DAEJEON -- South Korea’s military will operate more hydrogen fuel cell cars and drones, government ministries said Wednesday, while announcing a plan to set up a hydrogen fueling station in the city of Daejeon. Three government ministries -- defense, commerce and environment -- inked a memorandum of understanding with private partners Hyundai Motor and Doosan Mobility Innovation for the plans, during a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. Under the agreement, the Defense

Social Affairs June 16, 2020

Landing a job has never been an easy task for Koreans freshly out of college, but the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has taken it to a whole new level. In the unprecedented unemployment crisis, many young Koreans are forced to endure delays in their lives and careers, as job offers are rescinded, new openings vanish and start dates at hard-won jobs are being pushed back. For a job seeker surnamed Song, a final year student at Seoul National University, that meant a major setback to his yea

Social Affairs June 16, 2020

A local court confirmed Tuesday the government’s responsibility in the death of a protestor during a rally held on the official impeachment day of former President Park Geun-hye. The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to pay 31 million won in compensation to the bereaved family, after the deceased man’s son filed a suit against the state and won the initial trial in August last year. The deceased, who was 72 years old, took part in an anti-impeachment rally in Mar

Social Affairs June 16, 2020

A fire at a warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, broke out and turned deadly because safety regulations were disregarded, police said Monday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a press briefing Monday that the fatal accident in late April occurred because welding activities at a facility under construction were carried out in an unsafe manner. After a joint investigation with seven government agencies that kicked off 48 days after the deadly fire, police concluded that the

Social Affairs June 15, 2020

The novel coronavirus has been grabbing headlines for months, causing numerous deaths, economic setbacks and disrupting everyday business and life activities. But what has gone fairly unnoticed by the general public is another virus that has uprooted the lives of hundreds of pig farmers and cost the lives of thousands of pigs in Korea. And as the African swine fever outbreak continues, empty-handed pig farmers are waving the white flag. “My pig farm has been just sitting here empty for

Social Affairs June 15, 2020

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday that it would abide by the law in responding to any issues that arise with regard to a controversial civic group supporting survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. The group, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, has received 1 billion won ($829,000) from the government over the past two years to support the victims, it added.   “If any problem is discover

Social Affairs June 12, 2020

Seventeen foreigners have been deported for violating the COVID-19 self-quarantine rules and eight for refusing to be admitted to quarantine facilities upon entry, the government said Friday. Additionally, 38 foreigners were sent back for not following the entry procedures mandated since the coronavirus outbreak started. The government data on quarantine breaches shows that 531 people here broke quarantine orders between Feb. 19 and Wednesday -- 0.16 percent of the 324,160 people who have be

Social Affairs June 12, 2020

Discussions about next year’s minimum wage kicked off Thursday as the Minimum Wage Commission convened its initial meeting. The negotiations are expected to be anything but smooth. Those representing labor and business present wildly divergent views of the impact the coronavirus is having on the South Korean economy. The minimum wage is updated on an annual basis, and the rate for 2020 stands at 8,590 won ($7.22) per hour. That represents a 2.9 percent increase from last year, and the bu

Social Affairs June 11, 2020

A 9-year-old girl who escaped from her abusive parents last month was found to have fled home via a fourth-floor balcony in bare feet. The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency said Thursday that the girl escaped May 29 by jumping to the balcony of the apartment next door. The neighbor’s apartment was empty, and she fled the building in search of help, police said. A neighbor found the girl on a roadside in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and called the police. The girl was barefoo

Social Affairs June 11, 2020

The summer weather has officially arrived, and on Tuesday Seoul got its first heat wave advisory of the year. The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the alert effective 11 a.m. Tuesday for eastern Seoul, three regions in Gyeonggi Province and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. “A lot of regions will see their maximum sensory temperature for the day exceed 33 degrees Celsius through Wednesday while a number of regions, including Seoul, are issued heat wave alerts,” the KM

Social Affairs June 9, 2020

South Korea’s monthly unemployment allowance payments jumped 34 percent on-year to an all-time high of 1.016 trillion won ($849 million) in May, as the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll on jobs, government data showed. According to data released by the Labor Ministry on Monday, employment insurance payouts to those struggling to find a job totaled 1.016 trillion won last month, up 33.9 percent from a year earlier. It was the first time the monthly job search allowan

Social Affairs June 8, 2020

The financial damage that South Korea will have to bear from the ongoing coronavirus crisis is “almost unfathomable” compared with Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2015, health authorities said in a report released Sunday. In the report submitted to the office of Rep. Yang Kyeong-sook, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the socioeconomic costs of the MERS outbreak at 10.8 trillion won ($9 billion). The disease sickened 186 people and caused 38 deaths

Social Affairs June 7, 2020

The head of a shelter for surviving victims of Japan’s sex slavery was found dead at her apartment amid controversy surrounding the shelter’s operator for its possible misuse of donated funds and exploitation of the victims for political ambitions. Police said Sunday that Son Young-me, 60, was found dead at her apartment in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Her body was found inside the bathroom. The cause of her death is not known as of press time, but offici

Social Affairs June 7, 2020

With the first heat wave advisory issued Thursday, South Korea is expecting this summer to be one of the hottest in decades. Sweltering summer heat will likely arrive after the monsoon season, expected late this month, but authorities worry about the weather’s possible impact on the current novel coronavirus outbreak. At 11 a.m. Thursday, the Korea Meteorological Administration issued this year’s first special heat wave alerts in Daegu and several other cities and counties in the

Social Affairs June 4, 2020

The 9-year-old boy found unconscious in a suitcase in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, died Wednesday after three days in intensive care, police said Thursday. The child died from cardiopulmonary arrest due to multiple organ failures around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at a local hospital. He was found inside a 44-centimeter-wide and 60-centimeter-tall suitcase when paramedics arrived at his stepmother’s apartment. Police will decide on pressing charges of fatal child abuse against the st

Social Affairs June 4, 2020