In the largest anti-government rally in decades, up to 1 million South Koreans took to the streets in central Seoul on Saturday, demanding President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over a scandal involving her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil. From City Hall through Gwanghwamun Square to Anguk station, protestors packed the boulevards just hundreds of meters from Park’s presidential residence of Cheong Wa Dae, turning the area into a vast sea of candlelight in the evening. Organizers said over 1 mi

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2016

Cheong Wa Dae, rival political forces and the police on Friday braced themselves for the massive anti-government rally to be held Saturday in Seoul, which observers say could be a watershed moment for the beleaguered President Park Geun-hye in the Choi Soon-sil fiasco.  Thousands of chartered buses are expected to take residents from other parts of the Korean Peninsula to the rally, which is expected to be the largest candlelight vigil ever to be held in local history.As many as 1 million people

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2016

South Korea plans to tentatively sign an accord to share intelligence on North Korea with Japan as early as next week, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Friday, amid lingering political and public resistance toward military cooperation. After two rounds of working-level negotiations, the two countries are expected to hold a wrap-up session in Tokyo followed by the preliminary signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement, ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun said. “As the sides r

Foreign Affairs Nov. 11, 2016

The prosecution appears to be focusing on whether local firms were coerced into funding nonprofit foundations in return for favors, accelerating a probe into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. Out of the 53 local companies that gave a combined 77.4 billion won ($66.5 million) in donations to the Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation, Kwon Oh-joon, CEO of the nation’s No. 1 steelmaker Posco, was the first to undergo questioning. Kwon was set to be gri

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2016

Saturday’s anti-President Park Geun-hye rally in Seoul is likely to be the largest candlelight vigil ever to be held in South Korean history, police said Thursday, exceeding that of the 2008 anti-US beef uproar.  Organizers -- a union of some 1,500 civic organizations and labor groups -- expect at least 500,000 participants, while police anticipate 160,000. Even by police projections, the upcoming rally would double the size of the anti-US beef protest, which police put at 80,000. At the time, o

Social Affairs Nov. 10, 2016

South Korean office workers spend twice as much on alcohol than on books, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey released by a life education company, Huenet, a poll of 805 office workers showed they spend an average of 30,000 won ($26) per month on books and 62,000 won on alcohol. Some 43.9 percent read one book per month, while 7.6 percent do not read any. Those reading two to four books per month made up 37.3 percent of the total. Both men and women read a similar number of books per

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2016

South Korea’s three biggest opposition parties said Wednesday they will participate in the upcoming anti-government rally scheduled for Saturday, upping the ante against the beleaguered President Park Geun-hye. They also decided to nix the conservative leader’s proposal a day earlier that the National Assembly field a prime minister candidate that she would appoint, whoever it was.Meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, the party chiefs -- Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea, Rep

Politics Nov. 9, 2016

Over 98 percent of job application forms from public institutions and private enterprises contain problematic questions that may lead to discrimination in employment, a South Korean human rights group said Monday. According to a report released by the National Human Rights Commission, 98.5 percent of the 3,567 curriculum vitae forms analyzed for the study ask the age of job seekers, requiring them to fill in information such as their identity number, date of birth or dates of school entrance.  “

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2016

A bus carrying 46 people flipped on its side on a highway in Daejeon early Sunday, killing four people and injuring 22 people including the driver, the police said.  The number of casualties may increase, the police said, as eight of them are seriously injured.  A firefighter examines the accident scene on Gyeongbu Expressway near Daejeon on Sunday. (Yonhap)The police think the bus driver tried to avoid a car that cut into its lane, then hit the guard rail and the median strip before the bus rol

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2016

In a veiled criticism of President Park Geun-hye, Kim Young-ran, the former top judge who initiated the influential anti-graft law drive in 2011, said leaders who take advantage of their law-breaking subordinates should be held responsible. “Looking at the events in society nowadays, I think the law may require some radical thinking,” she said at the International Bar Association’s regional anti-corruption gathering in Seoul.“I think corruption cases reappear because those who get elected with t

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2016

The funeral for activist farmer Baek Nam-gi will be held Saturday, 37 days after he died following a long coma after being struck by a police water cannon in an anti-government rally last year.  According to Baek’s family and supporters on Wednesday, a funeral is planned for Baek at Seoul National University Hospital, where he died Sept. 25. A memorial ceremony is scheduled for Friday night. The coffin will leave the hospital at 8 a.m. Saturday and a funeral mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2016

A crisis of leadership is engulfing South Korea as a scandal unravels indicating President Park Geun-hye may have let her civilian friend meddle in state affairs. The following are excerpts from The Korea Herald’s telephone interviews with five political experts on the Choi Soon-sil scandal and what the country should do to move ahead.The Korea Herald: What should President Park do to best address the current situation? Yang Seung-ham, professor of politics at Yonsei University: The president sh

Politics Nov. 1, 2016

The temperature in Seoul is set to drop below zero on Tuesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.  Affected by the continental anticyclone from China, the sky will be clear in most of the country, while the central area and some parts of southern peninsula will face a cold morning with the temperature dipping below zero.The morning will see lows of minus 7 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, while it is expected to reach up to 13 degrees Celsius during the day. “The day temperatu

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2016