The ruling Grand National Party and opposition parties on Friday grappled over adopting a confirmation hearing report for Choi See-joong, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission.The GNP supports reappointment of Choi, but opposition parties are determined to remove him from his position accusing him for “politicizing the independent organization” during his three-year tenure, which ends Fr

Politics March 18, 2011

A government minister visited Japanese spouses living in Korea on Thursday to offer his consolation over the damage caused by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis. Kim Kyo-sik, vice minister of gender equality and family affairs, had tea at the multicultural center in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, with 10 Japanese women who have settled in Korea through marriage. Four o

Social Affairs March 17, 2011

An office worker in his 20s was apprehended Thursday for spreading groundless rumors that radioactive material from the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, would reach Korea. The rumors elevated anxiety among people here who were already taken aback by the disaster in the neighboring country.The police, however, said they had failed to detect any intention to shake up the stock market

Social Affairs March 17, 2011

Fears about health risks rose dramatically in Japan on Tuesday with news of a greater radiation release and renewed warnings to remaining residents within 20 miles to stay indoors.Japanese officials said that more radiation was released at a nuclear plant disastrously damaged by last week’s tsunami. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from four reactors.“The level seems very high, a

Technology March 17, 2011

By Bae Ji-sookKorean survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have had old fears of nuclear disaster dredged up by the explosions at a Japanese nuclear power plant. But they stood up and paid their condolences to the victims of the worst disaster to hit Japan since World War II, starting fund-raising campaigns as another nuclear disaster looms. The Korea Atomic Bomb Victim A

Social Affairs March 16, 2011

Businesses caught hiring illegal migrant workers will be banned from recruiting any more foreigners for three years, in a government bid to deal with illegal immigration.Korean employers found to have foreign nationals working for them illegally will get a warning the first time they are caught, but will receive the three-year ban the second time, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday.

Social Affairs March 15, 2011

The Korean government’s spending on infant education is among the lowest of OECD member nations, a state-run institute revealed Tuesday. And the rate of women’s participation in earning activities also tables at the below most other OECD countries. The figures suggest that women could take on more money-making roles if the administration helped families with pre-school education, according to the

Social Affairs March 15, 2011

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan has thrown neighboring Koreans a question: How safe are we?Experts here say Korea is unlikely to suffer such a massive earthquake but caution that the country should be fully alert for all possibilities.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the chances of a massive earthquake and tsunami affecting Korea are quite slim since the Japanese archip

Social Affairs March 13, 2011

The government will establish a committee dedicated to verifying faults in medical accidents to help settle disputes under a law passed by the National Assembly on Friday. The body will help citizens less knowledgeable of the sophisticated field confront their doctors with the help of a professional third party, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, welcoming the passage of the medical arbitrat

Social Affairs March 11, 2011

Choi Sun-hee, 54, stresses that she and her husband would rather stay in a nursing home than expect their children to live with and support them. “In my generation, you could buy an apartment with a modest salary worker’s income. But now, inflation has made that nearly impossible. I don’t plan to ask my children for help ― they are too burdened to look after their own family,” she said. Choi said

Social Affairs March 10, 2011

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Wednesday denied allegations that the government may scrap a plan to allow multiple charity organizations to receive donations.The denial came after a U.S. charity leader was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying that Health and Welfare Minister Chin Soo-hee agreed with his view that the country needs no second charity organizer.“Increasing the number of

Social Affairs March 9, 2011