Labor and business are still poles apart over whether next year’s minimum wage should be higher or lower than it is now, with only days left in their negotiating calendar. The Minimum Wage Commission, the rate-setting body composed of 27 representatives -- nine each representing labor, business and the general public -- is to hold its eighth session Monday to continue a discussion that has gone on for a little more than a month. Monday is the first deadline that commission Chairman Park

Social Affairs July 12, 2020

Another elite high school in Seoul is likely to lose its autonomous status next year amid the liberal administration’s highly-controversial push to do away with elite schools. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced Thursday that it has started the process of officially revoking the designation of Whimoon High School in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, as an independent private school. The office citied a local regulation that authorizes it to cancel the special status of

Social Affairs July 9, 2020

Three runners were fatally struck by a drunken driver during an ultramarathon race Thursday morning. According to the police and the Korea Ultra Marathon Federation, the event’s organizer, the accident occurred at 3:30 a.m. in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, four days into the 537-kilometer race which began in the southernmost point of Busan at 6 a.m. Sunday. The deceased were running on the side of a two-lane road, with flashing guide rods on their back, when a Hyundai Motor Sonata sedan cr

Social Affairs July 9, 2020

The number of blood donors sank almost 11 percent during the first five months of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, posing a threat to the country’s blood supply going forward, as the virus spread shows no sign of abating. According to data from the Korean Red Cross provided to Rep. Jeon Bon-min of the main opposition United Future Party, around 966,900 people gave blood from January to May this year, down 10.9 percent from 1.08 million in the same period a year earlier. The country&

Social Affairs July 8, 2020

The Labor Ministry unveiled a draft of legislative revisions aimed at extending the unemployment insurance safety net to workers outside standard labor contracts, such as home-visit tutors, courier service workers, golf caddies and door-to-door salespeople. The draft, published in advance to reflect public opinions as required by law, envisions the inclusion of workers in “special forms of employments” as those eligible for the state-run job insurance scheme, while leaving details

Social Affairs July 8, 2020

The recent announcement that foreign students taking online classes in the US should leave the country is creating confusion and turmoil among South Korean students at colleges and universities there. Many of them are now being forced to head back to Korea or shift to in-person classes, taking the risk of contracting the new coronavirus, if they want to maintain their visa status. The latest announcement from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement applies to F-1 and M-1 non-immigrant visa h

Foreign Affairs July 7, 2020

The government is pushing for parliamentary ratification of key International Labor Organization conventions as it seeks to avoid penalties on the global level and improve workers’ rights. The country has been under pressure from the European Union, among others, which claims the failure to institutionalize the global labor pacts is in breach of the Korea-EU free trade agreement. Despite joining the ILO in 1991, South Korea has yet to ratify four of the eight core conventions on protectio

Social Affairs July 7, 2020

A stretch of rainy days is in store for most parts of the country later this week and scorching summer heat will begin in earnest after that, the nation‘s weather agency said Monday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said another extended period of rain will kick off Friday in Seoul from clouds currently stationed near Jeju Island advancing north. Southern regions will start seeing drizzles and rain showers earlier in the week. The agency, which has refrained from forecasting the

Social Affairs July 6, 2020

A South Korean national who operated the world’s largest child pornography website will not be sent to the US to face trial there, a local court ruled Monday, rejecting a US request for his extradition. The Seoul High Court, at its third and final hearing on the high-profile case, said that there are justifiable reasons not to extradite Son Jong-woo, the mastermind behind the US-based child porn website Welcome to Video. It is in the national interest to keep Son in Korea and further the

Social Affairs July 6, 2020

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan will retire from politics next month. A memoir recapping his 50 years of involvement in local politics, spanning from his days participating in pro-democracy student activism in the 70s, to turbulent partisan politics and the inner workings of the liberal Cabinet, is in the works. Lee, 67, whose two-year term as the chief of the liberal party ends next month, will not be taking any official post in politics after that, as Lee pledged during

Politics July 5, 2020

As coronavirus continues to rage across the US, affecting education and the job market, young Koreans who have spent years in the country studying are pivoting back to their homeland for a safer future. But many find that the grass on this side of the Pacific is not much greener. In-person classes are limited here too, as universities try to cope with the persistent threat of the virus, while the influx of students returning from abroad adds to the already fierce competition for jobs and resea

Social Affairs July 5, 2020

Calls are growing for the truth behind the suicide of a promising triathlete late last month, amid allegations she had repeatedly been abused by team officials. Five public petitions regarding the death of Choi Sook-hyun, posted on the website of the presidential office, together garnered more than 58,400 signatures by 5 p.m. Thursday, less than a day after they were posted.   “Another unfortunate accident occurred, and we can’t help but ask until when we should be seein

Social Affairs July 2, 2020

The Minimum Wage Council has been met with a stark contrast in opinion between labor and business representatives, with both sides proposing radically different figures in determining next year’s minimum wage. At the fourth plenary meeting held Wednesday, labor representatives proposed a 16.4 percent hike for next year’s minimum wage to 10,000 won, while the business circle demanded a 2.1 percent cut to 8,410 won. It is the first time the both sides shared their proposals since the

Social Affairs July 1, 2020

Tripartite labor, management and government dialogue fell short just 15 minutes before the scheduled signing of the final agreement Wednesday morning following strong opposition within the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the two major umbrella labor groups. The remaining parties, including the other labor group Federation of Korean Trade Unions, are waiting for the KCTU to reach an internal agreement soon, but it is becoming increasingly likely that the deal may never be inked as i

Social Affairs July 1, 2020