South Korea will prepare a new bill to protect the basic rights of children by recognizing them as individuals who exercise their rights, not just subjects of protection or education, officials said on Children’s Day, Thursday. To protect the basic rights of children, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will start drafting a new bill this year, with an aim of passing it within the next year. “The new law will recognize children as individuals in their own right,” an official

Social Affairs May 5, 2022

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday announced new measures to increase the number of late-night taxis to cope with a worsening cab shortage, after the government lifted social distancing rules last month. The city plans to add around 3,000 taxis that run from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m., 2,700 of which will be operated by independent drivers, and another 300 from Seoul-based taxi firms. To secure more late-night taxi drivers, authorities have announced a raft of changes to existing rules, suc

Social Affairs May 4, 2022

South Korea‘s largest disabled advocacy group resumed subway protests Wednesday, calling on the government to roll out more detailed plans to guarantee the basic rights of those with disabilities.　 Like recent demonstrations, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, a disability advocacy group that has recently been staging protests at subway stations, held a demonstration at Gyeongbokgung Station during the morning rush hour. Members of the disabled advocacy group crawled along t

Social Affairs May 4, 2022

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 deaths dropped below 50 for the first time in about two months, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of deaths from COVID-19 reported during the 24 hours for Monday came to 49, down from the previous day’s 83. The death toll came to 23,007, and the fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. During the same period, the country reported 51,131 daily COVID-19 infections, bringing the total case

Social Affairs May 3, 2022

People seemed reluctant to take off their masks, although the country’s outdoor mask mandate was lifted on Monday. For various reasons, it was difficult to find people not wearing masks than those wearing them. “It is rather inconvenient to take off a face mask outside and put it back on when entering an indoor space,” said a 32-year-old female graduate student surnamed Cho in Seoul when asked why she still wore a mask outside, even though the mask rule had been scrapped. Ch

Social Affairs May 2, 2022

The World Forestry Congress, the world‘s largest gathering of foresters, kicked off its five-day run in Seoul on Monday. The 15th edition of the WFC will be running from Monday through Friday at Coex in Gangnam. The WFC is the most influential global forestry gathering, held every six years under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It’s the first time the WFC has been held in South Korea, and it is also the first time in 44 years that the

Foreign Affairs May 1, 2022

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases dropped under 60,000 for the 24 hours of Wednesday, government data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s report, the country added 57,464 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 17,144,065. The number of deaths from COVID-19 on the day came to 122, down 19 from the previous day’s 141. The death toll reached 22,588, with the fatality rate standing at 0.13 percent. Severe cases, ho

Social Affairs April 28, 2022

The South Korean government expects that the country will be able to return to normal soon, given the recent downward trend in the pandemic. “(The country) is one step closer toward a return to normal,” said Lee Seung-woo, vice minister for disaster and safety management, during the Central Disaster Management Headquarters meeting Wednesday. According to Lee, the COVID-19 pandemic here has settled down, with the country’s health care capacity sufficient to handle daily infe

Social Affairs April 27, 2022

South Korea added over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases during the 24 hours of Monday, bringing the total caseload to 17 million, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 infections on Monday reached 80,361, while the total caseload came to 17,009,865. The daily tally increased from the previous day’s 34,370 as they tend to fall on Mondays due to fewer tests over the weekend. But, the daily count reported

Social Affairs April 26, 2022

The Seoul Bus Union’s planned general strike on Tuesday has been called off as the union and bus companies reached a deal on a wage hike at the last minute before the suspension of city bus services. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday, the bus union and bus companies came to a compromise at 1:25 a.m., around 2 1/2 hours before 18,600 unionized drivers were set to go on strike. The two sides agreed on a 5 percent wage increase after a 10-hour long bargain that star

Social Affairs April 26, 2022

Delays in subway operations will stop temporarily as a disability rights advocacy group decided to pause its daily rush-hour subway protests. Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, Korea’s largest disability rights group, said Sunday night that it would pause its subway protests until next Monday. The disability rights advocacy group said it will wait until next Monday when finance minister nominee Choo Kyoung-ho is expected to give an official answer to its request at a hearing

Social Affairs April 25, 2022

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections fell to the 30,000s on Sunday, the first time in nearly 11 weeks, government data showed Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 34,370 new COVID-19 cases during the 24 hours of Sunday. The total caseload reached 16,929,564. The daily figure dropped to the 30,000s for the first time since Feb. 28, when the government reported 36,713 new COVID-19 cases. It was also the lowest since the 27,435 rep

Social Affairs April 25, 2022

Seoul could be headed for a major public transit disruption this week, with the Seoul Bus Union set for a general strike Tuesday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday, the Seoul Bus Union is planning a general strike early Tuesday morning if wage negotiations do not come through. The general strike, if it takes place, could further disrupt public transit across the city, after a disability advocacy group recently resumed staging subway protests, demanding improvements for

Social Affairs April 24, 2022

COVID-19 will be downgraded in South Korea’s four-tier infectious disease categorization system starting Monday, following the recent pandemic downturn. Eating inside movie theaters, indoor gyms and religious facilities has been allowed, starting on the same day. The government’s downgrading of the COVID-19 infectious level comes with a four-week transition period, during which the government will see if it will finally downgrade the COVID-19 infectious level. For the next four

Social Affairs April 24, 2022

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has proposed the transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to ease the country’s taxes on property, it said Wednesday. 　 The Seoul city government said it delivered its property tax revision scheme to the transition team on Tuesday. The proposal asks the transition team to bump up the minimum value of property in the highest tax bracket from the current 500 million won ($404,000) to 900 million won. Officials from the Seoul city government expl

Politics April 20, 2022