The Seoul Foreign School has appointed the interim head of the Swiss International School in Qatar as its high school principal, it announced Sunday. Nancy Le Nezet will be leaving her current position in Qatar to lead SFS High School at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. SFS is an international independent school in Seoul for more than 1,450 students aged from 2 to 18 years. Le Nezet has extensive experience in International Baccalaureate education and excellence in pedagogical skills,

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2020

SEOCHEON, South Chungcheong Province - The year 2020 has been tough for the National Institute of Ecology, with the number of visitors and exhibition opportunities plummeting from the coronavirus outbreak. The wildlife center in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, attracted 994,966 visitors on its first full year of opening and stayed relatively popular, with 823,826 visitors last year, but for the first 9 months of 2020, the NIE welcomed just 161,834 visitors. And when The Korea Herald visi

Technology Oct. 11, 2020

Conservative groups held “press conferences” and “drive-thru” rallies instead of large-scale protests Friday as police officers and buses were mobilized to prevent illegal demonstrations in central Seoul. Despite heated debate over whether it was necessary, police again parked buses in tight formation to control access to the Gwanghwamun area on Hangeul Day. But the police did not set up the wall of buses around the area’s main central square out of concerns over

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2020

Firefighters put out a fire at a high-rise apartment building in Ulsan, after a 13-hour struggle that started late Thursday night. A total of 91 people have been sent to hospital for smoke inhalation, but no fatalities were reported. Firefighters are continuing to search for anyone who might be inside. The blaze broke out at 11:07 p.m. Thursday at the 33-story Samhwan Art Nouveau commercial and residential building in Ulsan, and flames, fanned by strong winds, engulfed the entire building at

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2020

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus count increased by a double-digit figure for a second straight day, as health authorities are still on alert over a possible post-holiday resurgence. Korea added 54 new COVID-19 cases –- 38 locally transmitted and 16 imported from overseas – according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Friday’s tally marks a drop from 69 cases added the previous day. Before reporting double-digit figures for two consecutive days, the coun

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2020

Barring those with multiple citizenships from giving up their Korean nationality before completing mandatory military service is incompatible with the Constitution, South Korea’s constitutional court ruled Thursday. The clauses of the current Nationality Act that impose obligations and restraints on multiple nationality holders in their selection of nationality does not confirm to the Constitution, the court said in a 7 to 2 decision on a petition filed by a man with dual Korea and US cit

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2020

Employers owed more than 7 trillion won ($6.05 billion) in overdue wages to 1.53 million workers over the past 4 1/2 years, data showed Thursday. 　 According to Labor Ministry data obtained by the office of Rep. Kim Sung-won of the People Power Party, the sum of all overdue wages rose 20 percent in the four-year period from 2016-2019, from 1.43 trillion won for 325,430 workers in 2016 to 1.72 trillion won for 344,977 workers in 2019. In the first eight months of this year, unpaid wages totaled

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2020

Private elementary schools have held more in-person classes than public ones, a lawmaker said Wednesday, claiming it to be evidence of the “unequal” disruptions in students’ learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the office of Rep. Lee Tahney of the Democratic Party, private elementary schools in Seoul offered an average of 4.2 in-person classes per week, compared to just 1.9 at public schools. The data is based on lesson plans that the schools reported to the Se

Social Affairs Oct. 7, 2020

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, students, parents and teachers are rediscovering the merits of a small school. While in-person classes have been limited to only once or twice a week at crowded schools in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province due to persistent coronavirus threats, rural schools with fewer than 100 students have been running normally, except for periodic body temperature checks and required mask-wearing. In late June, Lee Hyun-jin had her two girls transfer from an elementary sc

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2020

Authorities are staying on guard for another wave of rallies in downtown Seoul this coming weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Far-right groups have taken to the streets on major holidays to condemn President Moon Jae-in, drawing thousands of protesters. One such event, held Aug. 15, Liberation Day, was blamed for a spike in the number of coronavirus cases. On Saturday, when South Koreans celebrated National Foundation Day, a large number of police officers and vehicles

Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into two consecutive recruiting seasons, the competition among young job seekers is getting fiercer. While new openings remain markedly fewer than before, colleges continue to churn out fresh graduates. Moreover, large companies are moving away from open recruitment, which provided prospective applicants with equal and easy access to information about new openings and the application process. According to a survey of the 500 largest companies in South Korea

Social Affairs Oct. 1, 2020

Highway rest stops will only serve takeaway customers starting Tuesday under special measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus during the Chuseok holidays. The Korea Expressway Corp. said Monday that all of its highway rest areas would discontinue eat-in services for six days until Oct. 4 as part of efforts to minimize the chances of coronavirus transmission. Entrances and exits will be strictly separated, while temperature checks will be required before entry to restrooms or ind

Social Affairs Sept. 28, 2020

The number of teenage gambling addicts has grown sharply in the past five years, data showed Sunday. According to Korea Center on Gambling Problems data obtained by the office of Rep. Bae June-young of the People Power Party, 981 teenagers underwent therapy for gambling addiction last year, a number that has increased by more than 14 times since 2015. In 2015, only 71 teens participated in the same program. The number rose to 240 the next year, 345 in 2017, 714 in 2018 and to 981 in 2019. Thi

Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2020

Some conservative groups are backtracking on their plans to hold mass anti-government rallies in central Seoul on Oct. 3, in the face of coronavirus concerns. Former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo and other conservative figures announced Thursday that they were calling off the protests scheduled to take place in Gwanghwamun on National Foundation Day and asked other right-wing groups to follow their lead. Instead of street protests, they will hold a car parade of about 200 vehicles, they s

Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2020

Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap on Wednesday pledged continued attention to the working conditions of delivery workers, as months of increased demand due to COVID-19 have pushed them to their limits and led to at least seven deaths from overwork so far this year. “Parcel delivery has become an essential service in people’s lives,” Lee said at a sorting center in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. “We are now taking it for granted that ordered items come to our doorstep th

Social Affairs Sept. 23, 2020