The Korea Herald

Park Choon-bae new head of Inha University

Park Choon-bae, president of Inha Technical College, has been appointed president of Inha University, the school said Thursday. “The new president has been selected according to legal procedure through a transparent selection process, which examines their vision for the school as well as past academic achievements,” said the school. The school board appointed Park as the 13th president, following the retirement of current president Lee Bon-su. It applauded Park’s achievement and leadership as t

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2012

Park Choon-bae new head of Inha University

Actor Shin Young-gyun donates W1b to Sogang University

Actor Shin Young-gyun, honorary president of the Motion Pictures Association of Korea, has donated 1 billion won ($890,000) to Sogang University in Seoul, the school said. The donation will be used for the new “Art and Technology” department of the university, which is an academic discipline seeking to combine different studies from technology to humanities to arts in a bid to foster creative individuals, according to the school. “Shin has decided to give the large amount of money for the sake o

People Feb. 16, 2012

Actor Shin Young-gyun donates W1b to Sogang University

Board-faculty conflict hits Sookmyung, Inha

Sookmyung disguises donated funds as money from foundationConflict is deepening at two universities between their foundation boards and faculties. Sookmyung Women’s University based in Seoul is mired in internal conflict over school funds. Inha University, a prominent school in Incheon, is in dispute over its newly elected president. Some Inha faculty members and Incheon-based civic groups say that a graduate of the same high school as board chairman Cho Yang-ho was elected as the new president

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2012

Parties push own teachers’ rights plans

Seoul Council members of the ruling Saenuri Party proposed an ordinance to protect teachers’ rights Thursday, weeks after liberal councilors of the opposition Democratic United Party had presented their own version of a teachers’ rights ordinance.The different proposals came as the students’ rights ordinance was approved in December, causing disputes between conservatives and liberals regarding its restriction of teachers’ authority while enhancing students’ rights.Rival parties share the purpos

Social Affairs Feb. 15, 2012

Former Seoul mayor named as city think tank chairman

Former Seoul Mayor Lee Won-jong, 70, has been appointed chairman of Seoul Development Institute, an urban policy research institute in the capital. The city-funded think tank is expected to undergo major reform of its organizational structure and research programs under the new chairman from next month, according to city officials. Lee, a long-time local government chief, served three terms as governor of North Chungcheong Province, first in 1992 and then from 1998-2006. He was also Seoul Mayor

People Feb. 15, 2012

Former Seoul mayor named as city think tank chairman

Seoul City names three honorary vice mayors

Three citizens were selected as honorary vice mayors of the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday under Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s initiative to reflect citizens’ ideas in policy formulation, city officials said Tuesday. Following his motto, “Citizens are the Mayor,” the city government has so far selected citizens to be one-day mayors.This time, the city selected citizens to be messengers for ordinary citizens for a year in unpaid positions. There are three incumbent official vice mayors for

People Feb. 14, 2012

Seoul City names three honorary vice mayors

Average Korean child starts English studies at age 4.3

Korean children start learning English at age 4.3 on average, and the more educated the mother the earlier a child begins, according to a survey by Yoon’s English School, a local private English institute, on Tuesday. A poll of 667 mothers conducted from Dec. 28 to Jan. 5 found that 42.7 percent said they started their children’s English education when they were between the ages of three and four.About 28.6 percent said they had their children begin learning English at between five and six years

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2012

Seoul mayor seeks pardon for evictees

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon asked President Lee Myung-bak to pardon residents arrested for violently defying eviction in Yongsan in 2009, city officials said Tuesday. Park sent an official letter to President Lee, asking for the pardon of all eight people arrested amid a deadly standoff between then-tenants and police over the forced eviction from Yongsan District 4 three years ago. The conforontation led to a fire that killed five evictees and one police officer. Park, who took office last year,

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2012

Tough measures set on school violence

The government announced a wide range of measures against school violence Monday, focused on united action by all members of society.The measures call for strengthening the role of teachers and headmasters in resolving school violence, zero-tolerance toward bullying and more protection of and care for victims, as well as expanding character education for all school ages.“Every member of society including teachers, schools, parents and the government should act to eradicate school violence. The g

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2012

Road show to bring Korean scientists back home

The Korean government plans to go on a road show in U.S. cities where prestigious universities are clustered in a bid to attract young Korean scientists to the new domestic science belt, officials said Sunday. Vice Minister of Education and Science Kim Chang-kyung will make presentations to Korean scientists on doctoral or post-doctoral courses in Chicago and Boston from Monday to Saturday. He will explain the “Brain Return 500” project focused on bringing Korean scientists back home.The project

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2012

DJ DOC’s Kim Chang-ryul donates scholarship

Kim Chang-ryul, a member of K-pop group DJ DOC and a sophomore at Kyung Hee Cyber University, has given his performance fees from school events and commercials to underprivileged students at the university as scholarships, the school said Sunday. “I heard there are many students worrying about their tuition fees lately. The scholarship may not be large but I would like to help students in need,” Kim said. The 39-year-old singer is well known for passing high school qualification and college entr

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2012

DJ DOC’s Kim Chang-ryul donates scholarship

Seoul to raise bus, subway fares

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it will raise public transit fares by 150 won ($0.13) late this month to reduce mounting deficits in the public transportation system.The minimum bus and subway fare will rise from 900 won to 1,050 won for adults from Feb. 25. Fares for children and teenagers will remain unchanged.The decision to allow the fare hike was taken to lower deficits stemming from energy costs, fee discounts and some free rides, among other factors, officials said. It is

Social Affairs Feb. 2, 2012

Charity sees donation reach all-time high

Community Chest of Korea has seen its year-end and New Year’s donations reach an all-time high as it celebrated the end of its donation campaign on Tuesday. The CCK said it raised a total of 254.1 billion won ($225 million) as of Jan. 30, surpassing its two-month goal of 218 billion won and breaking its 2010 record of 224.2 billion won.The nationwide charity network conducts the annual donation drive named “Hope Sharing Campaign” from December to January. The CCK’s giant “Thermometer of Love” pe

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2012

Seoul to invest W27 billion for Korean studies

The Education Ministry announced it will invest 27.3 billion won ($24 million) in the promotion of Korean studies this year. The project, launched in 2007, aims to foster research on Korea, highlighting the significance of Korean studies at home and abroad as well as continuing to strengthen the basis for research by supporting major institutions and scholars in the field.Korean studies focus on a broad range of topics related to Korea including its history, culture, anthropology, society, polit

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2012

Education office pushes rights rules

Ministry says action violates law guaranteeing schools’ independenceThe Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education ordered schools in the capital to revise their student conduct rules according to the ordinance on the enhancement of students’ rights proclaimed last week, officials said Monday. The SMOE has distributed guidelines to all elementary and secondary schools as a reference to revise their school rules last week, they said. But the Education Ministry, which has opposed to the student right

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2012

Articles by Lee Woo-young