Having sex without contraception and implying future cohabitation count as a promise of marriage, a Seoul court said Tuesday.The Seoul Family Court on March 6 ruled in favor of a female school teacher who filed a compensation suit against her former colleague for giving false hope of marriage and cheating. Both women involved with the defendent became pregnant in March 2012.The court ordered the man to pay 25 million won ($23,400) to his ex-fiance in compensation.“It is clear that the victim and

Social Affairs March 18, 2014

A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a former police officer to 14 years in prison for murdering his mistress. Chung Wan-geun, 41, was found guilty of murdering a 40-year-old woman surnamed Lee, who was found dead at a closed fishery in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in July 2013.The prosecution initially asked the court to sentence the defendant to 20 years behind bars, but the Seoul High Court reduced the imprisonment period.“Heavy punishment was appropr

Social Affairs March 18, 2014

President Park Geun-hye has ordered officials to postpone a Cabinet meeting on regulatory reforms amid reports that she was unhappy with deregulation measures proposed by her economic team.Park was to preside over the first round of the meeting on Monday, but Cheong Wa Dae said late Sunday evening that it would hold the meeting on Thursday to better accommodate demands from the private sector. The meeting is aimed at seeking ways to implement a series of regulatory reforms, a key part of her thr

Social Affairs March 17, 2014

South Korea’s employment rate has surged to the highest level in 12 years, largely driven by a huge return of economically inactive middle-aged workers to employment, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday.The ministry said in its labor report that 767,000 people had been newly employed in January and February, marking the fastest growth since March 2002.Authorities note that the growing participation of economically inactive people in the job market ― those that have either chosen not

Social Affairs March 17, 2014

More young Korean women see marriage as an option, a study showed on Monday.According to a survey by The Herald Business, about 45.5 percent of the 264 freshmen questioned at Duksung Women’s University said marriage is not a must, five percentage points higher than in a similar survey conducted on women in their 20s and 30s last month.More than 39 percent of the students who said marriage is optional answered that they want to “bet on their life for social success,” followed by 16.6 percent sayi

Social Affairs March 17, 2014

A dog was found to have been infected by the bird flu virus in Korea, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday, sparking concerns that the disease may affect mammals. Meanwhile, avian influenza was also detected in a goose in Gwacheon, just outside Seoul. Authorities banned the movement of poultry in southern parts of Seoul after confirming the infection.The dog at a poultry farm in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province tested positive for antibodies against the H5 avian influenza virus after eating i

Social Affairs March 14, 2014

A Korean man has been taken into police custody for growing marijuana plants on the rooftop of a building in downtown Seoul, police said Thursday.The 45-year-old suspect is accused of cultivating 18 marijuana plants worth approximately 27 million won ($25,200), for four months from August 2013. Police found them in a greenhouse on the rooftop of a six-story commercial building in central Seoul, which had been converted into a marijuana farm. The greenhouse was equipped with ventilation, lighting

Social Affairs March 13, 2014

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the office of the state-run nuclear power plant operator’s senior executive in Seoul, as part of its investigation into the company’s corruption scandal. Investigators have been widening their probe into Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corp. since last year for turning a blind eye to the falsification of test certificates for parts and materials used in nuclear reactors. The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office confiscated hard drives and documents from KHNP executive v

Social Affairs March 11, 2014

Police said on Monday they had found no evidence that a female contestant on a matchmaking show had been put under intense pressure by the TV crew before committing suicide. The 29-year-old woman, only identified by her family name Chun, was found dead in a guesthouse on Jejudo Island last Wednesday during shooting of a popular reality show titled “Jjak.” Chun’s body was found by the show’s producer in a bathroom of the guesthouse with a note saying she did not want to live anymore, the police s

Social Affairs March 10, 2014