Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister nominee Lee Ju-ho has been accused of receiving inappropriate funds when running for the Seoul education superintendent position. According to Rep. Kang Min-jung from Democratic Party of Korea, Lee received funds from an edutech company, while running for the Seoul education chief last year. Two officials from the company donated 10 million won ($7,000) to Lee, who gathered a total of 74 million won for his campaign. During the election campaign peri

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2022

Nearly half of unmarried South Koreans in their 30s and 40s were living with their parents, according to a study released last week. According to a report released by the state-run think tank Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 49.7 percent of those in their 30s and 48.8 percent of those in their 40s who are not married were living with their parents. In both age groups, women showed a higher rate of living with their parents. Some 54.5 percent of women in their 30s and 50.6 percent

Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2022

Hanshin University is to open a graduate school for interdisciplinary convergence of esports, in response to the growing online gaming market. In November, the university will recruit students to enroll in the Esports Convergence master course, which covers a wide range of subjects from video game, sports, to new media and IT. This will be the first graduate school for esports-related studies, the university said. The curriculum will include esports ethics and laws, esports global marketing, es

Social Affairs Oct. 13, 2022

Eighty-nine child support obligors have been added to the shame list released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Since October 2021, the ministry has been imposing punitive measures against noncustodial parents failing to pay court-ordered expenses for their children based on the Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment, revealing their names, imposing a travel ban or revoking their driver’s licenses. On Wednesday, the ministry announced it has added 11 names, re

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2022

Lee Ju-ho, the nominee for deputy prime minister and education minister, has denied allegations that he used political funds for personal purposes while he was a lawmaker. The Ministry of Education issued an official statement Monday, claiming Lee never used his political funds for personal interest during his term at the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008. An SBS report Monday alleged that Lee had used political funds inappropriately at department stores near his home in southern Seoul on wee

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2022

The Ministry of Education announced its plan for improving the basic academic skills of students, under the notion that the state must ensure a certain level of scholastic achievement for all students. The state-led academic evaluation on all students was dropped in 2017, deemed to be a practice that lines up students and schools by their academic scores. However, with an increasing number of students failing to achieve the minimum level of academic attainment, the ministry has brought back th

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2022

The government and the ruling party are trying to persuade the opposition party on the abolishment and reorganization of the Gender Ministry, arguing that the ministry’s functions will be strengthened following the measures. The ruling People Power Party’s government organization reform bill has caused major ripples over the past few days with the Gender Ministry reorganization. The reform involves abolishing the ministry and dividing its functions between the Ministry of Health and

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2022

After a monthslong internal feud, the ruling party’s ethics panel decided on an extra one-year suspension for Lee Jun-seok, the former chair of People Power Party. Lee was pushed off the brink Thursday with the court turning down his request for an injunction to suspend the party’s interim chair Chung Jin-suk from duty. The ruling party’s ethics panel held a meeting the same day at the National Assembly to discuss the disciplinary measures for Lee. "We decided on an extra

Politics Oct. 7, 2022

The first hydrogen charging station in central Seoul opened up Friday, the Environment Ministry said. In recent years, the Korean government has been proactive in efforts to encourage the hydrogen economy as hydrogen is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuel. The new station, located at the Seosomun branch of the Seoul Metropolitan Government office, can charge up to 40 hydrogen powered vehicles a day, using 200 kilograms of hydrogen. It runs based on mobile app reservations. D

Social Affairs Oct. 7, 2022

The book "Secrets of Vine's Management" looks into the importance of focusing on the growth of human resources. The book, written by business adviser Diana Hong, focuses on the growth of Vine Group, a business based in Seoul with some 10 subsidiaries across different industries such as education, platform services, hotel, dining and more. The book is the first in a series which looks into the success of different individuals and businesses in Korea. "Running a business is like v

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2022

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has begun the official process of shutting down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but turbulence is expected, as the main opposition party remains against the abolition. According to the plans set out by the Yoon administration, the ministry would be shut down and its focus on youth, family and gender equality would be transferred to a bureau under the Ministry of Health and Welfare under the name of "Population Family Gender Equality Division.&qu

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2022

Public resources for computer programming education remain short, while illegal practices are common place in private programming education, a Ministry of Education inspection showed. The Education Ministry conducted a nationwide inspection of 501 private institutions teaching programming in September, and found 154 violations at 86 institutions which involved false tuition fees, operating an unregistered curriculum, running false or exaggerated advertisements, and other violations. Of the ins

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2022

Education Minister nominee Lee Ju-ho is likely to focus on ensuring the autonomy of schools if he takes office, while pushing for the launch of a high school credit system and more. Lee, who was the head of the now-split Ministry of Education, Science and Technology from 2010 to 2013 during the Lee Myung-bak administration, has been named the nominee for education minister by President Yoon Suk-yeol last week. If confirmed, he will be returning to his post after nearly 10 years. "When I w

Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2022

PCR tests for those arriving in Korea and the current indoor mask mandate could go under review following calls from the ruling People Power Party for disease control measures that “minimize inconvenience and restrictions.” Speaking at a ruling party-government meeting on Thursday, top People Power Party officials called for ending PCR tests for overseas arrivals, and to review the negative impact that wearing face masks may have on young children. “Currently, Korea and China

Politics Sept. 29, 2022

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat held the 2022 Korea-China Smart Manufacturing Industry-Academia-Research Forum Thursday to discuss industrial growth in both countries. Figures from universities, research centers and government bodies in Korea and China attended the event held both online and offline in central Seoul. Gao Xiang, the head of the China Science and Technology Exchange Center, opened the event with a congratulatory speech. “Two countries (Korea and China) are geographic

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2022