Driver’s licenses will include personal information in English starting in September, which will enable Korea-issued licenses to be used abroad automatically, according to the government Monday. New licenses issued from September will have the driver’s name, address and gender on the back of each card in English, which will allow the holders to drive without special procedures in at least 35 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.   The move will boos

Social Affairs July 15, 2019

People who incite suicides and adults who have “consensual” sex with teenagers under the age of 16 will be punished under newly revised laws, the police said Sunday. The Korean National Police Agency said it will strictly enforce violations of both laws -- on protecting juveniles from sexual abuse and preventing suicide. The amendments take effect Tuesday. 　Under the revised law on sexual abuse, adults who have sexual intercourse with teenagers aged between 13 and 16 by taking advant

Social Affairs July 14, 2019

The top court ruled Thursday that an entry ban on a Korean American singer who obtained US citizenship in an apparent attempt to evade military conscription here is illegal, paving the way for him to come to South Korea 17 years after it was prohibited.The Supreme Court found that refusing an entry visa to Steve Yoo, 43, who was a highly popular singer until the early 2000s and is better known as Yoo Seung-jun, is in violation of “administrative procedures.”　In 2002, the Ministry of

Social Affairs July 11, 2019

The top court ruled Wednesday that a marriage migrant can maintain her residency status after divorcing her South Korean husband even if she is partly responsible for the breakup, overturning earlier rulings that required the Korean spouse to be 100 percent at fault.  The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Vietnamese woman, 23, who filed a suit against the immigration office that refused to authorize an extension of her stay in the country after a divorce, seeking a revocation of the ad

Social Affairs July 10, 2019

For anybody, living in a foreign country as a migrant or refugee far away from home is challenging enough. For a refugee woman in South Korea, it is a constant struggle to fight prejudice, isolation and a lack of opportunities. 　“Living in Korea, for men, I think it is easier to find a job. But for women, they cannot do or learn many things, especially when they have children to take care of,” said “Miyah,” head of EcoFemme, during an interview with The Korea Herald last

Social Affairs July 9, 2019

Prosecutor-General nominee Yoon Seok-youl pledged to free the prosecution from political influence and reform the powerful law enforcement body at his confirmation hearing Monday.  “I take it with a heavy heart that the prosecution has been shaken and is not strict when facing the powerful,” he said, vowing “drastic” changes in the organization, system and culture.Last month, President Moon Jae-in picked Yoon to lead the prosecution, which many regard as reflecting h

Social Affairs July 8, 2019

A senior editorial member of broadcaster SBS resigned Monday over suspicion he secretly took a photo of the lower part of a woman’s body in a subway station, according to the TV station.　The broadcaster accepted the resignation of Kim Sung-joon, 55, who had been one of its top news anchormen.　The Yeongdeungpo Police Station booked Kim without detention on suspicion that he took the photo without the woman’s knowledge at Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station at around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday.&n

Social Affairs July 8, 2019

Incheon National University has joined prominent universities around the world in efforts to create a new university ranking system that better measures universities’ efforts to drive innovation in Industry 4.0.At a joint press conference, Cho Dong-sung, president of Incheon National University, said the traditional university ranking systems work in favor of research-focused universities. “A new university ranking system that focuses on innovation in the ‘fourth industrial rev

Social Affairs July 4, 2019

Irregular workers at schools went on strike Wednesday, calling for an end to discrimination in wages and welfare benefits vis-a-vis regular workers and disrupting meal services at thousands of schools nationwide. Six-hour-long negotiations between irregular workers at schools and education authorities fell through the previous day, leading some 22,000 irregular workers at schools -- including cooks, nutritionists and administrative workers -- to stage a walkout until Friday. As of 10 a.m. Wednes

Social Affairs July 3, 2019

For more than a month, Lee Su-jin, who lives in western Incheon, has relied on bottled water to do household tasks from cooking to cleaning. Driving to a neighboring city to eat out or use a self-service laundromat has become a daily routine. It is all because of “reddish water” still running from her taps, a problem that was first detected May 30 and has affected some 15,000 households and 160 schools in Incheon. “It has become almost impossible to lead a daily life for t

Social Affairs July 2, 2019

Men should be allowed and expected to take parental leave and attend to their children’s needs as the first step to achieving gender equality at work, according to a prominent US feminist scholar. To encourage men to take parental leave more freely in a society where those who choose to do so are seen as poor workers and ineffectual men, the government should put in place a “daddy quota,” Joan C. Williams, a professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Social Affairs July 2, 2019

Civic groups continued to hold rallies opposing and welcoming US President Donald Trump’s visit to Seoul on Sunday as Trump held a summit with President Moon Jae-in and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone.　Trump arrived in Seoul on Saturday after attending the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. On Sunday, Trump held bilateral talks with Moon at the presidential office and met with Kim at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas.

Social Affairs June 30, 2019

The prosecution said Sunday that it had launched an investigation into possible hiring irregularities at telecom company KT involving the son of Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. The minor Minjung Party’s youth branch filed a complaint against the Liberty Korea Party leader for alleged obstruction of business, claiming that his son was hired by the country’s largest telecom company because of Hwang’s position.The complaint was filed after Hwang

Social Affairs June 30, 2019

A global education firm SPEP has been at the forefront of a paradigm shift in business education, providing training and consulting specialized in nurturing a workforce with a global mindset and foreign language proficiency.  SPEP, which has worked with global firms for more than 22 years, offers training programs on communication skills, basic language skills and business etiquette necessary in a multicultural business environment. The training courses, textbook and other education materia

Social Affairs June 26, 2019

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said Wednesday that the city will bring forward plans to replace aged water pipes by securing extra funds, amid growing concerns over contaminated tap water reported in Seoul, Incheon and other cities.  The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would begin replacing 138 kilometers of the old pipes within the year, earlier than as scheduled in 2020. For the 1.75-kilometer pipe that contaminated tap water in Mulle-dong, the replacement will be completed by the end of

Social Affairs June 26, 2019