Granted everyone has their political freedom in a democratic country, but extremist views of any kind never fail to appall. Extreme views, mixed with a large helping of ignorance, flogged in the name of “religion” and “politics” may be the worst combination for bigotry.    (Christianity Party)Korea’s Christianity Party recently pushed forth inflammatory policies to ostracize homosexual and Muslim population in Korea, disgruntling those in favor of diversity and freedom of expression. In the part

Social Affairs April 11, 2016

The police is cracking down on online adult community Sora.net.Kang Shin-myung, chief commissioner of the Korean police, said Monday that not only the page administrators but also community members who participated in illegal acts will be held responsible. (Yonhap)While browsing adult content is not a criminal act, Kang said, “Those who create or distribute child pornography, heavy uploaders who circulate a large number of obscene content and distributors of revenge pornography are all punishabl

Social Affairs April 11, 2016

A man was arrested Monday for scamming tens of millions of won from women by pretending to be a high-flying businessman. The Busan Sasang police said the 35-year-old fraudster surnamed Kim defrauded four women of over 45 million won ($39,200).(123RF)He met his victims through a smartphone dating application. The women believed the man’s false name and identity and heeded his request to borrow money to pay his employees’ salaries.Police said that although Kim was not a particularly good-looking m

Social Affairs April 11, 2016

The sheer scale of funds estimated to realize the pledges of parliamentary candidates is shedding doubt on the plausibility of the promises and the sincerity of the candidates. According to analysis by local daily Joongang Ilbo, it would take the future 20th National Assembly more than 1 quadrillion won ($870 billion) to carry out their pledges, far exceeding this year’s national budget set for 380 trillion won -- which is already a 10 trillion won increase from the year before.  National Assemb

Politics April 11, 2016

The Seoul High Court turned down a sexually abusive stepfather’s appeal for a lighter sentence Sunday. The convicted, 48, was charged for abusing his sleeping stepdaughter, 25, and later threatening her with physical violence in an attempt to prevent her from alerting authorities. The woman in this photograph is not the victim mentioned in the article. (123RF)In the original trial he received five years in prison for incestuous sexual assault, but later appealed, saying his sentence was too heav

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

Approximately 30 private education institutes were found to be running illegal late-night classes, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Sunday. SMOE ordinance regulates classes for teenagers to be provided only between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. (Yonhap)However, when the government body ran a check on 487 institutes in the Gangnam district on Thursday, 30 were found to be running classes outside of the designated hours.The identified institutes will have demerits imposed on them and

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

Insurance fraud by those exaggerating illness or injury to be hospitalized is increasing each year, the prosecutors’ office revealed Sunday. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, a typical false patient stayed in the hospital for over 144 days for noncommittal illnesses such as gonarthritis within six months of signing 10 different insurance contracts.   (123RF)The number of false hospitalization and over-the-top treatments were found to have cost the insurance companies 99 billion won (

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

A man was arrested for stealing credit cards from intoxicated people and spending tens of millions of won on gambling, Seoul police said Sunday. The 44-year-old thief surnamed Lee targeted drunk people he accosted on the streets. He singled out men who passed out in busy districts and pretended to offer a helping hand -- either to hail a cab or give them company for another round of drinks.(123RF)Lee then told his victims that they need more cash and directed them to ATMs where he got their PIN

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

A taxi driver was given two years in prison with three years’ probation for abandoning an inebriated passenger on a highway, eventually leading to the passenger’s death, Daegu High Court said Sunday. The taxi was carrying the man from Andong in North Gyeongsang Province to Daegu -- roughly an hour and a half’s ride -- when the man who had gradually become incapable of clear communication failed to give his final desired destination to the driver.  (Yonhap)After a number of attempts at getting a

Social Affairs April 10, 2016

싱가포르에서 택시 차량으로 사용되는 현대 자동차 소나타 기종이 사고에 연속 연루되며 급발진 가능성이 제기되고 있다. 지난달 30일, 싱가포르 베독 노쓰 스트릿 2 (Bedok North Street 2) 야외주차장에서 택시회사 컴포트사 소속의 소나타 택시가 후진 주차 중 갑자기 속도를 높이며 폐지를 줍던 A씨 (여, 78)를 치어 숨지게 했다. 　연달아 이달 4일, 씨티캡사 소나타 택시가 싱가포르 레드힐 (Redhill) 주차장에서 갑작스런 후진으로 주차 되어 있던 차를 들이받고 도주했다. 문제를 일으킨 택시 기사는 곧 해고되었지만, 해당 사고 영상이 SNS를 통해 번지며 급발진 추측성 글이 난무하고 있다.   레드힐 주차장에서 문제를 일으킨 택시 (하단 페이스북 영상 링크)https://www.facebook.com/evon.lim.927/videos/1181953048483125/ 싱가포르의 온라인 IT테크 커뮤니티 “하드웨어존 포럼”에서는 “택시의 상태가 이상해 보인다”는 사람

한국어판 April 10, 2016

A man who allegedly told his wife to sleep with another man to extort money out of the latter will be tried on charges of false accusation.   Seoul’s Northern District Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday that the 26-year-old man, who is mildly impaired, directed his 25-year-old wife, who has a second-degree mental disability and an IQ of 45, to seduce strangers on the streets. They had been living on government subsidies at the time.(123RF)Following the husband’s orders, the wife had taken a ma

Social Affairs April 7, 2016

Gwangju City Ballet Company’s art director is drawing flak for allegedly asking a pregnant ballerina to quit.The Gwangju Artists’ Labor Union claimed on Wednesday that the director had told the dancer to “think it through for a week,” effectively pressuring her to leave her job.  The woman in this photo is not the ballerina mentioned in the article. (123RF)The director has so far denied the allegations. He refuted the Union’s claims, by saying, “I have never told her to leave because she’s pregn

Social Affairs April 6, 2016

A 23-year-old father who had habitually abused his daughter from before she was three months old was indicted Wednesday on charges of murder. The man was taken into custody last month for repeatedly dropping his baby from the height of a meter, which cracked her skull and led to her death.(123RF)The police initially accused the man of foul play, but later changed the case to that of manslaughter by gross negligence. The police said it had discovered through investigation that the man and his wif

Social Affairs April 6, 2016

Parents of disabled children want more government support, showed a recent survey released a day after a mother was prosecuted for strangling her disabled 11-year-old daughter in Daegu. According to the study released on Wednesday by a child rearing policy research center, a survey of 478 mothers and fathers with disabled children showed that 32 percent of them felt that there was a lack of specialized educational centers.(123RF)Among the respondents, 21 percent wanted more financial support fro

Social Affairs April 6, 2016

The woman who was arrested for killing her three-year-old nephew has claimed that the victim was her child born as a result of rape. On Wednesday, the woman claimed that she had gotten pregnant after years of being raped by her brother-in-law. (123RF)The 27-year-old aunt, whose identity was withheld by the police, alleges she was raped by her older sister’s husband multiple times since 2008. According to her statements, she was 19 years old at the time of his first assault.The woman claims she c

Social Affairs April 6, 2016