Activists and families of toxic humidifier victims held a joint news conference on Tuesday with an advocacy group representing families of Samsung employees who contracted diseases or died, calling for a safer society.At the joint event held outside Samsung’s headquarters in southern Seoul, the participants denounced “conglomerates’ profit-focused practices and the government’s inaction,” which they saw as the major reason behind hundreds of deaths related to industries.EXPANDING PROTEST -- Memb

Social Affairs June 7, 2016

Citizens pay tribue to 19-year-old worker, surnamed Kim, who was killed by an arriving train while repairing a safety door on subway platform, at the memorial site inside Guui Station in eastern Seoul, Saturday. (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)On Saturday, a week after a 19-year-old irregular worker died while repairing a screen door on a subway platform at Guui Station, hundreds of people took to the streets calling for a fundamental change to a “money-focused” society. Since the worker’s death o

Social Affairs June 5, 2016

A South Korean man, suspected of murdering a 63-year-old woman on a mountain trail, apologized to the victim before taking part in a police reenactment of the crime scene on Friday. The ex-murder convict Kim Hak-bong, 61, is suspected of stabbing the victim to death in her neck and stomach in the early hours of Sunday near the entrance of the Mount Suraksan trail on northeastern Seoul. He turned himself in on the same day. “I am sorry to the victim and her family,” Kim told reporters, when stepp

Social Affairs June 3, 2016

For 26-year-old office worker Lee Hye-ri, it seems like a far-fetched dream to exercise and enjoy her hobbies after work every day. It is quite difficult to imagine life outside her workplace as she works as late as 11 p.m.The newcomer, who was employed by a state-run company last year, often works overtime and sometimes works at home on weekends. She dozes off on the bus while commuting and sleeps a lot on weekends to fight a chronic lack of sleep. 　“It has become a habit to work overtime. I mi

Social Affairs June 2, 2016

With the launch of the 20th National Assembly on Monday, the labor minister has renewed calls for the swift passage of bills to boost the sluggish economy and create jobs. The ruling Saenuri Party was set to resubmit four labor market reform bills aimed to improve labor conditions and provide more flexibility to the market. The bills failed to pass the 19th National Assembly amid objection from labor unions and the opposition bloc.Employment and Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon underscored the need f

Social Affairs May 30, 2016

For South Koreans, a platter of fried chicken, whether it is seasoned in soy, pan-fried in hot and sweet sauce or deep-fried in oil, has become an iconic dish that is typically downed with draft beer or soju any day of the week. But for 54-year-old housewife Kim Young-mi, deep-fried chicken was once a special treat her late father used to bring home on payday or for special occasions in her childhood. “It was when Korea was poor and meat was scarce,” she said. “I gave most of the chicken to my y

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

South Korean prosecution said that it indicted 10 people including two foreigners on Friday on charges of smuggling drugs into Korea. According to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, it detained a 28-year-old French man suspected of selling drugs, including cannabis and ecstasy, in clubs in Seoul after buying them from websites based in the U.S., U.K., and Netherlands via international parcel services.  (Yonhap)The investigators also indicted a U.S. national, 30, who teaches at an in

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

A prosecutor-turned-lawyer was summoned Friday for questioning over suspicions that he peddled influence in the legal circles for his clients and evaded taxes, amid the widening probe into a high-profile corruption scandal. Hong Man-pyo, 56, is suspected of having used his connections in the judiciary to seek a lenient ruling for Jung Woon-ho, CEO of local cosmetics company Nature Republic, over his overseas gambling charges. “I will take responsibility for what I did, and will cooperate with in

Social Affairs May 27, 2016

Following a South Korean court’s rejection to recognize same-sex marriage, the country’s most outspoken gay couple and civic groups lodged a protest, calling for equal rights at a press conference Thursday.Filmmakers Kim Jho Gwang-soo, 51, and his partner Kim Sung-hwan, 32, the first gay couple to openly tie the knot in Korea in 2013, expressed their disappointment with the court decision that they denounced as abandoning the responsibility to uphold justice. Gay Korean couple Kim Jho Gwang-soo,

Social Affairs May 26, 2016

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered to mourn the death of a 23-year-old woman outside exit 10 of Gangnam Station, leaving post-it messages, flowers and wiping their tears. 　But the peaceful mourning was soon disturbed by the arrival of a group of men with their faces covered. They held up placards that read: “Not all men are potential criminals” and “Only those (who) commit crimes are bad.” Enraged by the placards and by some of the men who attempted to take post-it memos off the wa

Social Affairs May 24, 2016

South Korean police concluded Sunday that the recent murder of a 23-year-old woman in southern Seoul was a random crime by a man suffering from mental illness. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said in a press briefing that the killing by the 34-year-old man, only identified by his surname Kim, was a typical crime committed by the mentally disturbed.Kim was arrested last week on suspicion of stabbing the woman to death at a public bathroom near Gangnam Subway Station on May 17. He allegedly w

Social Affairs May 22, 2016

The government presented a plan Friday to expand child protection workforce and parenting education so as to better prevent and cope with child abuse.In a policy meeting with relevant ministries, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would implement an on-site inspection until end-June on 1,153 infants aged 0-3 with no records of receiving medical check-ups or vaccinations.The ministry also plans to increase the workforce to protect children by 22 percent to 835 from the current 684 within

Social Affairs May 20, 2016

A South Korean sex workers’ advocacy group vowed Thursday to launch a trade union within this year to protect their labor rights and file a petition to the United Nations to challenge the highest court’s ruling in favor of the antiprostitution law. Denouncing the Constitutional Court’s ruling earlier this year as “taking side with those having power,” the Hanteo National Union said it would seek for those selling sex to be entitled to labor rights such as severance pay, state pension and health

Social Affairs May 19, 2016

The Health and Welfare Ministry said Thursday that it plans to change the health warnings on alcohol bottles for the first time in 21 years to raise awareness on the health risks of excessive drinking. The ministry said it will be compulsory for alcohol manufacturers to include specific dangers of drinking for youths and pregnant women in written warnings on alcohol bottles starting September. The revision to the National Health Promotion Act, which will take effect from Sept. 3, requires alcoho

Social Affairs May 19, 2016