Korea will see a twofold increase of renewable energy production at environmental facilities within five years, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday while announcing its renewable energy expansion road map. The ministry shared its plan to expand renewable energy production at environmental facilities, setting an annual production goal of 5,764 gigawatt-hours by 2026. The goal currently stands at 3,264 GWh per year as of 2021. Environmental facilities refer to those dealing with waste and

Social Affairs June 21, 2022

Forty-nine child support obligors will be punished for refusing to pay for their children’s basic living expenses, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Friday. The ministry has revealed on its website the names of two noncustodial parents who did not pay the court-ordered expenses and requested a travel ban on 17 obligors and a driver’s license suspension for another 30. The punitive measures against such noncustodial parents were first imposed in October, follow

Social Affairs June 17, 2022

Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister nominee Park Soon-ae denied the allegation she had inappropriately included her husband in studies. Park, a former professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, has been accused of inappropriately including her husband in researches and academic journals. The Education Ministry released a statement Thursday, denying the allegation. “The studies were more than just joint authorship between the nomine

Social Affairs June 17, 2022

The abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is “definite,” its new minister said Thursday. 　 “Things have changed over time, and the abolition of the ministry will clearly come,” Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook told reporters at a press event in central Seoul, though she said that there has not yet been detailed discussion on its abolition. Kim is a former lawmaker who has been in office for a month. Abolishing the ministry was one of the biggest

Social Affairs June 16, 2022

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.

Social Affairs June 15, 2022

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

Social Affairs June 14, 2022

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

Social Affairs June 13, 2022

Seoul’s education chief, Cho Hee-yeon, appeared likely to extend his term for a third time, with exit polls for Wednesday’s local elections showing him attracting 38.6 percent of the vote. The exit polls, conducted by terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, had the liberal-leaning candidate snatching a victory against conservative-leaning opponents who had failed to merge their campaigns and bring together their supporter base. The runner-up in the exit polls was Cho Jun-hyuk, w

Social Affairs June 1, 2022

The 2022 local elections in Korea were held Wednesday, marking the eighth edition of the event since the right to elect local government leaders and assembly members. The history of local elections in Korea began in 1952 in the midst of the Korean War, with two more such elections held in 1956 and 1960. However, local elections were put on hold for nearly three decades after an authoritarian regime took power in the 1960s. Former President Park Chung-hee put a stop to the local elections a

Politics June 1, 2022

The pledges of Seoul’s education superintendent candidates are split according to their political inclinations, despite the rule against candidates revealing their political stances. With the local election just around the corner, candidates from the conservative bloc are promising to improve students’ academic achievements, attacking the previous administration led by Seoul’s education superintendent, Cho Hee-yeon, who is recognized as a liberal-leaning figure. The conserv

Social Affairs May 30, 2022

The outlook of the election for Seoul’s education superintendent remains blurry for the conservative bloc, as candidates have failed to form a merger while continuing to attack each other. With less than a week left to the local elections, Cho Hee-yeon, the current superintendent of education for Seoul, and Kang Shin-man, who are considered liberal-leaning candidates, announced they have formed a merger Thursday. “Seeing some candidates demonize and assault certain groups for t

Social Affairs May 27, 2022

Gangwon Province has been underdeveloped, limited by heavy regulations, says Lee Kwang-jae, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s Gangwon Province candidate for governor. Lee, who held the post of Gangwon Province governor for a short period in 2010 before he was removed due to involvement in a large political scandal, believes a new future awaits the province. According to Lee, the new Special Act on the Establishment of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, likely to p

Politics May 26, 2022

Increasing temperatures and rapidly rising sea levels pose a grave threat to humanity, experts warned Thursday. Speaking during the first session of H.Eco Forum on rising sea levels, experts warned that the oceans are headed for irreparable damage. Professor Axel Timmermann, the director of the IBS Center for Climate Physics at Pusan National University, was the first speaker and gave a speech titled, “Using basic science to avert climate changes.”  Timmermann reviewed th

Social Affairs May 26, 2022

The second edition of the H.eco Forum was held Thursday, shedding light on climate change and its effects on the marine environment. This year’s event was held under the theme of “Climate Crisis and the Ocean” on Nodeul Island – also known as Nodeulseom -- inviting environment scholars, activists and experts in and out of Korea. Some speakers from abroad gave their speeches online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “This year’s H.eco Forum focuses on ma

Social Affairs May 26, 2022

This year’s H.eco Forum, held under the theme of “Climate Crisis and the Ocean,” is to shed light on the risks our oceans are facing and the possible consequences for humanity. H.eco Forum, launched last year, is an annual event designed to bring awareness on climate crisis. It invites environment experts in and out of Korea, serving as a platform for discussions. The upcoming edition of the forum will take place at Multipurpose Hall on Nodeulseom in Seoul, Thursday, featu

Social Affairs May 25, 2022