Korea’s top court will establish a patent dispute mediation center as part of efforts to promptly help settle cross-border legal battles involving intellectual property rights, officials said Tuesday. The Supreme Court said it would launch a special “one-stop” center under the Patent Court where the international intellectual property conflicts can be negotiated and resolved. “Mediation is crucial in patent cases, as they mostly deal with highly professional knowledge and sensitive issues involv

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2015

Seoul City on Monday urged the central government to loosen drone regulations as part of its plans to use the unmanned aerial vehicles for the public good. The Seoul Metropolitan Government requested the Defense Ministry and Transport Ministry simplify the approvals process for drone use in cases to be used for monitoring the city’s traffic status, officials said. Under current rules, flying drones over 12 kilograms requires a permit from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration. Regardless of

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2015

More than 4,700 immigration law violators were caught in the last two months along with over 1,100 employers who hired them, Justice Ministry officials said Sunday. The ministry said it caught 4,751 foreigners in breach of immigration law including some 3,600 who worked here without a visa. The rest were people whose visas had expired. The ministry has carried out an intensive crackdown against illegal immigration since September in cooperation with police and other ministries. Under the Immigra

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2015

Park, an 18-year-old Seoul high school student, has smoked for more than three years. Smoking a few times a day, he does not think cigarettes pose significant health risks to him. “I only smoke two or three times a day. I don’t think I’m very addicted and don’t have serious health issues yet. It’s just a way to hang out with friends,” Park told The Korea Herald, asking not to be named. Park is one of a large number of Korean teenagers who do not consider smoking harmful. According to the latest

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2015

The Seoul government will stop receiving damage reports from possible victims of a toxic humidifier disinfectant from next year, officials said Thursday, stirring concerns that the deadline could leave out potential victims who may show health problems in the future. The Environment Ministry said Thursday it would accept requests for a health probe by the end of next month from those who had used the humidifier disinfectant in question. Since July 2013, the government has carried out two investi

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2015

South Korea’s funeral culture is fast changing with four out of five deceased being cremated rather than buried, government data showed Monday.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the country’s cremation rate accounted for 79 percent of funerals last year, surging fourfold compared to two decades ago. This is a 2 percentage point rise over last year. By region, eight metropolitan cities including the capital recorded 85.2 percent on average, 10 percent more than non-metropolitan and

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2015

More than half of pet dogs in Seoul remain unregistered despite the city government’s efforts to reduce the number of stray dogs and boost animal welfare, data showed Friday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, only about 220,000 pet dogs were registered as of September, which accounts for 44 percent of the estimated 500,000 dogs in the city. The government made pet registration mandatory in 2013 as part of efforts to prevent the rising pet abandonment and loss rates, and to guarantee

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2015

Seoul City on Thursday announced plans to give a monthly allowance to unemployed youth as part of its efforts to better bridge them to the labor market. Seoul Metropolitan Government said that it would offer 500,000 won ($440) a month starting from next year for unemployed young people aged between 19 and 29 who are in the low-income bracket. The city will provide the subsidy to 3,000 individuals on a trial basis for up to six months and expand the number to 15,000 over the next five years. A to

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2015

Seoul City and Beijing vowed to strengthen cooperation to combat environment challenges, especially air pollution, as part of their efforts to protect public health, officials said Wednesday. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and his counterpart Wang Anshun agreed to launch a joint environment team that will share their environment measures, technology and information in a bid to improve air quality. “The two cities are a ‘communal breathing community.’ The cooperative study on air pollution based on th

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2015

The increasing number of those taking subways for free, mostly seniors, has contributed to subway operators’ rising deficits, officials said Monday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 7 of 9 Seoul subway lines recorded about 425 billion won ($373.5 million) in deficit last year, showing little improvement from previous years.Of them, subway Line No. 3 which runs from Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, to Ogeum in southwestern Seoul through central and southern portions of the capital recorded

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2015

The leaders of South Korea, Japan and China failed to produce a dramatic deal Sunday on history or territorial disputes, focusing more on sending a signal that they want to work together on economy and regional security.In their first summit in more than three years, the Northeast Asian powers made the practical choice of keeping the hard-won momentum rather than breaking the mood."We agreed to hold the trilateral summit on a regular basis," President Park Geun-hye told reporters after meeting w

Foreign Affairs Nov. 1, 2015