The Korea Herald

Korea to host global conservation forum

South Korea will host a global conservation forum next month as part of its efforts to raise awareness on the importance of nature and promote sustainable development, officials said Thursday. The Environment Ministry said it will cohost the “World Leaders’ Conservation Forum 2015” in Jejudo Island on July 7-9. The forum is an upgraded event of the World Leaders Dialogues, which was first initiated at the World Conservation Congress 2012 in Jejudo. Under the theme of “Nature: A Path to Peace and

Social Affairs June 11, 2015

Experts urge anticorruption efforts

MANILA ― Asian economic and law experts gathered in Manila, the Philippines, Wednesday to stress the importance of rooting out corruption as an essential move to ensure domestic development and global advancement at an international anticorruption forum. More than 180 experts and high-ranking officials participated in the forum “Institutionalizing Anticorruption and Good Governance” to seek identity areas for targeted intervention, as well as general tools and strategies to combat corruption. “T

Social Affairs June 10, 2015

Korea’s role in building green Internet

For the estimated over 2.5 billion people around the world who are connected to the Internet, it is impossible to imagine life without it. The Internet has rewoven the fabric of our daily lives ― how we communicate with each other, work and entertain ourselves ― and become a foundation of the global economy. Seemingly on a daily basis, new businesses that use the Internet as their foundation are disrupting and often replacing long-standing business models and industries. From music and video to

Social Affairs June 8, 2015

Cities join fight against MERS

The Ministry of Health and municipalities vowed Sunday to strengthen their mutual efforts to combat the fast-spreading Middle East respiratory syndrome amid escalating public concerns over the central and local governments colliding in attempts to handle the disease. The health minister and elected leaders of four local city governments ― the Seoul and Daejeon mayors and the Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provincial governors ― pledged to immediately form a working level consultative body and sh

Social Affairs June 7, 2015

Seoul City to create ‘Avengers’ tour route

Seoul City pledged Thursday to introduce a special tourist route by linking four local sightseeing spots that appeared in the recent “Avengers” film, but some doubt how effective the plan will be.Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would offer a tourist course with four public spots ― Sangam Digital Media City, the old steel manufacturing area, Gangnam-daero and the Floating Island on the Hangang River. These locations were used in the shooting of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which drew more tha

Social Affairs June 4, 2015

Seoul’s oldest amusement park to go greener

The first-ever amusement park in Seoul would be upgraded with eco-friendly rides as part of the city’s efforts to offer a wider range of entertainment opportunities for children, officials said Wednesday. Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would replace the rides at Seoul Land in Seoul Grand Park with electricity-zero rides by 2020. The rides will be run by manpower with a minimal amount of electricity, allowing children to physically play like those in German theme park Ketteler Hof. The amu

Social Affairs June 3, 2015

Local IT firms use little renewable energy: Greenpeace

Korea’s major IT companies mostly do not use renewable energy despite increasing public calls for environment-friendly measures, a global civic group report showed Wednesday. According to Greenpeace Korea, the country’s seven major Internet firms were found to have used less than 1 percent renewable energy for running their data centers. Most are supplied by electricity from fossil fuels or nuclear power. IT corporate service provider SK C&C used only 1 percent solar power for their energy suppl

Social Affairs June 3, 2015

Local IT firms use little renewable energy: Greenpeace

Seoul City speeds up U.S. base pollution probe

Seoul City has accelerated its probe into the suspected pollution of the U.S. military base in the capital as part of its efforts to seek the source of oil leaks, officials said Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it obtained 18 underground water samples among 32 boreholes in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul last week. The central government will look into whether the samples contain toxic volatile substances such as benzene, xylene and toluene. Korean environment officials suspect t

Social Affairs June 1, 2015

Marriage migration decreases

The number of marriage visa holders in South Korea has fallen for seven consecutive months after visa regulations were tightened, Justice Ministry officials said Friday. The ministry said the number of people on foreign spouse visas in the country dropped to 150,000 as of last month, about a 1 percent year-on-year decrease.The figure began to gradually fall last October, especially among women. The number of women marriage visa holders stood at about 127,000 last month, down by 1.5 percent compa

Social Affairs May 29, 2015

Humidifier disinfectant victims fight on

Lee Ye-do, a 46-year-old office worker in Daejeon, lost his wife earlier this month. She suffered from a mystery lung-related disease for more than a decade. “When the symptoms first showed years ago, doctors couldn’t figure out the cause. She received pneumonia treatment because the symptoms were similar. But her condition didn’t get better,” Lee recalled. It was around the time she gave birth to their second son in 2001, he told The Korea Herald.In 2011, the couple finally found out that she w

Social Affairs May 28, 2015

Humidifier disinfectant victims fight on

More older couples divorce than newlyweds in Seoul

The divorce rate of old couples surpassed that of newlyweds in Seoul, demonstrating a fast-changing public perception toward marriage, data showed Wednesday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, couples splitting up after living together for over two decades accounted for 32 percent of the total divorce cases last year, about 10 percentage points higher than that of newlywed couples with less than four years of marriage.Last year, 19,500 couples divorced, while a

Social Affairs May 27, 2015

Drink tap water? ‘No way,’ say Koreans

Han Eun-suk, a 53-year-old housewife in southern Seoul, is meticulous in selecting her cooking ingredients, especially water. She never drinks tap water, citing an unpleasant chemical smell and safety concerns. Worried about her family’s health, she has installed a water purifier at home instead. “There’s a weird smell in tap water. How can you trust tap water that comes through old underground pipes? It’s always better to be safer,” Han said. Han is part of the majority of Koreans who are reluc

Social Affairs May 26, 2015

Incheon airport subway links to be extended

Tourists arriving to Incheon International Airport will be able to directly travel to Yeouido and eastern Seoul, including Gangnam and Songpa, via subway without transferring starting from 2020, officials said Tuesday.Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the direct connect will be operated between the Incheon Airport Railroad Express and Seoul Subway Line No. 9 from 2020 as part of the government’s efforts to provide better transportation service for tourists and local residents.The direct co

Social Affairs May 26, 2015

Wives less happy than husbands in marriage

South Korean men are more satisfied with their spouses than women are, the main reason being the wives shouldering more household chores than the husbands, a public survey showed Wednesday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government last year, 73.2 percent of surveyed husbands in the capital responded that they are content with their spouses, with 40 percent being very satisfied. For wives, however, only 62.6 percent said they are satisfied with their husbands. Over 10

Social Affairs May 20, 2015

Wives less happy than husbands in marriage

Seoul households shrinking in size

Nearly half of the households in Seoul City have one or two members, reflecting a fast-changing living trend, a public survey showed Monday.According to the survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 48 percent of the households belonged to these two categories. The two-member households were mostly married couples without children.The annual survey also showed that 7.5 percent of the households were either separated or divorced, with those in their 40s and 50s occupying the highest proportion

Social Affairs May 18, 2015

Articles by Lee Hyun-jeong