How quickly can semiconductor experts be trained?

The Education Ministry is rushing to step up its efforts to nurture next-generation talents for the semiconductor industry, following President Yoon Suk-yeol’s comments last week. At a Cabinet meeting held last week, Yoon called for special measures to boost the industry, specifically asking the ministry to develop policies to expand the talent pool for semiconductor experts. He said the current limit on the university student quotas was an impediment to training sufficient graduates.

June 15, 2022

UN expert calls for justice for victims of Japanese colonial rule, Korean War

The United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees, Fabian Salvioli, on Wednesday called for justice for victims of violations witnessed during Japanese colonial and Korean War times, as well as accountability from perpetrators. At a press conference held Wednesday in Seoul, the UN expert discussed the “preliminary impressions” from his June 8-15 visit, and was careful not to bring a special focus to specific subjects or victims. &l

June 15, 2022

Over 5,000 cases investigated under anti-stalking law

Police have investigated over 5,000 cases for suspected violations of the anti-stalking law in the first five months since it went into effect, the Korean National Police Agency announced in its yearly white paper earlier this week. The 237-page report analyzed 5,248 investigations among 5,707 reported stalking incidents as of March this year, five months since the law took effect in October 2021. The law was the result of a 22-year effort since it was first proposed in 1999. For decades, sta

June 15, 2022

Court holds hearing to decide on ex-Industry Minister Paik's arrest

A Seoul court on Wednesday began a hearing to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for former Industry Minister Paik Un-gyu over allegations that while in office he forced the heads of energy-related state firms to step down. Paik, the former Moon Jae-in administration's first minister of trade, industry and energy, is under suspicion of having forced the resignation of heads of 13 state-run energy companies who were appointed under the preceding Park Geun-hye government, shortly after

June 15, 2022

Paid sick leave system to kick off in July for 1-yr trial in 6 areas

A paid sick leave system guaranteeing 60 percent of the minimum wage as sick pay will go into effect next month for a one-year trial in six cities across the nation, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Wednesday. The minister made the remarks during a government COVID-19 response meeting, saying the system will be tested in six cities across the nation, including the Jongno district in central Seoul, starting July 4. "The government will kick off the sick pay trial project early next month,

June 15, 2022

Yoon calls for cooperation after truckers end strike

President Yoon Suk-yeol called for joint efforts to overcome the economic crisis Wednesday as cargo truckers returned to work following a weeklong strike. "I'm nervous," Yoon said as he arrived for work when a reporter asked him to comment on the strike that ended late Tuesday. "We're walking on thin ice because of the economic crisis caused by high prices and high interest rates around the world, and I think we will all need to cooperate in the interests of everyone,&qu

June 15, 2022

South Korea’s young suicides rise despite overall drop

Suicides among young people, especially women, increased during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, despite a drop overall in South Korea. The number of suicides fell by 604 to 13,195 in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report published Tuesday. The ministry said preliminary data from 2021 indicated a continued declining trend. The suicide rate per 100,000 people was 25.7 in 2020, far below the 31.7 seen in 2011 -- the high

June 14, 2022

Child care still heavily dependent on women: survey

Child care is still heavily dependent on women as they take up a larger share of the work compared to men on both weekdays and weekends, despite the growing belief that both genders should participate equally, a survey showed. The Korea Institute of Child Care and Education released the results of a survey carried out in May last year on 1,228 parents of toddlers or elementary school students. Some 52.3 percent of the respondents were from dual-income families. The respondents answered that

June 14, 2022

International boarding school Branksome Hall Asia empowers students to strive for the best

Sitting on the rocky volcanic coastline of southern Jeju Island is Branksome Hall Asia, an International Baccalaureate school. The school, Jeju‘s only all International Baccalaureate school, is the first international school in Korea to be named an International School of the Year by ISC Research in 2021. Founded in 2012, Branksome Hall Asia, is a sister school to Branksome Hall, a 119-year-old independent girls school in Toronto, Canada. Like its sister school, the independent boarding

June 14, 2022

[Newsmaker] S. Korea may shorten COVID-19 quarantine mandate to five days

The South Korean government is expected to shorten the country’s COVID-19 quarantine mandate to five days, according to health officials on Tuesday. A government task force has reportedly been discussing the possibility of lifting the mandatory quarantine, but some experts from the group currently see lifting the mandatory quarantine as still risky. At the moment, it is more likely that the government could shorten the quarantine time or just keep the seven-day quarantine measure for a l

