Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Tuesday vowed to restrict excessive protests that “threaten public good,” amid complaints over weekend rallies that have dominated Gwanghwamun Square for several months.　He also held politicians accountable for failing to contain the deep ideological division that has led to rallies by both supporters and opponents of the Moon Jae-in administration. 　“The right to public assembly and demonstration is a very basic human right granted by the Constitut

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2019

Nearly 45 years after the end of the Vietnam War, some Vietnamese still live in the shadow of the war. 　Among them are the Lai Dai Han people -- a term meaning mixed blood in Vietnamese and referring to those born mostly to Vietnamese women and South Korean men during the war. 　As the Korean government remains lukewarm about recognizing the negative aspects of Korea’s involvement in the war -- from massacres of civilians allegedly committed by Korean troops to half-Korean children left beh

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2019

The main opposition party on Tuesday strongly protested the presidential office’s request for the removal of the tent where its leader has held a hunger strike for the past seven days in protest of key reform bills. Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn began his hungry strike Nov. 20 in a tent set up in front of the presidential office to protest against bills on reforming the election system and setting up an independent body tasked with investigating corruption allegations inv

Politics Nov. 26, 2019

Old diesel cars will be banned from the area within Seoul’s four main gates starting December, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday, as part of efforts to tackle air pollution.Diesel cars classified as grade 5 in terms of emission levels -- some 2.18 million vehicles nationwide and 720,000 in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province -- will be excluded from the city center from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting Dec. 1. After that, a driver caught driving an old diesel vehicle in the city center withou

Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2019

The government said Friday that it will ease requirements for marriage migrants to naturalize even after a divorce and those convicted of violent crimes will be banned from marrying foreign women as part of measures to better protect marriage migrants’ human rights.  Migrant women married to Korean men do not have to prove their husbands were entirely responsible for the breakup to naturalize here, according to the measures unveiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family along

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2019

Former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui, who was indicted for allegedly receiving sexual services and bribes, was cleared of all charges Friday in a court ruling that came six years after he first became mired in an orgy scandal. Kim, who served as vice justice minister in 2013, was accused of having received sexual services arranged by a local developer, Yoon Joong-chun, and having received bribes from the latter and other businessmen between 2006 and 2008.The Seoul Central District Court

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2019

South Korean and Japanese legal professionals on Wednesday called for action to enforce Korean Supreme Court rulings holding Japanese firms responsible for compensating Koreans forced to work in their factories during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea.　 Six Korean and seven Japanese lawyers’ groups, as well as 123 individual lawyers and scholars from Japan, jointly released a statement urging the Japanese companies to accept the rulings and the Japanese government not to impede the

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2019

Fourteen governors and mayors across the nation, including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, have filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking for the acquittal of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, who has been convicted of violating election laws.　In the petition, they asked the justices at the country’s top court to clear him of the charges so that Gyeonggi Province, with a population of 13 million, can avoid the absence of a governor and Lee can continue serving his role.　“If Gyeo

Politics Nov. 19, 2019

A Korean man in his 50s was apprehended for allegedly murdering his Vietnamese wife, a woman 25 years his junior, the police said Monday.  The Yangju Police Station said they are investigating a 55-year-old man on suspicion of murdering his 30-year-old Vietnamese wife at around 5:30 a.m. Saturday at his home, putting her body in the trunk of his car and dumping it in his hometown of Wanju, North Jeolla Province. The man, who was apprehended at around 1 p.m. on Sunday, reportedly admitted to

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2019

Nearly 6 in 10 Koreans are in favor of suspending coal-fired power plants to reduce particulate pollution from autumn through spring, even if it is accompanied by a hike in electricity rates, a survey showed Sunday. According to the poll of 2,000 Korean adults by a national anti-fine dust body, 78.3 percent of the respondents approved of enforcing a seasonal dust management system between December and March, when Korea typically sees high levels of PM 2.5 -- -- ultrafine particles smaller than 2

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2019

Nearly half a million people sat for the annual state-administered college entrance exam Thursday, with the number of test-takers marking an all-time low.   The College Scholastic Aptitude Test, locally known as Suneung, began at 1,185 exam venues across the country at 8:40 a.m. and ended at 5:40 p.m.　A total of 482,348 people had sat for the exam for academic year 2020 as of 2:20 p.m. A total of 548,734 people applied to take the nine-hour back-to-back exams, down 46,190 from the

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2019

The first hearing in a lawsuit brought against the Japanese government by former victims of Japanese military sexual slavery was held Wednesday, nearly three years after the suit was filed. The Japanese government, which had delayed court proceedings by refusing to accept South Korean court-issued documents demanding its presence in court, was absent from the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court. Eleven survivors and 10 bereaved family members representing six other victims file

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2019

A South Korean club accused of denying foreigners entry has rejected the recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea that the club not discriminate against customers based on race, the human rights watchdog said Wednesday.According to the NHRCK, a petition was filed by an Indian American in June last year after the person was refused entry into the club for being a foreigner. The petitioner’s Korean American friend was not denied entry.The NHRCK concluded that the club

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2019

Police said Tuesday that they booked 10 people, including producers of a K-pop audition TV show and officials of CJ ENM, in connection with allegations they had rigged the results of audience voting. Police are looking into whether high-ranking officials from music labels were involved, whether there was any vote rigging on former seasons of the Mnet audition shows and whether bribes were given in return for allegedly manipulating the votes.“I think an investigation into alleged vote riggi

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2019

Asylum seekers staying in South Korea with humanitarian status should enjoy the same protections and treatment as recognized refugees, activists monitoring the human rights situation facing 39 asylum seekers said Monday.  Better access to information on how humanitarian status holders can adjust to life in Korea -- what rights they have and what services are available to them -- are also necessary, the activists said at the briefing held at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. &ld

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2019