The Korea Herald

Seoul City to keep e-government body leadership

Seoul City was on Tuesday once again elected as the chair city of the World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGo), an international cooperative body for cities and local governments committed to sustainable city development by fostering collaboration among e-governing cities.Attending the general assembly meeting of WeGo in Barcelona, Spain, Mayor Park Won-soon delivered a welcoming speech as the chairman of the organization in front of 1,000 city leaders and official

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2012

Seoul City to keep e-government body leadership

Prime Minister warns prosecution and police to end feud

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Tuesday called on the prosecution and police to resolve their bitter feud over investigative powers or face government arbitration. The two sides have been at odds recently over a corruption case involving a senior prosecutor accused of taking bribes from a conman and a mid-sized conglomerate. Kim expressed regret to Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin and Public Administration and Security Minister Maeng Hyung-kyu, who are in charge of supervising the respective agenci

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2012

Counsel may charge President Lee’s son, aides

The independent counsel is considering charging President Lee Myung-bak’s son and several aides as the team wraps up its one-month inquiry into alleged irregularities in a canceled property deal.Lee Kwang-bum plans to announce the result of the investigation Wednesday after Lee refused extend the investigation period by an additional 15 days.Sources said Tuesday the special prosecutor is weighing indicting the president’s son Lee Si-hyung without detention. It may also file charges against sever

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2012

Seoul mayor’s trip to Europe focuses on social enterprise, cooperatives

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday met with leaders of social business and cooperatives in Barcelona, Spain, the first leg of his seven-day trip to Europe.He met with Sandro Rosell, chairman of FC Barcelona, a football club, and the club’s vice president Carles Vilarrubi to share management skills of the football club, which is run in the form of a cooperative. The football club, which Lionell Messi plays for, has more than 170,000 investors and is owned by 1,343 fan clubs. The chairman and the

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2012

Seoul mayor’s trip to Europe focuses on social enterprise, cooperatives

Police-prosecution feud reignites over corruption case

The long-standing feud between the prosecution and the police has burst to the forefront again ahead of the December presidential election.The two law enforcement agencies have been at odds for years over their respective powers.The government responded by implementing a new ordinance in January that allows the prosecutors to take over cases when they deem a police investigation problematic.In the lead up to the presidential election, police have protested the rule, which they claim to be an inf

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2012

Police-prosecution feud reignites over corruption case

Rise of social enterprises

Aiming to provide jobs for the socially vulnerable and build a sustainable welfare system, social enterprises have been sprouting up in Korea in recent years.Around 720 such companies are running, a 20-fold increase from 36 in 2007 when the government started supporting their operations under the Social Enterprise Promotion Act. They currently hire around 17,410 people and made 521 billion won ($48 million) in revenue in 2011.The government is considering diversifying its support from next year

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2012

Seoul sees rise in number of couples living apart

One in 10 married couples in Seoul City do not live together due mainly to work and the education of their children, according to Seoul’s demographic data from the past 15 years to 2010 unveiled on Thursday.The number of married couples who live separately in the metropolitan city jumped 61 percent to 210,000 households from 1995 to 2010. Such couples accounted for 9.5 percent of all households in 2010, up from 5.8 percent in 1995.Meanwhile, married couple-households fell as a proportion of the

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2012

Seoul sees rise in number of couples living apart

Prosecutors to question reporter over Jeongsu foundation report

Prosecutors have summoned a reporter who revealed a recorded conversation by the chairman of a private scholarship foundation linked to Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. The journalist, Choi Sung-jin, working for the Hankyoreh newspaper, is accused of illegally eavesdropping on the talks between Choi Phil-lip, chairman of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, and senior officials from MBC. He reported on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 that they met at the foundation chairman’s office in cen

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2012

Lee secretary changes story on retirement home scandal

The special counsel team investigating suspected malpractice in the scrapped retirement home project for President Lee Myung-bak questioned Kim Baek-joon, the former presidential secretary for administrative affairs, on Saturday.Kim returned home at around 12:50 a.m. Sunday after 10 hours of questioning at the counsel’s office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.On his way out, the former aide took back an earlier statement and answered “No” to reporters’ questions about whether the Presidential Secu

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2012

Gangnam to create Korean Wave street

Lined by luxury boutiques, trendy bars and high-rise buildings, Gangnam in southern Seoul is the richest district and one of the most popular youth hangouts in the country. It recently gained international fame thanks to rapper Psy’s hit “Gangnam Style” which has been at No. 2 on the Billboard’s main chart for six weeks and viewed by hundreds of millions worldwide on YouTube. The district office is seeking to turn the popularity into a tourist boom with a plan to adorn one of its streets with mo

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2012

Korea aims to become medical hub

The government on Wednesday unveiled a set of plans to promote medical tourism with the aim to attract 1 million foreign patients per year by 2020. In the “global health care promotion scheme” the government pledged to support marketing campaigns, ease immigration and investment rules and improve transport, accommodation, consulting and other services for international patients.It also includes measures to help domestic medical service providers expand overseas.The Ministry of Health and Welfare

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2012

Defense Ministry promotes generals, senior officers

The Defense Ministry promoted nearly 120 colonel- and general-grade officers Wednesday in a routine shake-up that also affected the chief of the Capital Defense Command and the deputy chiefs of the Army and the Navy.Five Army major generals were promoted to lieutenant generals, including Lt. Gen. Shin won-sik, who was also appointed to head the Capital Defense Command, and Lt. Gen. Hwang In-moo, who was named the deputy Army chief of staff, the ministry said.In the Navy, Vice Admiral Sohn Jung-m

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2012

Booyoung funds taekwondo training center in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH ― Shouts of a taekwondo demonstration team filled a newly built training center Friday as they showed off their spectacular kicks in front of crowds.The event was held in commemoration of the opening of the Booyoung-Khmer Taekwondo Center inside the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, with the donation by Booyoung Group, a construction-based company.“The taekwondo training center will not only promote the martial art but also the ties between the Koreans and Cambodians,” said Lee Joong-keu

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2012

Booyoung funds taekwondo training center in Cambodia

Barber uses his skills for disabled kids

Born in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, home to the Korean folk song Jeongseon Arirang, Kim Young-soo, a 50-year-old barber, often talks proudly of the scenic views of his mountainous hometown. Clippings of newspaper articles with pictures of the region are on the wall of his barbershop, which he has run for four years in Amsa-dong, eastern Seoul. He has been going to the Jumong Rehabilitation Center for kids suffering from cerebral palsy every third Thursday since 1996 to give the children there h

Oct. 24, 2012

Barber uses his skills for disabled kids

Lawmakers visit Dokdo triggering Japan protest

A group of South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday visited Dokdo prompting an immediate protest from Tokyo.Seventeen members of the parliamentary National Defence Committee flew to the islets on military helicopters for a day-long visit, an aide to committee member Han Ki-ho said.The trip ― described as a government inspection session ― was aimed at checking security measures around the islands which are guarded by the South’s coastguard, the aide told AFP.A picture released by the committee showed th

Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2012

Articles by Kim Young-won