June 14, 2022

Prosecution again acquits singer over sexual assault allegations

Prosecutors have again acquitted veteran singer Kim Kun-mo of allegations that he sexually assaulted a female hostess at a bar, sources said Tuesday. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office dismissed the woman's appeal and acquitted the 54-year-old singer of rape charges on June 7, they said. Kim, who holds the Guinness World Records title for the bestselling album of all time in South Korea in the 1990s, visited the bar in the posh Gangnam area in southern Seoul in August 2016. The hostess claim

June 14, 2022

6,500 workers with disabilities legally paid less than minimum wage: report

About 6,500 workers with disabilities legally earned less than the minimum wage last year, a report said Tuesday. The report from the Korea Labor and Society Institute found a total of 6,547 workers were excluded from the minimum wage rule as of August 2021. Their average monthly wage was 363,441 won ($282), or 19.9 percent of the minimum wage at that time, the report said. By law, the minimum wage does not apply to employees "with a very limited working capacity due to a mental or physical

June 14, 2022

Shippers urge truckers to promptly end strike putting smaller traders at risk

South Korean shippers urged striking truckers Tuesday to end their protest and resume negotiations over the disputed freight rate system, stressing that smaller export and import traders could take the brunt of the prolonged cargo disruptions. An industry group representing some 70,000 shippers made the emphatic call as thousands of truckers have walked off the job in protest of a planned expiry of a freight rate system guaranteeing the minimum pay and other subsidies. The strike, now in its eig

June 14, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases rebound to near 10,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to nearly 10,000 on Tuesday, while the number of deaths came down to a nine-month low. The country added 9,778 COVID-19 infections, including 41 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,239,056, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's case count rose after it dropped to 3,828 on Monday, the lowest since the 3,094 reported on Jan. 11. The increase in the caseload was attributed to the growth in

June 14, 2022

‘Spicy’ school meals are not human rights violation: NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission on Monday dismissed a petition that claimed spicy foods in school lunches is a human rights violation. “Political Mamas”, a nonprofit civic group which deals with comprehensive social issues related to childcaring, filed a petition in November 2021 demanding spicy menu items on school lunches be corrected. “Elementary schools in Korea provide the same meals to every student, from age 8 to 13. If there is a kindergarten att

June 13, 2022

Ex-spy chief faces charges for tipping reporters about false allegations vs Yoon

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Monday asked the prosecution for the indictment of former director of the National Intelligence Service, Park Jie-won, for telling reporters false allegations against then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of the election. The CIO shared its findings with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which will decide whether to bring formal charges against Park. According to the CIO, Park spoke to five reporte

June 13, 2022

Police to expand use of AI voice recognition in sex crimes investigations

The police will expand its use of artificial intelligence voice recognition systems when investigating sexual crimes, the Korean National Police Agency said on Monday. The AI voice recognition system will help investigators focus on interviewing victims, as it automatically records the interview. Investigators usually write down a victim statement while interviewing at the same time. The agency plans to introduce the system to 38 police stations, the women and youth related investigation units

June 13, 2022

‘Most sexual harassment in workplace goes unacknowledged even after reporting’

Even if an employee reports acts of sexual harassment in the workplace, it rarely leads to appropriate action, according to an analysis by a civic group. Gapjil 119, which campaigns against workplace abuses, indicated that between January 2021 and March 2022, only 129 out of 1,046 cases (12.3 percent) were acknowledged as sexual harassment. Only 7.6 percent (80 cases) of them ended in penalties for those accused of harassment. Some 65.7 percent (687 cases) of reported cases were dropped halfwa

June 13, 2022

Apps for single-person households

In a country where nearly one-third of all households consist of just one person, products and services tailored to the need of those living alone keep growing their presence in the market. Mobile applications are no exception. Apps are springing up to cater to solo life.  The King of Honjok Studies have shown that people living alone are more likely to experience a lower quality of life, and men living alone more so. The King of Honjok aims to help by providing services that enable

June 13, 2022

Rise Education Korea opens new chapter online

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Rise Education Korea took a step into the online world to continue offering quality English education for children. Rise Education Korea is an English language teaching institution offering education to children. Though its online programs were initially created for students at its offline branches, the education group is now working on producing online content for diverse age groups, from toddlers to elementary school students. Currently, Rise Education Korea ru

June 13, 2022