Koreans pointed to political feuds as the biggest reason for deteriorating social conflicts in the country, a state-led survey showed Tuesday. According to the poll by the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion, 51.8 percent of the respondents said that the political wrangling between the ruling party and opposition bloc contributed most to worsening social confrontations. In the multiple-choice survey of 2,000 Koreans aged 19 and over, the wealth gap was chosen as the second-biggest facto

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2015

Koreans pointed to political feuds as the biggest reason for deteriorating social conflicts in the country, a state-led survey showed Tuesday. 　According to the poll by the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion, 51.8 percent of the respondents said that the political wrangling between the ruling party and opposition bloc contributed most to worsening social confrontations. 　In the multiple-choice survey of 2,000 Koreans aged 19 and over, the wealth gap was chosen as the second-biggest fac

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2015

Braving social bias and ostracism, Kim Hak-soon, a South Korean comfort woman, took to the podium in 1991 to testify about her wartime forced prostitution experiences for the first time in public. 　Another 237 Korean women, forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II, followed suit, demanding a sincere apology and legal compensation from the Japanese government. 　Later that year, Kim and three other victims filed a lawsuit against Japanese authorities. But Japan’s highest

National Dec. 28, 2015

South Korea’s state-appointed media monitoring agency said Sunday that it has set out specific guidelines to restrict the use of foreign languages in TV commercials.　According to the guidelines for the nation’s broadcasters by the Korea Communications Standards Commission, TV advertisements are now banned from containing foreign languages or songs for more than 15 seconds -- half of the 30-second time slot. 　The regulation covers the narrative of product slogans, company names and catchphrases s

Social Affairs Dec. 27, 2015

The Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that a law barring South Koreans from changing their resident registration numbers was unconstitutional.The court said the current law on resident registration numbers excessively violates citizens’ basic rights to make decisions about their own personal information, ordering the government to present a revision by the end of 2017. “It is an excessive violation of rights that the government does not allow Koreans to change their resident numbers regardles

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2015

South Korea’s human rights watchdog said Tuesday that police and prosecutors were recently cautioned for denying foreign suspects’ rights to self-defense by detaining an African man for 12 days without contacting his embassy. 　According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, police and prosecutors arrested a Nigerian and detained him for 12 days, ignoring his multiple requests to contact the Nigerian Embassy. 　Police arrested the man, who was at the time on the wanted list, on a theft

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2015

Hong Yoon-sik, a former vice minister at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, has been named interior minister.Hong, 59, is known as a veteran in state affairs, having served various key posts during his 30-year career in the prime minister’s office. Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, the nominee received his bachelor’s degree in law from Seoul National University and master’s degree in policy from the University of Michigan in the U.S. He passed the state civil service exam in 1985

Politics Dec. 21, 2015

The South Korean government Monday mapped out a plan to expand its part-time work scheme in the public sector by 2018, which would increase the public workforce by more than 1 percent. Under the plan, it will offer government-backed part-time jobs for women in a bid to help them return to work after childbirth and boost the country’s low birthrate. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, along with relevant ministries, announced these and other plans in a meeting.Unlike part-time jobs generated by

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2015

A South Korean church group on Thursday indicated their willingness to show more tolerance of homosexuality, seen as the first such move of a major Protestant organization in the country. “Korean society and churches have been treating homosexuality with hatred, but we will now open a forum to discuss the issue and reflect (on our views),” the National Council of Churches in Korea said in a press conference.The group plans to hold debate sessions on the issue and hear testimonies from the lesbia

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2015