South Korea has been seeing a consistent increase in the number of young government workers quitting, indicating a rapid change in the perception of what had once been considered a dream job. In 2021, 3,123 government employees quit in their first year, more than triple the 951 in 2018, according to the recent figures by the Government Employees Pension Service. A total of 12,076 civil servants who worked less than three years before resigning in 2021, which was more than double the 5,166 in 201

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2024

The 14-year-old middle school student suspected of attacking ruling party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin has claimed he was the person who threw coffee at actor Yoo Ah-in last year, according to local media reports, Wednesday. According to Yonhap News, the teenage suspect called the media outlet in December and said he was the one filmed throwing coffee and a bottle at Yoo in May 2023, as the 37-year-old actor exited a police station after being questioned over drug use allegations. The assailant, who wa

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2024

A recent street race between two drivers on the Olympicdaero highway in Seoul resulted in an accident injuring three people, Gangnam police officials said Thursday. According to Gangnam Police Station, a three-way collision involving a BMW, Mercedes sedan and taxi occurred on the Seoul highway near the southern end of Seongsu Bridge in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, at around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators found that the accident was caused by the drivers of the BMW and Mercedes, driven respecti

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2024

A drunk driver who hit a 25-year-old South Korean soccer player and inflicted injury that forced his retirement appealed his sentence of four years in prison, Jeju District Court said Wednesday. According to the court, the 36-year-old defendant filed for appeal on Tuesday, despite the sentence being lower than the five-year jail term requested by the prosecution. It is yet unclear what his reasons for the appeal were. The defendant, while driving under the influence, struck another vehicle carry

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2024

A South Korean lawyer, whose repeated failures to attend hearings lost the case of a death caused by school bullying, did not show up at her own court hearing Tuesday. A statement she submitted to the court said she hadn't shown up so that "the world wouldn't forget the victim's death." Lawyer Kwon Gyeong-ae is currently on trial for damages filed by the bereaved family of a bullying victim. The victim's family said that Kwon's absence in court caused them to l

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2024

The death of a man in his 70s at a nursing home in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in October has reignited concern over increasing incidents of abuse against older people at care facilities. The man's family on Wednesday pressed charges against the head of the facility where he was staying, accusing one of the nursing home's employees of abuse. The bereaved family members claim that the nursing home violated the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act through the alleged abuse of the p

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2024

Websites allowing the user to easily make and distribute fake news are sparking controversy in South Korea, just as the government plans countermeasures against the spread of false information using modern technology. The websites are generally run anonymously and enable users to make fake breaking news in a template designed to make the information look convincing. Users can copy the link to the fake post and send it to anyone. The sites usually add a disclaimer specifying the information to

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2024

"Sebae," a new year's greeting consisting of a full bow to one's elders, is a time-honored tradition in Korea with handsome cash rewards promised in the form of "sebaedon," or sebae money. But a recent survey by SK Communications indicates that many South Koreans would rather skip the tradition altogether, with 42.8 percent of the respondents saying they would prefer not to give or receive any sebae money. The tech company asked 3,892 adults across the country from

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

Seoul prosecutors on Tuesday appealed the recent court ruling that acquitted a former Yonsei University professor of defamation in relation to his claim that the Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were voluntary prostitutes. Last week, Seoul Western District Court found Lew Seok-choon not guilty of defaming the victims, euphemistically called comfort women, in a lecture five years ago. "Considering that (Lew's comments) are in contrary to the historically proved fact

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

South Korea's job-searching platform Job Planet on Tuesday revealed the results of its survey on the worst bosses, which asked users to vote based on company reviews posted on its website. The company reviews were organized into eight award categories, and survey respondents could choose up to two selections in each category. First place in the "loss of humanity" category, with 51.2 percent of the votes, went to the boss of a company who ordered the reviewer to come to work, de

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

South Koreans' tendency to search only the information matching their own political inclination has been rising while their general interest toward politics has been on a downward trajectory, a recent survey by a local research company indicated. Last year the online research company Embraine conducted a survey of 1,000 adults aged 19 to 59 to find how much they are affected by the filter bubble, which refers to when an internet user encounters information that conforms to and/or reinforces

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday said it has suspended one of its allegedly lowest-performing employees of their duties, marking the first time it has suspended an official solely based on their performance. Confirming earlier media reports, Seoul City Hall said it gave the lowest performance evaluation marks to four Seoul employees last month. The other three with the lowest grade have been transferred to other duties. Since 2019, the evaluation committee of the city government has condu

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2024

A former South Korean professional gamer has been sentenced to a prison term of one year, suspended for two years, for trying to dodge mandatary military service by pretending to have an IQ of 53, an Incheon court said Monday. Incheon District Court found 32-year-old Won Chang-yeon guilty of violating the Military Service Act, which mandates all able-bodied South Korean men serve in the military for at least 18 months. Won was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service. Police inves

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2024

South Korean police on Monday are investigating a man in his 50s on suspicion of killing his upstairs neighbor for making what he claimed was excessive noise, marking the latest incident in which inter-floor noise has led to a violent crime. The suspect is accused of attacking the woman in her 30s at around 4:40 p.m. Sunday in the staircase of their residential building in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, after an argument over noise the victim made. The suspect claimed to harbor resentment f

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2024

South Korean police said Monday that it has not extended the travel ban against Nottingham Forest striker star Hwang Ui-jo, who is currently being investigated on allegations of filming sexual intercourse without the consent of his partner. It was reported that the 31-year-old star boarded a UK-bound plane at around 11 p.m. Monday, presumably to return to his team, currently competing in the 2023-24 season of the English Premier League. In a press briefing, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency s

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2024