When he decided to run his own business a few years ago, Bryan Hale, a former English teacher at a local middle school, had no idea about the business culture here. What helped him a lot, he said, was the business start-up program offered by the Seoul Global Center, a support center for foreign residents. “The center offered me the education I need to understand the Korean business culture; not to

Social Affairs June 17, 2011

Seoul City will hold its first plebiscite vote in August on the controversial free school meal ordinance, which was approved last year by the city council.The plebiscite vote, introduced in Korea in 2004, has been carried out three times to make important policy decisions in other regions. But the Seoul referendum will be the first one to have been demanded by citizens. The Commission for Anti-Wel

Social Affairs June 16, 2011

Seoul National University may waive tuition fees for students from low-income families from the fall semester, an official said Thursday. Of the 16,325 undergraduate students at the school, some 1,700 to 2,000 are expected to benefit from the new measure. “(The school) is considering offering a full scholarship to students from low-income households in the bottom 50 percent of the income bracket,”

Social Affairs June 16, 2011

Chinese tourists emerging as biggest spendersDespite recent unfavorable conditions including North Korea’s bombardment on Yeongpyeong Island, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, an earthquake and radiation fears in Japan, Seoul City sees a slight increase in the number of foreign visitors to the capital this year.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday, the number of foreig

Social Affairs June 15, 2011

The National Assembly plans to vote on the controversial “half-priced tuition” policy during the plenary session in late June, the head of the parliamentary educational committee said Monday. “There is no difference between the ruling and opposition parties in discussing the half-tuition measures at the National Assembly. I’ll submit the issue for a vote at a general session,” said Rep. Byun Jae-i

Social Affairs June 13, 2011

Seoul City’s anti-smoking campaign in downtown squares, which kicked off this month, is largely being obeyed, with the total number of violations standing at just 15 as of Monday. The city banned smoking at three plazas in central Seoul from June 1, imposing a fine of 100,000 won ($92) on smokers. The three squares ― Chunggye, Gwanghwamun and Seoul Plaza ― are frequented by about 30,000 people eve

Social Affairs June 13, 2011

The chief justices of 30 Asia-Pacific nations launched a five-day conference in Seoul on Sunday to discuss the present and future of the region's judiciaries.More than 100 people from 33 countries took part in the 14th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific, starting with a welcome reception at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.South Korea's Supreme Court is hosting the biennial conference for t

Social Affairs June 12, 2011

Private universities are discussing cutting tuition fees by 10 to 15 percent on condition that the government shares the financing of scholarships at individual schools, the head of a private university presidents’ council said Sunday.Park Chul, head of the Association of Private University Presidents, said in an interview that the group is gathering opinions of member schools about a trade-off be

Social Affairs June 12, 2011

The Central Officials Training Institute will start a two-week program on international negotiation Monday.Twenty four public servants from 19 government agencies will participate in the English-only course, titled “the Multinational English Immersion Program.”This year, eight foreign participants have been invited to the program, which has involved only Korean civil servants since 2008. The forei

Social Affairs June 12, 2011

The Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled Wednesday a road map to make life “smarter” by expanding IT services.Currently, free wireless Internet services are available in 83 percent of the city, with the number of smart device users exceeding the 10 million mark in March. The South Korean capital, one of the most-wired cities in the world, plans to extend the free Wi-Fi network at all public buil

Social Affairs June 8, 2011

Student bodies at four universities agree on allianceThe student councils of four major universities in Seoul agreed Tuesday to vote on class suspension in a campaign against tuition fee hikes.The four schools are Korea University, Sogang University, Sookmyung Women’s University and Ewha Womans University. On June 2, students at Hanshin University skipped classes, calling for a tuition reduction.“

Social Affairs June 7, 2011

Seoul City saw a rapid decrease in the number of fined cigarette droppers last year after starting a no-litter campaign in 2007, officials said Monday. The city collected about 6.2 billion won ($5.7 million) in fines from 176,069 litterbugs in 2010, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.The figure was the smallest since 2007 when the city launched a campaign against flicking cigarette but

Social Affairs June 6, 2011