Seoul City’s education chief vowed to reduce educational disparity and innovate the current grading system to promote equal opportunities for all students. The initiatives are intended to support the liberal Moon Jae-in administration’s educational reform promoting social fairness, which has also called for abolition of elite institutions across the country. The policy has faced some controversy for depriving students of educational choice. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Su

Social Affairs June 30, 2020

Tripartite dialogue between sector representatives of labor, business and the government to find ways to overcome the COVID-19 crisis is forecast to end with no solid outcome within this month, as scheduled, as the three parties are nowhere near closing gaps between their drastically different arguments and demands. The parties agree on the need to stabilize employment and support businesses struggling from fallen profit levels, but the ways to achieve those goals and how to finance support ini

Social Affairs June 29, 2020

In light of two brutal child abuse cases that grabbed major headlines of Korean media outlets, many angry Koreans are calling for tough penalties on parents who abuse their children under the pretext of discipline. Earlier this month, police arrested a stepmother in her 40s after her 9-year-old stepson died days after having been found unconscious inside a suitcase. According to the police, the boy was locked up inside the suitcase -- measuring 44 centimeters across and 6 centimeters wide -- f

Social Affairs June 28, 2020

Controversy over the Incheon International Airport Corp.’s plan to directly hire security workers has spilt over into the political arena, with the main opposition party pinpointing President Moon Jae-in’s “zero irregular job” initiative as the root cause of the problem.  Public outcry erupted when the state-run airport operator, favored by many job seekers for its job security and benefits, announced plans last week to grant permanent positions to 1,902 contract a

Social Affairs June 28, 2020

The US state of Tennessee won the 2020 Global Clean Environment Prize in the public sector Thursday for making recognizable environmental improvements while pursuing economic growth. At the 2020 Global Clean Environment Awards Ceremony in Seoul, the 16th most populous state in the United States was recognized for improving the environment in Chattanooga, considered one of the most polluted cities in the US, while achieving economic development at the same time, through cleanup projects run by

Social Affairs June 25, 2020

A major labor union group is pushing ahead with a mass protest plan in Seoul next week, despite warnings over coronavirus infections.  The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will hold the organizer responsible should the virus spread among rally participants. On July 4, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of two major umbrella labor groups in Korea, is scheduled to hold a nationwide rally in central Seoul to demand government measures to protect non-regular workers from pan

Social Affairs June 25, 2020

A video of a Dutch teen of Korean descent being targeted by a group of people in a racist attack angered many South Koreans here amid growing discrimination against Asians since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The boy’s mother, Sora van der Vliet, spoke with The Korea Herald about the incident, which occurred June 21 near Lake Jagersplas in the Dutch city of Zaandam, where her son, 16-year-old Yanil, was hanging out with eight of his friends. According to her, a group of five boys approa

Social Affairs June 25, 2020

Tension and animosity were apparent Wednesday in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Seoul, as two groups with divergently different political views stood just steps apart and waged rallies. To the left of the Statue of Peace, a symbolic art piece made in remembrance of “comfort women,” was the Korea Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan waging its 1,445th Wednesday rally with around 30 participants. The euphemistic term refers to

Social Affairs June 24, 2020

  A controversial study on the effect of a radical rise in the legal minimum wage level came out Tuesday, pitting employers against employees in the midst of negotiations for the next year’s wage standard. Researchers at the Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed in the study the impact of the 16.4 percent increase in the 2018 wage level on low-income workers to find that many low-paying jobs were erased, while those who were employed enjoyed higher pay. The institute is affilia

Social Affairs June 23, 2020

This year’s monsoon season is set to start Wednesday, with clouds from the west coast expected to pour heavy rain across the country, which has been dealing with one of the hottest summers in history already. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Tuesday that rain will start from early Wednesday morning on Jeju Island and in the western region, followed by Seoul and Gyeonggi Province later in the morning then gradually expand to across the country in the afternoon. A number of reg

Social Affairs June 23, 2020

Incheon International Airport Corp., favored by college graduates for its job security and benefits, is facing backlash for a plan to offer permanent positions to over 1,900 contract or part-time workers. Existing full-time employees and those who have been crafting their resumes for the coveted jobs are crying foul, saying it is reverse discrimination. A public petition, posted on the website of the presidential office, had garnered close to 82,000 signatures as of 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, just h

Social Affairs June 23, 2020

The Korea Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has lost the site where it has held weekly rallies for 28 years to a conservative civic group. Every Wednesday since 1992, the civic group has organized rallies in support of survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery, also known as comfort women, in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Seoul. The site is also where the first Statue of Peace, a symbolic art piece made in remembrance of c

Social Affairs June 22, 2020

Another diplomatic spat broke out between South Korea and Japan this month after the public opening of the Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo. Contrary to what Japan said it would do, the center mostly focused on highlighting achievements of Japan’s industrial revolution while giving hardly any retribution to the sufferings of Koreans during the time period as forced wartime laborers. Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses Japan of breaking its own promise. When

Foreign Affairs June 21, 2020

A man set himself on fire in a suicide attempt while holding his baby in his arms, but the police rescued the child unharmed, local authorities said Thursday. The man suffered second-degree burns on much of his upper body and is now being treated at a nearby hospital. According to police and local media reports, the incident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The baby’s mother called police to report domestic violence at 2:41 a.m. When police offici

Social Affairs June 18, 2020

Hong Sa-duk, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, died Wednesday at the age of 77. He had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia. The veteran politician was a six-term lawmaker, deputy National Assembly speaker and a Cabinet minister. Hong started his politics career in 1981 by winning a seat in the National Assembly, served six terms until 2012 with both liberal and conservative parties, during which he held the title of deputy Assembly speaker for a year from June 2000. Hong was

Politics June 18, 2020