Articles by Im Eun-byel
Im Eun-byel
silverstar@heraldcorp.com-
Education Ministry to nurture 1m skilled workers for digital industry
Following the plan to nurture 150,000 skilled workers in the semiconductor industry over the next 10 years, the Korean government aims to nurture 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry within the next five years. The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that in cooperation with other ministries, it will train 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry by 2026, by doubling the number of information technology curriculum hours for elementary and secondary schools and re
Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2022
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Presidential office set for shake-up
The presidential office on Thursday announced plans to add a senior secretary position to the secretariat in a move apparently aimed at strengthening the office‘s policy coordination capabilities. “As there has been problems of communication with civil affairs and policy agendas, there needs to be a post that helps the presidential office, Cabinet and people to communicate with each other,” President Yoon Suk-yeol’s Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki said during a press brief
Politics Aug. 18, 2022
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Education ministry eases regulations in bid to increase semiconductor departments at colleges
The Ministry of Education will lift restrictions on universities’ student quotas as part of its drive to nurture more semiconductor talent. The move, aimed at encouraging universities to open or expand related departments from 2024, is part of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s plans to add 150,000 people to the country’s semiconductor industry workforce over the course of 10 years. On Wednesday, the ministry announced it will give advance notice of an enforcement decree tha
Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2022
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Plagiarism allegations hound first lady
Kookmin University’s faculty association is holding a vote on a proposal to reassess some academic papers written by first lady Kim Keon-hee, despite the university having earlier cleared her of allegations of plagiarism after a monthslong probe. The faculty association at Kookmin University, a Seoul-based university where Kim did her Ph.D. program, has decided to survey professors asking them whether it should reassess the four papers written by Kim. The online survey will continue unti
Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2022
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Most damage from heavy rain reported in Seoul
Seoul has sustained the heaviest damage from the heavy downpour that has hit Korea over the past week, government officials said Tuesday. The torrential rain that hit the greater Seoul region last week moved to the southern coastal areas of Korea on Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the southern coastal regions will receive up to 150 millimeters of rain through Wednesday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the week of rain has flo
Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2022
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Education Ministry’s all-day schooling scheme draws ire from teachers
The Education Ministry is again under fire, this time from teachers against its new all-day schooling policy. With its minister Park Soon-ae announcing her willingness to resign after proposing to lower the elementary school entry age to five, the ministry said it will run all-day schooling programs to offer state-provided childcare. The plan involves elementary schools offering childcare services through afterschool classes until 8 p.m. At the National Assembly meeting held Tuesday, the min
Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Government announces complete plan on child safety
The Korean government on Friday announced a plan to ensure the safety of children, based on the Child Safety Management Act, enacted in May 2020. In cooperation with other ministries, the Ministry of Interior and Safety pledged to ensure the safety of children from traffic accidents by improving the pedestrian environment in school zones and tightening the management of traffic lights, and more. It will designate roads without sidewalks as “pedestrian priority roads,” giving pr
Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2022
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Yoon apologies for flooding in Seoul area
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday issued an apology over the downpour that plagued the greater Seoul area, and pledged fundamental measures to prevent a repeat of Monday night’s havoc. Due to the record-setting heavy rain which hit Seoul, its surrounding regions and Gangwon Province from Monday to Tuesday, nine people have been reported dead, seven missing and some 600 displaced as of Wednesday morning. The president presided over an emergency meeting held at the governmental comp
Social Affairs Aug. 10, 2022
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School entry age scheme on verge of withdrawal
With the education minister offering her resignation, the controversial plan to lower the school entry age to 5 could be shelved, nearly 10 days after it was first introduced. The Education Ministry on Tuesday apologized for a lack of communication concerning the previous report to the president, which proposed the system reform, saying it caused confusion. “It has become realistically difficult to push for the lowering of school entry age,” Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon
Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2022
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Education Minister offers to resign after month in office
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Park Soon-ae offered to resign on Monday, nearly a month after taking the office, overwhelmed by the controversies surrounding the school entry age reform plan. Park is the first minister in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to resign. “I am resigning from my post as the deputy prime minister and education minister. I took the office wanting to give the education benefits that I had to other people, but it was not enough,” Park said, h
Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Foreign language high schools await their fate
With the Education Ministry flip-flopping on its plan to scrap “elite high schools,” foreign language high schools have been once again pushed to the brink of abolition. Confusion has ensued over the fate of elite schools every time the government changed hands. The previous Moon Jae-in administration had planned to end autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools and international schools, abolishing them or turning them into regular schools by March 2025, over
Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2022
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Education Ministry proposes sending children to school 1 year earlier
The Ministry of Education proposed a reform of the school system to send children to elementary school 1 year earlier. The Education Ministry got the green light to work on a reform of the current school system that would lower the age of entry to elementary school by one year on Friday afternoon. Education Minister Park Soon-ae directly briefed President Yoon Suk-yeol on the ministry’s agenda at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, to which Yoon ordered Park to push fo
Social Affairs July 29, 2022
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Govt. appoints head of new police bureau
A police officer who is not a graduate of the National Police University has been appointed as the head of the new police bureau, which will be launched under the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. Senior Superintendent-General Kim Sun-ho, the head of the National Security Investigation Bureau under the National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency, will take office as the chief of the newly launched bureau. Kim graduated in political science from Sungkyunkwan University. He ear
Social Affairs July 29, 2022
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Police take step back
The police are taking a step back from a confrontation with the government over the launch of a police bureau under the Interior Ministry, withdrawing its plan to hold a large-scale meeting and instead calling for legislative efforts to deter the move. Kim Seong-jong, a senior inspector at Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul, who called for a meeting of police officers this weekend, withdrew the suggestion Wednesday. “The launch of the police bureau has been confirmed as the decree has
Social Affairs July 27, 2022
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Feud over ‘police bureau’ escalates
The enforcement decree regarding the launch of a new police bureau passed the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, shortly after President Yoon Suk-yeol slammed the collective action of police officers who are against the launch to be a “breach against state discipline.” The Cabinet approval means the new police bureau under the Interior Ministry will be launched as planned on Aug. 2. Yoon, who had stayed on the sidelines of the conflict regarding the launch, increased his criticism Tuesday
Social Affairs July 26, 2022
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