Saturday’s peaceful candlelight vigil calling for President Park Geun-hye to step down over the scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil garnered attention and made headlines within and beyond the nation. Despite the embattled president’s second apology last week, calls have continued to grow for Park to take responsibility for the state crisis. Some 1.1 million angry citizens took to the street Saturday. News agency Reuters reported that Gwanghwamun Square was flooded with citizens of a

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2016

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the central Seoul on Saturday to attend the latest massive rally to demand President Park Geun-hye's resignation over the growing scandal involving her close confidante.Police expected about abour 220,000 people joined the candlelight rally at the public square near Seoul City Hall, while organizers forecast up to 1 million people turned out. It is expected to be the largest rally to be held in South Korea this century to date.The police deployed some 25,0

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2016

Posco chairman Kwon Oh-joon (Yonhap)The chief of South Korea's top steelmaker Posco was grilled overnight by prosecutors until Saturday morning over an allegation that the sale of its former unit was related to an influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close friend, prosecutors said.Kwon Oh-joon, 66, returned home at about 7:10 a.m. after about 12 hours of intensive questioning at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, they said.He is the first head of a major So

Industry Nov. 12, 2016

A group of students from Harvard University in Massachusetts called on President Park Geun-hye to resign, denouncing Park over the scandal involving her close confidante. “The Park administration has utterly lost the people’s trust in its moral legitimacy and competence to govern. … we demand that President Park immediately step away from state affairs,” a total of 193 Korean Students and Scholars of Harvard University said in a statement released Saturday. “Having completely failed the trust of

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2016

A plastic surgery clinic in Seoul's Gangnam district has become embroiled in the political scandal plaguing President Park Geun-hye. The clinic that Choi Soon-sil, Park’s confidante accused of meddling in state affairs, and her daughter Chung Yoo-ra are said to have frequented for skin care treatments is accused of receiving favors from Cheong Wa Dae. After suspicions surfaced, the plastic surgery clinic, which also runs a skin care clinic and cosmetics business, had closed down and was unavaila

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2016

One in 6 South Korean teenagers eat fast food more than three times a week, data showed Monday. According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 16.7 percent of students aged 13-18 regularly consume fast food such as hamburgers, pizzas and chicken, up 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier. The figure was also 4.5 percentage points higher than 2009, when the annual survey began to be conducted. The report also showed that slightly more male students (17.9 percent) opted

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2016

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