Less than a month before the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor, Oh Se-hoon, a former mayor and the sole candidate from the main opposition People Power Party, is ahead of both of the other major candidates -- People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo and Park Young-sun, former minister of SMEs and startups and the sole candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea -- a poll showed Tuesday. According to a Realmeter survey of 1,030 Seoulites aged 18 or older on March

Politics March 16, 2021

Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun says there are three things at the top of her agenda to make the city cleaner and safer if she is elected: Expanding green areas, boosting eco-friendly mobility and tackling the capital’s overflowing waste problem. In December, Seoul set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and going carbon neutral by 2050 in line with the global environmental trends. But the city has a long way to go as it struggles to combat worsening

Politics March 14, 2021

The South Korean government is speeding up the process of testing foreign workers for COVID-19 as the number of confirmed cases rises, but language barriers and the presence of significant numbers of unregistered migrant workers are hampering its efforts. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed concerns on Tuesday about the mass outbreaks reported at workplaces where many foreigners work, saying they could lead to a fourth wave of the pandemic. He called on foreign workers to cooperate with

Social Affairs March 10, 2021

A year before the next presidential election, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s approval rating as a potential presidential candidate has soared following his resignation last week. According to a survey of 1,123 citizens aged 18 or older conducted on Friday, Yoon has the highest support of possible presidential candidates with 32.4 percent. Yoon’s approval rating jumped 17.8 percentage points in just six weeks compared to 14.6 percent on Jan. 22. Gyeonggi Province Gov.

Politics March 8, 2021

In July 2016, a woman from Thailand came to Korea believing she could work as a masseuse. As soon as she arrived in Incheon, she was sent by brokers to a massage parlor in Gwangju. There, the owner took her passport and told her to go to a room for a test. Soon after, she was raped by the owner. When she said she wanted to return to Thailand, the owner and the brokers demanded that she pay them 2 million won ($1,775) in commission before leaving. She was forced to stay and work in the massage

Social Affairs March 5, 2021

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl announced his resignation Thursday in protest against the government’s push to weaken the power of the prosecution. An hour later, President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation. At 2 p.m. in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul, Yoon said in front of reporters, “I am going to resign as the prosecutor general today. It is difficult to watch common sense and justice collapse any more. (My role) in the prosecution ends here.”

Politics March 4, 2021

Authorities on Tuesday have sounded an alarm over fast-spreading, false news about vaccines, as more than 23,000 doses of the vaccines have been administered. The number of daily confirmed cases has remained in the mid-300s for three consecutive days. The country added 344 COVID-19 cases, pushing the total caseload to 90,372 as of Tuesday midnight, according to the government’s central response team. The number of new confirmed cases declined by 11 from the previous day. Of the 344 cas

Social Affairs March 2, 2021

As the third wave of the pandemic continues, the number of new confirmed cases remain in the mid-300s, while more than 21,000 doses of vaccines have been administered as of Monday. The government’s central response team said Monday the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 355 to 90,029 as of midnight. The figure declined by one from the previous day, staying in the 300s for the second consecutive day apparently due to the number of inspections having decreased over the weekend. O

Social Affairs March 1, 2021

South Korea is strengthening punishment for child abuse amid a growing number of cases, with the recent revision of a child abuse law now making the death penalty a possibility. On Friday lawmakers passed a bill at the plenary session of the National Assembly to revise a law dealing with penalties for child abuse, making it possible for child abusers to be convicted of murder even if they did not intend to cause death. The amendment, called the Jeong-in Act, is named after a 16-month-old gir

Social Affairs Feb. 28, 2021

When the temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees Celsius in mid-February, Lee Deok-ja, 74, was dragging her handcart around Deungchon-dong, western Seoul, picking up cardboard. It was about 12:30 p.m. and her handcart was empty. Lee said she had already been to the junk shop three times that day. Instead of filling up the handcart -- which appears to weigh more than 40 kilograms when empty -- the petite lady chooses to go to a junk shop several times a day and fill her cart little by little.

Social Affairs Feb. 25, 2021

The controversy over sex dolls in Korea continues, with lawmakers seeking to impose regulations while civic groups call for a ban despite the court ruling to allow importing them. The Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday, announced a ruling in favor of a local importer that had sued a Gimpo Airport customs official over the suspension of the import customs clearance of sex dolls. During the trial, the importer said, “Although the sex doll is a masturbation device for men with a shape

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2021

Celebrities and athletes are facing public outrage, following a string of accusations of past bullying. Following the bullying scandal that damaged the careers of four professional volleyball players this month, another volleyball player Park Sang-ha retired on Monday after admitting to allegations of school violence. Over the weekend, another allegation was raised that Hanwha Eagles baseball player Yoo Jang-hyuk assaulted and bullied a school mate during elementary school. The revelations ar

Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2021

South Korean lawmakers on Monday called for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar and raised concerns about atrocities against ethnic minorities, after the military junta took control in a coup. 　 Myanmar’s military on Feb. 1 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A state of emergency was declared, rolling back efforts to end more than 50 years of military dictatorship and establish a democratic government through the

Politics Feb. 22, 2021

Soraepogu Fish Market located in Namdong-gu, Incheon, is a popular tourist attraction in the metropolitan area with more than 8 million visitors a year. The fish market, located about 32 kilometers from Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul, is the nearest mudflat to the capital. At the market, large and small fishing boats can be seen bringing in freshly caught seafood from off the coast of Incheon. The place is famous for shrimp, salted fish and blue crab. A 1.56 million square-meter Sorae Ecologic

Travel Feb. 20, 2021

Two court officials have recently been arrested in separate incidents this month on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman, and assaulting a karaoke owner in Seoul, police said. A drunk official in his 30s chased a woman into a restroom in a building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where he then beat and attempted to rape the victim on Thursday, police said on Friday. The man, surnamed Kim, fled as the victim resisted and later was arrested by police. The police are investigating him on charges of at

Social Affairs Feb. 19, 2021