Former President Chun Doo-hwan on Monday received a suspended prison sentence for libel with regard to the massacre of civilians during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The Gwangju District Court found Chun guilty of defamation for comments he made about an activist priest who had shared eyewitness accounts of the bloody crackdown, which was led by the military virtually under Chun’s leadership, against pro-democracy activists in Gwangju. The court sentenced the 89-year-old former

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2020

South Korea on Monday entered the final phase of preparation for Thursday’s annual college entrance exam, to be held amid a relentless resurgence of the new coronavirus. Test papers and answer sheets started to be delivered to 86 local test administration authorities across the country Monday, according to the Education Ministry. Over 400 government officials, escorted by police guards, were to ship the test materials by Wednesday for them to be distributed to 1,381 testing sites on the

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2020

On top of the national fight against COVID-19, South Korea is battling a growing specter of dual animal virus outbreaks this winter -- the highly pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever. South Korea on Saturday raised its alert for bird flu to the highest level of “serious” after a highly pathogenic bird flu virus strain was found at a duck farm in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. It was the first outbreak of the virulent strain among farmed poultry in 32 months. The A

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2020

The largest umbrella labor group in South Korea is sticking to its plans to launch a general strike and nationwide rallies Wednesday, despite warnings from authorities about the COVID-19 situation. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Tuesday that the one-day walkout will go ahead as previously announced, and striking members will take to the streets in small groups throughout the country. In the capital, rallies of nine people or fewer at various locations are planned in accordance

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2020

Level 2 social distancing measures were restored in the capital region beginning Tuesday, but Seoul has enacted its own, tighter rules through the rest of the year. In what the city government called an “emergency standstill,” nighttime bus service has been slashed by 20 percent from Tuesday. Starting Friday, there will be no subway operations after 11 p.m., an hour earlier than the current closing time. The changes in bus service take effect Tuesday, and the new subway hours sta

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2020

A local court ruled Friday to partially bar the prosecution from putting former President Chun Doo-hwan’s house up for auction as a means to collect outstanding fines. The Seoul High Court ruled that the prosecution could not take away Chun’s residence in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, in collecting fines, as the house cannot be verified as a property purchased with illegal funds. The prosecution will not be allowed put the house and its front garden up for auction. But the court did

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2020

UNICEF will direct $22.7 million in 2021 to aid projects in North Korea, where socioeconomic conditions are thought to be worsening due to the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Friday. According to the Humanitarian Action for Children 2021-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea report released Wednesday, UNICEF calculated it would need a greater amount than this year’s $19.5 million initial budget for North Korea when physical access is again possible next year. UNICEF originall

North Korea Nov. 20, 2020

Hundreds of non-regular workers at Seoul schools launched a two-day strike Thursday, including many working in school cafeterias. Around 2,500 members of the Seoul branch of a coalition representing non-regular school workers were expected to join the walkout to demand changes to their retirement pension system. While many are cafeteria workers who prepare meals for students, the group also includes administrative staff members and child care workers responsible for after-hours programs. Th

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2020

Seoul and its nearby regions received unusually large amounts of rainfall Thursday, with the capital soaked in the heaviest daily rainfall of all November days on record. The Korea Meteorological Administration said 68.2 millimeters of rain fell in Seoul as of 8 a.m. Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 67.3 millimeters set on Nov. 7, 1916. Data compilation began in 1907. As of 9 a.m., Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and parts of Gangwon Province and South Chungcheong Province received rainfa

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2020

As fine dust returns with the arrival of colder weather, attention is paid to the possible correlation between air pollution and the severity of the novel coronavirus outbreak. While there is no concrete evidence, experts say long-term exposure to airborne pollutants is likely to increase the risk of dying from COVID-19, as they both affect the respiratory system. Some even suggest bad air could have an impact on the infection rate as well. “There are a lot of possibilities, as they bo

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2020

South Korea is readying 60 percent more testing rooms and 30 percent more personnel for the Dec. 3 nationwide college entrance exam, as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looms, the Education Ministry announced Wednesday. “We now have upped our test administration system to accommodate up to 120 test-takers infected with COVID-19 and up to 3,800 potential patients under quarantine,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said, before presiding over a meeting with local education chi

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2020

Three students were awarded the grand prizes at the largest English speech contest in South Korea, the International Youth Fellowship announced Tuesday. Leading up to the 20th IYF English Speech Contest held Saturday, 1,400 students across the country competed in the regional preliminary competition, and the best 74 reached the finals of the annual contest held online and broadcast live via YouTube. Each of the middle school, high school and college students competing in the finals gave a spee

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2020

Criticism is mounting over the government’s response to labor rallies held in Seoul and other major cities over the weekend, with some accusing the authorities of applying double standards in regulating rallies depending on their political inclinations. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the two major umbrella labor groups in the country, and its affiliated groups held 31 rallies with 99 participants each in 61 locations throughout Seoul, while hosting 13 additional demonstr

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2020

The National Assembly on Monday began deliberations on the government’s 556 trillion won ($502.12) budget for next year. The parliament’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts held its first meeting Monday to tackle the government’s spending requests. The Moon Jae-in administration drew up the 555.8 trillion won budget bill for 2021, up 8.5 percent from 2020’s budget, with a focus on creating new jobs and reinvigorating the economy, which is struggling as a result

Politics Nov. 16, 2020

More than 70 percent of Koreans are in favor of the fines imposed on violators of face mask rules that went into effect Friday, a poll showed Monday. According to a Realmeter survey of 500 adults, 72 percent of respondents said they support penalizing those violating the face mask mandate. Some 24.8 percent said the fines are excessive, and the rest replied with no opinion. Starting Friday, South Korea began imposing fines of 100,000 won ($90) on those who do not wear masks in designated publi

Social Affairs Nov. 16, 2020