The government on Monday unveiled the personal information of 14,500 high-profile tax delinquents including former President Chun Doo-hwan. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration disclosed a list of those who failed to pay over 30 million won ($28,500) for more than two years. Their number rose by 25.7 percent from last year largely due to more business failures in the economic slowdown. The total amount in arrears also jumped 26.6 percent year-on-year to 2.14 trillion won, while the

Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2013

About 200 college students braved the freezing weather Saturday to take part in an outdoor debate at a Seoul university on themes ranging from the rail workers’ strike to intelligence agents’ electioneering.The gathering was called in by a single school board post, titled “How are you doing?” put up by Joo Hyun-woo, a Korea University student, last Tuesday, calling for students to pay attention to social issues.The post asked students if they were indeed doing okay when thousands of railroad emp

Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2013

Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for two former Tokyo branch mangers of KB Kookmin Bank on bribery charges Wednesday in connection with a slush fund scandal involving the nation’s second largest lender. They and other workers in Kookmin’s Tokyo operation are alleged to have extended illegal loans worth about 170 billion won ($161 million) to unqualified customers in return for bribes between 2008 and 2012.Financial authorities and the prosecution suspected the kickbacks were channeled into its

Social Affairs Dec. 11, 2013

The prosecution is set to question Hyosung Group chairman Cho Suck-rai on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the company’s alleged tax evasion, slush funds and accounting fraud, officials said Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has summoned Cho to appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday. He will be the third person from the family to be questioned. Hyosung is Korea’s 26th largest business group, with assets of more than 11 trillion won ($10.4 billion). Prosecutors are expected to gri

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2013

Song Hong-bin, a 22-year-old college student in Seoul, regrets his choice of an all-English class this semester.Unable to comprehend lectures and conversations, he is only left with frustration and a sense of inferiority. “I chose the class to learn real-life English. But I feel like I’m being left out. Others seem to understand all the lectures,” he said.“It’s more like showtime for English-fluent people to boast their ability. I don’t think my English improved.” More and more universities are

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2013

The Ministry of Justice repealed a rule that requires foreign students seeking a part-time job to submit a recommendation letter from a professor.Students now only have to hand in a confirmation document from the school administration, the ministry said on Monday.The government made both documents mandatory in order to prevent illegal recruitment. But it decided to simplify the rule, as the recommendation letter requirement has not been fully implemented, only adding to the burdens faced by fore

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2013

Prosecutors said Sunday they had charged nearly 30 people for involvement in dogfighting.Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said it had arrested nine people, including gangsters suspected of hosting fights between pit bull terriers. Eight other organizers were added to the wanted list.Another nine, including dog owners and gamblers, were also indicted without detention, and 11 more participants were summarily indicted. They were found to have held some 30 dogfights over a year, largely i

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2013

A presidential official on Thursday expressed displeasure after a Japanese magazine reportedly derided President Park Geun-hye as “imbecile of the week” for taking a tough stance on the former colonial ruler.The latest edition of the weekly Shukan Bunshun carried an article about Park’s stance on Tokyo, accusing her of “creating disturbances” with regard to rows over the sovereignty of the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and Japan’s enslavement of Korean women as sex slaves during World War

Politics Nov. 28, 2013

Seoul City and police have designated some 600 spots in the city for strengthened measures against sex crimes. Police patrols will be enhanced in the areas including secluded residential towns, neighborhood parks, entertainment streets and construction sites, the city government said Thursday. A total of 340 extra surveillance cameras will be installed in the areas. All 25 districts and police will share images under an integrated system, helping monitor about 25,000 cameras at the same time.(re

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2013

The rate of sex crimes among juveniles has hiked by fivefold in Seoul in the last three years, data showed Tuesday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s report, the number of sexual assault cases jumped from 21 to 107 between 2010 and 2012. The number for this year reached 66 as of the end of July, putting it on track to exceed last year’s figure. While the number of cases stayed around 30 to 40 before 2012, the figure started to increase sharply, apparently as a result of v

Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2013