Prosecution officials arrested a senior prosecutor over suspicions that he took bribes from gaming company Nexon’s cofounder Kim Jung-ju on Thursday night. The arrest came 13 hours after the prosecution began interrogating prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon, who is suspected of taking kickbacks and benefitting from shady stock transactions with the money at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon (Yonhap)The prosecution suspects that Jin took 425 million won from Kim

Social Affairs July 15, 2016

At a glance, Indonesia’s bustling capital Jakarta seems like many other metropolitan cities in Southeast Asia. Its streets are lined with cutting-edge skyscrapers and packed with cars and motorbikes that cause heavy congestion. Highrise buildings at the center of Jakarta, Indonesia. (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)But only a few hours away, the tropical country, composed of more than 17,500 islands, boasts natural beauty in every corner -- from white sandy beaches and colorful marine treasures to

Travel July 15, 2016

More of South Korea’s state-run organizations are joining the drive to shut down their in-house cafeterias at least once a week as part of efforts to spur the local economy amid the deepening economic downturn. Mostly municipalities, police stations and state-run organizations across the country are seen joining the campaign to boost spending at nearby restaurants once a week or twice a month. Among them is Seoul’s Seocho District Office, which decided to close its in-house cafeteria every Frida

Social Affairs July 14, 2016

Opposition parties, labor unions and civic groups launched a committee on Tuesday to spearhead a movement to reform what they see as family-owned conglomerates’ abuse of power and illegal business practices. During a press briefing in central Seoul, the committee, consisting of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, the Justice Party, the nation’s two biggest umbrella labor unions and progressive civic groups, urged the government to abolish polices that favor the personal interests of f

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

The Education Ministry said Tuesday that it has decided to dismiss a high-ranking official over his controversial remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs,” in an apparent attempt to ease public outrage. “The Education Ministry decided to expel the ex-head of policy planning for making inappropriate remarks as a public servant and hurting the public,” Vice Education Minister Lee Young said during a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex on Tuesday afternoon. Na Hya

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

A high-ranking official from the Education Ministry made a tearful apology on Monday amid growing controversy over his remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” Na Hyang-wook, the director general of the ministry’s policy planning bureau, apologized for “making inappropriate remarks as a public servant, distressing Korean people and causing a stir,” during a parliamentary meeting in the afternoon.Na was initially absent from the parliamentary meeting held in the morning,

Social Affairs July 11, 2016

The Education Minister Lee Joon-sik on Monday apologized and vowed strong punishment over the controversy caused by a high-ranking official who described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” During a parliamentary meeting held in the morning, Lee apologized for “greatly disappointing the people” with the ministry official’s “inappropriate” remarks. Lee said that he plans to take stern action in accordance with the result of the investigation into the case. “There cannot be any excuse for t

Social Affairs July 11, 2016

The prosecution said Sunday it indicted the suspect who stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death near Gangnam Station, concluding that it was a “planned” crime by a person suffering from mental illness.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that the 34-year-old man, only identified by his surname Kim, had committed the murder due to his symptoms of schizophrenia and persecution complex, denying what many saw as the misogynist nature of the crime.  Prosecutors, however, viewed the crime

Social Affairs July 10, 2016

Foreign students in South Korea find the nation’s hierarchical culture the most difficult to adjust to, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey by the Institute of Language Research and Education, 32.8 percent of foreign students said that they had trouble adapting to the country’s hierarchical culture while living and studying in Korea. Just over 16 percent of the students had difficulties adjusting due to Koreans’ indifference toward them, followed by gender discrimination at 16 perc

Social Affairs July 7, 2016

South Korea’s civic groups called on the government Monday not to disband the Sewol Special Committee tasked with investigating the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, four days after its term legally ended. The public interest lawyers’ group Lawyers for a Democratic Society said its members will go on a hunger strike in protest against the government’s decision to dissolve the Sewol Committee. “Our demand is simple. We want the government to guarantee the Sewol committee’s term by abiding by th

Social Affairs July 4, 2016

Nearly 40 percent of employees at South Korean conglomerates are irregular workers, the Labor Ministry said Friday, highlighting the level of job insecurity and low quality of jobs in Korea. According to data on the types of employment in 3,454 conglomerates involving 4.73 million workers, 38.7 percent of the Korean workers at large companies were either hired temporarily by the firms or indirectly through outsourcing firms. Of the irregular workers, 19.7 percent of the laborers were recruited t

Social Affairs July 1, 2016

 To bring attention to the shrinking right to freedom of peaceful assembly in South Korea, Amnesty International organized a holographic Ghost Protest in Gwanghwamun Plaza, downtown Seoul, in February this year. Fortunately, the assembly took place without a hitch. But consider for a moment what would have happened had a participant suddenly become violent. What if in their frustration they had suddenly struck out, kicking a police vehicle parked nearby?The police might intervene to prevent an e

Social Affairs July 1, 2016

남들보다 도드라지게 큰 엉덩이 둘레로 놀림 받던 여성의 성공 스토리가 주목을 받고 있다. 　지난 30일(현지시각) 영국 일간 미러는 인터넷 방송에서 ‘아름다운 빅사이즈 모델’로 활동하며 한 달에 고수익을 올리는 여성을 소개했다.　보도에 따르면 미국 펜실베이니아 주에 살고 있는 여성 보비-조 웨슬리(Bobbi-Jo Westley)는 2m가 넘는 엉덩이로 과거 상처를 많이 받아온 경험이 있다.　그럼에도 그녀는 자신의 콤플렉스를 극복하고 자신감 넘치는 모습으로 인터넷 방송에서 큰 인기를 끌고 있다. 매체는 그녀가 한 달에 230만 원 이상의 수익을 올린다고 보도했다. 　한편, 보비는 인터뷰를 통해 “사람들은 나의 엉덩이에 대해 악담을 한다”며 “옛날에는 그런 말에 상처를 받았지만 지금은 나의 모습을 있는 그대로 인정하고 내 방송을 보는 사람들과 소통을 하고 싶다”고 말했다.　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

한국어판 July 1, 2016