The government said Thursday that it will receive opinions and feedback from foreign residents in the country to shape the third round of its immigration policy measures, which will take effect starting next year.(Yonhap)The Ministry of Justice said foreign residents can offer their opinions from Thursday to Oct. 31 online on the government’s e-People site and the ministry’s website, which are both available in English. They can also visit 16 immigrant support centers across the country to do so

Social Affairs Sept. 28, 2017

State-run organizations had more female employees than at private firms, but the female representation in managerial positions was higher at private firms, the government’s inspection result showed Thursday. (Yonhap)At state-run agencies, 16.5 percent of the managerial posts were occupied by women last year, compared to 21.2 percent at private firms, according to the report released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The female employment rate at state-led organizations and private firms w

Social Affairs Sept. 28, 2017

Nine in 10 Korean women think that women are not treated as equally as men in South Korea and most sexual discrimination takes place at home, a survey showed Thursday. According to a survey by woman’s rights group Womenlink on 1,257 women ranging from those in their teens to those in their 70s, 93 percent of the respondents said “No” when they were asked whether Korea was a gender-equal country. Only 2 percent said that women were treated equally and 5 percent did not respond. (123rf)The majorit

Social Affairs Sept. 28, 2017

The elder brother of deceased folk singer Kim Kwang-seok was questioned by police Wednesday in connection with the mysterious death of Kim’s daughter, which had been concealed by his widow for a decade. 　Police opened a case into the girl’s death from 10 years ago after Kim’s elder brother Kim Kwang-bok and a local reporter, Lee Sang-ho, filed a complaint on Sept. 21 against the singer’s widow Seo Hae-soon. 　Seo Hae-soon, the widow of the late folk singer Kim Kwang-seok, speaks in an interview w

Social Affairs Sept. 27, 2017

South Korea’s biggest umbrella trade union on Tuesday called on President Moon Jae-in to participate in a new body consisting of eight parties to initiate long-stalled social dialogue among workers, businesses and the government. The Federation of Korean Trade Union rejected the existing Tripartite Commission of Labor, Management and Government, saying the framework has only worked in favor of the government and employers. Instead, the FKTU suggested that a new eight-party committee -- consistin

Social Affairs Sept. 26, 2017

The prosecution summoned Won Sei-hoon, former chief of the National Intelligence Service, for questioning Tuesday amid a sprawling investigation into the spy agency’s alleged irregularities including election manipulation and suppression of left-wing cultural figures under his command. Won Sei-hoon, former chief of the National Intelligence Service, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office called in Won, who has been serving a four-yea

Social Affairs Sept. 26, 2017

The Korean government on Monday abolished two controversial labor guidelines, which had made it easier for employers to dismiss workers and unilaterally change working conditions, in a bid to help resume dialogue between employers, workers and the government.  Labor Minister Kim Young-joo speaks at a meeting with a group of senior ministry officials on Monday (Yonhap)“In the process of adopting the two guidelines, (the government) did not sufficiently consult with labor and management, and there

Social Affairs Sept. 25, 2017

Amnesty International Korea Director Catherine Heejin Kim held a one-person protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Friday, calling for an end to the alleged ethnic cleansing of Rohingya in Rakhine State. Following the protest, Kim delivered a letter addressed to Ambassador Thura Thet Oo Maung at the Myanmar Embassy to call on the Myanmar authorities to end the military’s campaign of violence and human rights abuses. Amnesty International Korea Director Catherine Heejin Kim holds a o

Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2017

A local court sentenced an underage girl to 20 years in prison and her teenage accomplice to life imprisonment on Friday for murdering an 8-year-old girl and dismembering her body, in a murder case that shocked the nation earlier this year for its brutality.The Incheon District Court handed down the heaviest possible punishment for each underage offender under the local juvenile law, saying the murder was “brutal” and “carefully planned.” (Yonhap)The killer, surnamed Kim, was sentenced to 20 yea

Social Affairs Sept. 22, 2017

The government on Thursday ordered Paris Baguette, a leading bakery brand of food giant SPC Group, to directly hire nearly 5,400 bakers currently dispatched by its partner firms. 　The Ministry of Employment and Labor concluded that Paris Baguette directly supervised jobs of the bakers employed and dispatched by partner firms, constituting illegal dispatch of workers under the local labor law. (Yonhap)The ministry ordered Paris Baguette to directly hire all of the 5,378 bakers who are working at

Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2017

Three out of 10 divorced couples in South Korea last year were married for at least 20 years, setting a new record in “gray divorces,” a judicial yearbook showed Wednesday. According to 2017 Judicial Yearbook released by the Supreme Court, 32,594 couples got a divorce after living together for more than 20 years, accounting for 30.4 percent of all the divorces last year. The proportion of divorces accounted for by couples who have lived together for more than 20 years has been gradually increasi

Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2017

The prosecution on Wednesday began looking into a complaint filed against former President Lee Mung-bak that he masterminded the national spy agency’s alleged smear campaign against Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, then a vocal critic of him. The former president has been under siege amid mounting accusations of alleged state-led irregularities during his 2009-2013 presidency, including the spy agency’s election manipulation and suppression of left-wing cultural figures. Former President Lee Myung-bak

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2017

The prosecution on Sunday asked a local court to reopen trials of “politically motivated” cases under past authoritarian governments, a month after its new chief apologized for the law enforcement body’s human rights abuses in the past. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office sought a retrial for six cases, involving 18 people, who it said were falsely accused and convicted over confessions and evidence allegedly fabricated by the prosecution under military-backed governments between the 1960s and 1980s

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2017

More than 150 retired agents of the nation’s spy agency were mobilized to manipulate public opinion in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, according to the prosecution. The prosecution is investigating the election-meddling scandal surrounding the covert online operation by National Intelligence Service personnel to help then-conservative presidential candidate Park Geun-hye beat her rival and incumbent President Moon Jae-in. Min Byung-joo (Yonhap)The NIS retirees formed the biggest te

Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2017