A funeral was held Sunday for emergency doctor Yoon Han-deok, who died of a heart attack at his office and whose death cast light on the difficult working conditions faced by emergency medical staff. Lee Guk-jong, head of the trauma center at Ajou University Hospital, pays his respects to Yoon Han-deok, head of the National Emergency Medical Center, at Yoon’s funeral in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)Yoon, head of the National Emergency Medical Center, was found dead on Monday during the Lunar New Yea

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2019

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Saturday pledged to completely eliminate the business of dog meat in South Korea’s capital. 　“Once dog-butchering businesses are completely removed soon, I plan to make a declaration,” he said in a meeting with an audience after watching animated film “The Underdog” at a local cinema. (Yonhap)Park promised to “put pressure” in various ways to shut down the few remaining dog meat shops in Seoul after watching the Korean film about the journey of abandoned dogs to find

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2019

Some 1,200 tons of plastic waste shipped back to Korea from the Philippines last week are unrecyclable, environment authorities concluded after opening some of the containers carrying the garbage Thursday. (Ministry of Environment)Officials from the Ministry of Environment and Customs office opened some of the 51 trash-filled containers at Pyeongtaek Port to check on conditions of the waste as part of administrative procedures to process it. The first batch of the plastic waste, which a Korean c

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2019

Women-only taxis equipped with child car seats and taxis unable to refuse passengers based on their destinations will begin running in Seoul as early as this month, the Seoul city government said Thursday.  (Yonhap)The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it issued a business license Feb. 1 to a taxi franchise company, Tago Solutions, which consists of some 50 companies with 4,500 taxis. Tago Solutions plans to test-run two services for three months: Waygo Lady and Waygo Blue. Waygo Lady taxis, dr

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2019

Seoul residents find it most difficult to grab taxis at night near Gangnam Station, followed by the areas of Jongno, Hongik University and Itaewon, according to a recent report by Kakao Mobility and the Seoul Digital Foundation. The report on the imbalance in demand and supply for taxis at night in Seoul was based on data from Kakao’s taxi ride-hailing app from November 2017 to October 2018.It was toughest to grab a taxi near Gangnam Station at midnight, with demand on the taxi-hailing app highe

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2019

A high court on Friday sentenced former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung to 3 1/2 years in prison for raping his female aide, overturning a lower court’s not-guilty ruling, in the country’s highest-profile case amid the ongoing #MeToo movement. (Yonhap)The Seoul High Court ruled that An, who was once considered a strong presidential contender, had used his authority to sexually assault the victim, citing sufficient evidence to prove that Kim’s sexual freedom was violated against her w

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2019

Hundreds of South Koreans on Friday bid farewell to Kim Bok-dong, a South Korean victim of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II, near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, where she has attended a weekly rally demanding an apology from Japan. About 1,000 mourners, according to the organizer Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, came together for a send-off ceremony for Kim, who died late Monday after battling cancer for about a year. Despite biting cold, the organizers and

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2019

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close associate of President Moon Jae-in, to two years in prison for colluding with a power blogger to rig online comments to benefit the ruling Democratic Party and Moon.  　The Seoul Central District Court viewed the governor, once a presidential hopeful, as an accomplice of blogger Kim Dong-won, known as Druking, in swaying public opinion in favor of the party and presidential hopeful Moon ahead of the 2017 p

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2019

Kim Bok-dong, a South Korean victim of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II and a symbol of the fight against wartime violence, died late Monday, bringing the number of survivors to 23. She was 92.Kim, who was at the forefront of raising awareness about Japanese military sexual slavery and campaigning to end violence against women around the world, died at 10:41 p.m. Monday at Yonsei Severance Hospital in Seoul, according to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance.

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2019

The South Korean government’s first artificial rain experiment this year over the Yellow Sea failed to induce rain, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday, with 14 more experiments planned throughout the year. (Yonhap)The KMA observed an increase in the size of precipitation particles in the clouds, but there was no rain or snow, it said, announcing the interim result of the experiment carried out Friday. The KMA and Ministry of Environment conducted the cloud seeding experiment ove

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2019

When it was revealed earlier this month that the leader of a well-known animal rights group had killed more than 230 rescued dogs to free up space at its shelter, public anger was palpable. 　Cheong Wa Dae’s website saw more than 30 petitions, with support from 15,000 people, calling for Park So-youn of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth to be punished. Police launched an investigation last week into her after NGOs and animal rights activists filed complaints, alleging animal abuse and embezzl

Social Affairs Jan. 27, 2019

Yongin, located in Gyeonggi Province some 40 kilometers south of Seoul and home to some 1 million people, is the most ideal city to host a semiconductor cluster, given its proximity to Seoul and personnel well-equipped with expertise in the industry, Mayor Baek Kun-ki said in an interview. “Yongin city will focus its administrative efforts on creating a semiconductor cluster,” he said. Mayor Baek Kun-ki speaks during an interview on Jan. 19 in his office in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province (Yongin city

Social Affairs Jan. 27, 2019

Former Supreme Court Justice Yang Sung-tae was arrested Thursday on charges that he abused his power to influence politically significant trials and disadvantage justices critical of him. The Seoul Central District Court issued the arrest warrant, citing that his charges are proven, the risk of him destroying evidence and the gravity of the case. He was immediately taken into custody at the Seoul Detention Center, south of Seoul. In a dramatic fall from grace, the veteran judge with a career of

Politics Jan. 24, 2019

South Korea plans to conduct this year’s first artificial rain experiment over the Yellow Sea on Friday, as part of efforts to tackle fine dust pollution amid growing concerns over public health.　　The Korea Meteorological Administration said Wednesday the one-hour experiment will be conducted in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and China on Friday morning, with a plane, boat and other devices mobilized to measure meteorological conditions. 　The KMA will carry out a cloud seeding experiment a

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2019

South Korea and China are holding a series of talks in Seoul to tackle the fine dust problem amid mounting public concerns over increasingly toxic levels of fine and ultrafine dust believed to originate mostly from China. 　Director-generals from Seoul’s Ministry of Environment and Beijing’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment held their third meeting on fine dust in Seoul on Tuesday, the same day as the first meeting of an operating committee within the South Korea-China Environmental Cooperatio

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2019