Police have caught 477 people running clinics without proper qualifications in a recent clampdown on medial malpractices, the National Police Agency announced Monday. Between August and October, authorities came across 707 cases of illegal activities in medical and pharmaceutical industries here. A total of 1,693 people were nabbed, with 20 arrested as of November. Compared to the previous crackdown, conducted from January to July this year, the number of illegal cases rose by 514, with 1.75 tim

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2016

Some 100 Seoul residents, art connoisseurs and city officials gathered at Seoul City Hall on Saturday to mark the completion of a two-month program to find and promote lesser-known street art and landmarks in the capital city. Under the “Art on Seoul’s Streets Found by Citizens” project, participants -- in groups of 10 each joined by field experts -- visited various parts of Seoul to discover relatively unknown artworks. They came up with ideas on how to promote and preserve these hidden gems. 　

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2016

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and People’s Party founder Ahn Cheol-soo on Wednesday officially called on President Park Geun-hye to resign in an angry response to her Cabinet reshuffle proposal. “I am outraged. President Park Geun-hye shows no remorse after putting the country in a mess like this,” the mayor told an emergency press conference held an hour after the reshuffle was announced. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon (yonhap)“Her unilateral appointment of new Cabinet members is an act of belittling th

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2016

Three days before the Han River water taxi service resumed last month, a group of reporters boarded one at the dock located inside Banpo Han River Park in Seoul.Eight water taxis were anchored at the water taxi stand, while workers were busy putting the finishing touches to the boulevard that led to the dock.“We will get to your destination as soon as possible in the safest way,” said Kim In-geun, a water taxi driver with 30 years of experience at sea, welcoming passengers with a friendly smile.

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2016

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a scandal dominating South Korean politics, is now in custody and faces allegations of exerting undue influence over President Park Geun-hye in state policies and projects. The scandal is South Korea’s biggest political crisis in years, with citizens demanding Park’s removal from office. Here’s what we know so far. 　Q. Who is Choi Soon-sil?A. She is a 60-year-old woman who has never held a government post. She has been a close friend of President Park fo

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2016

The simple and instinctive design trend will continue in both consumer and enterprise information technology markets, said a Silicon Valley-based user interface design expert.“All of us are interacting with an ever-growing number of IT products in our daily lives. Dealing with dozens and dozens of them is overwhelming users. That is why it has become critical for IT companies to create devices and services to allow users to do everything possible in simple orders or instinctual demand,” said Bob

Arts & Design Nov. 1, 2016

A local government is considering changing a reward system for hunting harmful wild animals due to growing criticism the current system is unethical and against animal welfare. As part of efforts to control the number of wild animals that cause harm to crop fields and villagers, authorities have been providing since 2014 cash rewards to hunters based on the number of animals captured. The problem is the hunters were asked to submit evidence -- for instance, a tail of a wild pig or an ear of an e

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2016

In the early 90s, Yoon Ho-seob was at the peak of his career as an advertisement designer. At the very front of the money-spinning marketing world, he designed logos for global companies like Pepsi Co. and international events such as 1988 Summer Olympics. Then one day, a thought struck him that he may be on a train running at full speed toward the edge of the cliff. Civilization, consuming resources at an ever-accelerating pace, had reached a point of no turning back, he thought. “I couldn’t li

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2016

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the establishment of Dongguk University. In 1906, Buddhist pioneers founded Myungjin School, the root of Dongguk University, in an aim to contribute to the country through education and fostering talented students. In order to remember the origin of the school, in 1956, architect Song Min-gu designed and constructed Myungjin Building. It was the first building to be built among campus buildings at Dongguk University, after it was relocated to Pil-dong in

Social Affairs Oct. 27, 2016

Fifteen Seoul City Council members are moving to ban city workers from sending work requests via mobile messenger apps after office hours, it was announced Thursday.Kim Gwang-su, a Seoul City Council member, said they proposed a revision to the Ordinance of Seoul City Public Servants bill last week. “Although public servants need to serve citizens 24/7, their fundamental rights to rest are often ignored due to excessive workload,” Kim said.“The Seoul mayor should protect public servants and try

Social Affairs Oct. 27, 2016

[Herald Interview]One way to solve social challenges such as poverty and housing problems is to spread the concept of social innovation, said an international expert on public administration.  “Social innovation is a new idea which often leads to changes in human behaviors or shifts how resources flow. Ideally, social innovation helps us to tackle the root cause of the problems, instead of just to mitigate symptoms,” said Tim Draimin, the executive director of Social Innovation Generation based

Social Affairs Oct. 26, 2016

　서울시 에너지 복지사로 활동하고 있는 김미향 씨의 하루는 걷는 것으로 시작한다. 　서울시에서 기초생활수급자로 선정된 약 14만여 가구를 직접 발로 뛰며 일일이 방문하여 기초생활수급자 가정의 상황과 환경을 확인해야 하기 때문이다. 　서울 내 안 가본 동네와 골목이 없다고 자부하는 김 씨의 반복적인 하루에도 새로운 변화가 찾아왔다.　서울시민을 대상으로 하는 서울시 공공미술 시민발굴단으로 선발되어 2달 간의 ‘숨은 미술 찾기’ 프로젝트에 참여하게 된 것이다. 　 서울시 공공미술 시민발굴단에 참여하는 시민들이 모여 회의를 하고 있다. (서울시 제공)서울시는 지난 8월 10명의 현직 큐레이터들과 100여명의 서울시민을 대상으로 서울시 공공미술 시민 발굴단을 선발, 공공미술의 가장 큰 주체이자 향유자인 시민들의 참여를 유도하는 2달간의 프로젝트를 시작했다. 　10개 그룹으로 나눠 주제에 맞는 서울시 내 공공미술작품을 찾아낸 뒤, 페이스북, 인스타그램, 트위터 등 SNS를 통해 시민에게 알리는

한국어판 Oct. 26, 2016