The clash over Seoul education authorities’ Green Smart Future School project is growing, with some opponents accusing the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education of “green terrorism” and putting children at risk, expressing their opposition by sending condolence wreaths or ribbons to the school. The form of sending condolence messages has been widely adopted as a form of protest in recent months, particularly during the pandemic where holding rallies are more strictly prohibi

Social Affairs Sept. 8, 2021

About 2 million adults in South Korea are illiterate, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday. According to the National Institute for Lifelong Education’s survey on adult literacy, 4.5 percent of the country’s 44 million adults, or about 1.987 million people, do not have the basic reading, writing and math skills that are necessary for daily life. They were categorized as Level 1 in the survey, meaning they need elementary school education at the first or second grade level. The

Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2021

More than 90 percent of South Koreans think the climate crisis should be a prominent issue in the upcoming presidential election, a survey showed Sunday. According to the Gallup Korea poll, conducted at the request of environmental group Green Korea and involving 1,500 people nationwide, 91.1 percent of the respondents said Korea’s climate crisis response should be a major topic ahead of the March 9 election. Where most public opinion polls target people over 19, Green Korea said, the m

Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2021

Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to have larger private gatherings starting Monday as Korea inches toward herd immunity. The government on Friday announced its decision to extend the current social distancing rules -- Level 4 in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon and Level 3 for the rest of the country -- for four weeks until Oct. 3. But health authorities made a few adjustments to the guidelines in consideration of the prolonged distancing restrictions and the increasing number of

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

A civic group and labor union on Thursday called on food delivery platforms to allow users to choose reusable containers when they order takeout. “Food deliveries have soared in the past year and eight months, but there are no countermeasures against delivery waste,” Green Korea and Riders Union said during a press conference held in front of Baedal Minjok headquarters in Seoul. “Currently, the only way consumers can save disposable waste is by not receiving disposable spoon

Social Affairs Sept. 2, 2021

Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, or K-ETA, became effective as of Wednesday, requiring passport holders from visa-exempt countries to obtain K-ETA approval to enter the country. Overseas visitors now need to fill out an online application on the website of K-ETA to submit personal and travel information at least 24 before boarding a flight or ship bound for Korea. Applicants need to pay 10,000 won ($8.60). Once the application is submitted and payment is complete, the result will be se

Foreign Affairs Sept. 1, 2021

Korea became the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act after the National Assembly on Tuesday passed the related bill. The other countries that have legislated commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions include Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The bill, which requires the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 35 percent or more from the 2018 levels, was approved with 109 lawmakers voting in favor and 4

Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2021

Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon filed an objection on Tuesday after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials’ review committee decided Cho should face charges of abuse of power in connection with a hiring decision. Cho’s legal representative, Lee Jae-hwa, filed the official request with the chief of the CIO on Tuesday, arguing that the previous day’s review committee meeting was biased and it should reconvene. “(The review committee&rsq

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2021

Nearly 7 out of 10 Koreans agree with the government’s plan to grant long-term visas for Afghan evacuees, a survey showed Monday. The government evacuated 390 Afghan nationals, including people who worked for Korean organizations and their families, and plan to grant them long-term stay visas. According to Realmeter’s survey, 68.7 percent of the respondents said they “empathize with” the government’s plan whereas 28.7 percent said they do not agree with it. By

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2021

A public debate over whether Korea should accept Afghan refugees continues to heat up with the government granting special stay permits for Afghans here while airlifting nationals who worked for Korea in the war-torn country. Since the Taliban took control of Kabul earlier this month, opinions are split over whether Korea should help Afghan nationals. A national petition against the idea of taking in Afghan refugees posted on the presidential website of Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday has gained ove

Social Affairs Aug. 25, 2021

Korea will become the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act, if it is so enacted by the National Assembly, and lay the foundations for future measures, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said Tuesday. “The carbon neutrality act will serve as a basis for putting carbon neutrality at the center in regards to planning the national budget and coming up with new policies,” Han told reporters. Last week, the National Assembly‘s Environment and Labor Commi

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2021

More than 4,000 people have been apprehended at illegally operating nighttime entertainment businesses over the last seven weeks, the National Police Agency said Monday. According to police, 635 cases of illegal activities have been uncovered after conducting on-site inspections of 56,699 businesses across the country from July 3 until Sunday. Police said there were 3,566 people who violated the infectious disease control and prevention act. The rest were violations of either the food sanitat

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2021

The reservation rate for COVID-19 vaccines among people between the ages of 18 and 49 has been lower than expected, creating an obstacle in the government’s plan to achieve herd immunity by November. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, the vaccine reservation rate for the age group, about 15.37 million people, was 61.3 percent as of Thursday at midnight. Online reservations for the age group opened on August 9 with a 10-day rotational booking system, in which people

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2021

Heavy rains that swept both Japan and China this week is expected to affect Korea as early as this weekend and throughout next week. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the rain is forecast to begin in the regions of Jeju Island and southern coastal areas from the early hours on Saturday and expand throughout the country. “The North Pacific high pressure that caused the heavy rain in Japan is moving northward, and the cold dry air in the north that affected China is q

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2021

Gangwon Province will achieve carbon neurality in 2040 and lead South Korea into a more eco-friendly future, says Choi Moon-soon, the province’s governor. Speaking on the sidelines of JeongSeon Forum 2021, which aims to develop solutions to achieve carbon neutrality and weather the climate crisis, Choi said that new technologies coupled with the province’s natural assets will help make the goal a reality. “At this year’s forum, the issue of going carbon neutral is bei

Politics Aug. 19, 2021