The 2017 Global Ombudsman Conference will be held at the main convention center in Alpensia Resort in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, from Tuesday to Friday to map out development and the future of the ombudsmen alliance in Asia. This year’s four-day biannual event, co-hosted by South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the Gangwon Province Ombudsman, will be attended by 400 local and international guests, including leaders of the Asian Ombudsman Association and International

Foreign Affairs May 15, 2017

President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to create 12,000 new jobs in the public sector, including the recruitment of firefighters, police officers and teachers, has been receiving mixed reactions from job seekers aspiring to be civil servants. In the recent presidential campaign, liberal candidate Moon’s camp envisioned a 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) supplementary budget to bankroll the jobs policy. The scheme features hiring 1,500 more firefighters and equal numbers of police officers and social worke

Social Affairs May 14, 2017

Time magazine’s Asia edition issue that featured then-presidential candidate Moon Jae-in on the cover is currently out of stock in South Korea’s main offline and online bookstores, according to sources in the industry. Moon won the election in a landslide on Tuesday and was sworn in as president Wednesday.  Time magazine’s Asia edition issue features President Moon Jae-in on the cover. (Yonhap)The May 4 issue, which bestowed the new president the nickname “The Negotiator,” delves into his politi

Social Affairs May 10, 2017

President Moon Jae-in chose a 51-year-old former student activist as his chief of staff on Wednesday. Im Jong-seok will assist the newly elected president in the crucial first months of the new administration, which Moon must assemble as soon as possible. The designate was at the forefront of the student-led pro-democracy movement in the 1980s and headed the country’s university student organization in 1989.Im Jong-seok (Yonhap)He became famous for leading the organization of an unauthorized vis

Politics May 10, 2017

With South Korea digesting the results of its 19th presidential election, the election watchdog revealed Wednesday there were 297 cases of electoral law violations by participating campaigns, many of which took place online.The figure is based on 94 legal accusations, 14 requests for investigation and other warnings and complaints filed up until the day of the election Tuesday.The number is 24 percent lower compared to the previous presidential election in 2012, when 391 cases were monitored. Th

Politics May 10, 2017

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in on Sunday pledged to create 12,000 new jobs in the public sector in the second half of this year, if elected Tuesday. The candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea envisions drawing up a 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) supplementary budget to bankroll the new hiring.  Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party (Yonhap)The plan envisions 1,500 new firefighters and the same numbers of newly hired social welfare workers and police officers to ease a ch

Politics May 7, 2017

One Korean practice that has often baffled foreigners is the trash bins inside public bathrooms accompanied by signs asking users not to flush down toilet paper and instead to toss it into a bin. This is about to change. Starting Jan. 1 next year, all public bathrooms will be devoid of trash cans, under a revised law that passed the Cabinet on Tuesday.(Yonhap)“We believe it’s more reasonable to distribute rapid dissolving toilet papers for public restrooms instead of trash cans which can cause h

Social Affairs May 2, 2017

A US soldier accused of smuggling bags of methamphetamine to South Korea via military mail was handed a three-year jail term suspended for five years, district court records showed Friday. Prosecutors revealed last month that an unnamed 19-year-old soldier -- suspected to be from the 2nd Infantry Division near Uijeongbu -- tried to smuggle 4 kilograms of methamphetamine through the military’s postal service last October, but was stopped by a customs inspection at Incheon Airport. The bags were c

Social Affairs April 28, 2017

South Korea’s national equestrian federation elected Sohn Myung-won as its new president Thursday. Sohn, 76, president of a private consulting firm, clinched 33 out of 35 votes and will fill the seat left vacant since February, said the Korea Equestrian Federation. Sohn was the sole candidate running for the position. He was previously CEO of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and SsangYong Motor.  (Yonhap)The electoral college was constituted of 125 members randomly selected from a pool of board members, th

Social Affairs April 27, 2017

Following are excerpts from The Korea Herald’s interview with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party. -- Ed.Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party (Yonhap)Q: You have declared opposition to a US preventive strike on North Korea. Would you continue to oppose it even if Pyongyang proceeds with a sixth nuclear test or fire an intercontinental ballistic missile?A: A pre-emptive attack should not be allowed even if the North carries out a sixth nuclea

Politics April 26, 2017

Overseas voting for the May 9 presidential election got underway with polling stations in New Zealand opening Tuesday. The six-day voting is scheduled to take place in a total of 204 diplomatic offices and military bases in 116 countries from Tuesday to Sunday, according to the National Election Commission.Voters in New Zealand cast their ballots for South Korea’s May 9 presidential election at a polling station inside the Korean consulate in Auckland on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The polling booths in Ne

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

Walking along the busy streets of Seoul, it is easy to overlook the bumpy yellow patterns on sidewalks, but those bumps are essential for the visually impaired to navigate the streets. The Seoul Metropolitan Government came under fire Monday for removing some of them recently, allegedly because they were not visually appealing to pedestrians who are not blind.Tactile paving is used for the visually impaired on sidewalks in Yongsan, Seoul. (Jung Min-kyung/The Korea Herald)Exact data on how much t

Social Affairs April 24, 2017

Overseas voters who have registered to vote for the upcoming May 9 presidential election will be entitled to cast their ballots for six days from April 25-30, the National Election Commission said Sunday. The election watchdog recently revealed that a record number of 294,633 overseas Korean nationals signed up to head to the polls this year. The figure marked a 31.8 percent rise, compared to the previous 2012 presidential election.  The Democratic Party of Korea encourages overseas Korean voter

Social Affairs April 23, 2017

Plans to include clauses regarding security guards’ role in receiving residents’ mail to related regulations have been halted, the Korea Post said Thursday. Related clauses, which would legally bind security guards to manage postal service within residential areas, were first drafted and proposed by the Korea Post in October. The proposed changes were approved by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, but were stopped by the Korea Housing Management Association and the Ministry of Lan

Social Affairs April 20, 2017

The family of Yoo Byung-eun, the late operator of the sunken ferry Sewol, must repay Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. 19 billion won ($16.7 million), a New York state court ruled in November, court records showed Wednesday.The court took side with South Korea’s state-run KDIC, which filed a lawsuit against family members of Yoo, the late chairman of Chonghaejin Marine, to take responsibility for his unpaid debt from the financial crisis in 1997.KDIC redirected the blame to Yoo’s second-eldest son Y

Social Affairs April 19, 2017