on June 4, 1989.Foreign journali

World NewsJune 4, 2019

Apple iTunes to play last song

SAN JOSE (AFP) -- Apple on Monday announced the demise of its groundbreaking iTunes platform in favor of three more tailored apps, as it refines its offerings to be a stage for digital music, films, podcasts and more.iTunes transformed the way people buy and listen to music after its launch in 2001, but is now being phased out, Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said, while helping kick off the technology giant's annual gathering of developers in Silicon Valley.&

World NewsJune 4, 2019

North Korea's Mass Games return as nuclear talks stutter

PYONGYANG (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of performers took part in a stunning gymnastics show Monday night in Pyongyang as North Korea's spectacular "Mass Games" propaganda displays began their 2019 run.Following rehearsals over several months, vast numbers of people in colourful costumes took part in a precision synchronised performance at the cavernous May Day Stadium, portraying moments from Korean history and modern life.North Korean artistic performances are closely watched by observ

North KoreaJune 4, 2019

[Newsmaker] Ex-speed skating coach to stand trial for alleged sexual assaults

A former national speed skating coach will stand trial on charges of sexually assaulting South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee for about three years, prosecutors have said.Prosecutors indicted Cho Jae-beom on Monday on charges of sexually assaulting and molesting the 22-year-old Shim around 30 times beginning in 2014, when she was a high school student.His sexual assaults continued until December 2017, around two months before the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Fe

Social AffairsJune 4, 2019

Korean economy shrinks revised 0.4% in Q1: BOK

South Korea's economy shrank at a faster rate in the first quarter than earlier expected, the central bank said Tuesday, due to sluggish investment and exports that are expected to further deteriorate on escalating trade tension between the world's two largest economies.The country's real gross domestic product backtracked 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea said.The latest revision is lower than the central bank's earlier estimate of a 0.3 p

EconomyJune 4, 2019

Food Safety Ministry to kick off YouTube series promoting less salt, sugar in diet

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is starting a YouTube series to encourage people to eat less salt and sugar.The series will feature cooking shows with low-salt and low-sugar recipes, as well as on-site evaluations of the salt and sugar content of packaged foods and restaurant dishes.Ahead of the series’ launch, the Food Safety Ministry held a healthy diet forum Monday.Reducing sodium and sugar intake is one of the campaigns being run by the ministry this year. From May 14 to 17, the m

FoodJune 3, 2019

Body identified as S. Korean victim of Hungary boat sinking, death toll rises to 8

One of the two bodies retrieved from the Danube River was confirmed to be a South Korean missing in last week's deadly sinking of a sightseeing boat in Hungary, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.That raised the death toll in the May 29 sinking to eight with 18 others still unaccounted for. Work is under way to identify another body retrieved from underwater later that day, according to South Korea's quick response team dispatched to Budapest. The identified victim, who was discovered Monday

Social AffairsJune 3, 2019

Seoul, Washington agree to appoint S. Korean general to lead joint command

Seoul and Washington have agreed to appoint a South Korean four-star general to lead the envisioned future joint command and relocate its headquarters from Seoul to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan met in Seoul to discuss the pending issues and vowed to closely cooperate to back the on-going diplomatic efforts on the denuclearization of North Korea. During the 60-minute t

DefenseJune 3, 2019

[Graphic News] Proportion of female workers on rise in Korea

　The proportion of female workers at South Korea’s 600 leading firms has increased in the past five years, according to a local think tank. 　The Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed the top 600 listed companies in the nonfinancial sector and found that the proportion of female employees out of their overall workforce increased from 23 percent in 2014 to 23.8 percent in 2018. 　Educational service companies as well as wholesale and retail businesses hired more female workers in the pas

Social AffairsJune 3, 2019