South Korea saw five new special schools open in the year ending March 31, the largest yearly increase in seven years, with new additions in Seoul, Incheon, Gangwon Province and South Chungcheong Province. Special schools are tailored to the needs of students with physical, intellectual and emotional disabilities.  According to the Ministry of Education on Sunday, the number of special schools in Korea marked 182 as of April 1. The increase is the largest since 2013, when seven new special

Social Affairs July 26, 2020

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung said his regional government will pay irregular workers higher wages than full-time employees. The governor said in a Facebook post Thursday that the provincial government will introduce a new bonus system, roughly translated into job insecurity bonus, for employees with a short-term, fixed contract. “If doing the same work, who should we give out higher wages? Workers with stable employment status or unstable ones?” Lee wrote, arguing that it

Social Affairs July 23, 2020

Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae said Wednesday that the government’s “Green New Deal” initiative is the first step in the country’s bigger, broader and long-term plan to transition to a carbon-neutral economy. In a meeting with reporters, he defended the recently-unveiled national development plan, which was criticized by environmentalists for lacking substance in green initiatives, and by economists for being insufficient to reinvigorate the pandemic-hit economy.

Social Affairs July 22, 2020

Worm-like creatures that were first found in tap water in Incheon were detected at seven water-purifying facilities across the country, the government confirmed Tuesday, suggesting that water contamination wasn’t limited to just Incheon. The Ministry of Environment’s three-day inspection which ended Friday found larvae of nonbiting midge and other organisms at seven out of a total of 49 water treatment centers with an activated carbon filtering system. They are two facilities in I

Social Affairs July 21, 2020

The Education Ministry plans to ask all of nearly 60,000 student athletes in the country about their experiences with physical and verbal abuse, after the suicide of a triathlete last month brought the issue of violence in elite sports into the spotlight. Through 17 regional educational offices, the ministry will interview all 59,252 student athletes enrolled at elementary, middle and high schools across the country to investigate all instances of abuse until Aug. 14. The survey will be condu

Social Affairs July 21, 2020

The Ministry of Education on Monday backed the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s decision to revoke special status to two autonomous middle schools. The ministry announced it has decided to uphold the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s proposal to revoke the licenses of Daewon International Middle School and Younghoon International Middle School for stratifying schools, for deepening inequality and promoting private education. The education office’s evaluation was fair a

Social Affairs July 20, 2020

Authorities are on high alert after larva-like creatures were discovered in tap water in Seoul and some nearby areas recently, and are thoroughly examining the local waterworks system. At around 11 p.m. Sunday, a resident of an apartment in Jung-gu, central Seoul, reported finding a centimeter-long, “worm-like creature” the thickness of a hair on the bathroom floor after taking a shower. The creature seemed to be alive and moving. After the report was filed with local authorities,

Social Affairs July 20, 2020

A big question hangs over this year’s college entrance exam, the Suneung. As tens of thousands of high school seniors and graduates prepare for the grueling marathon of back-to-back exams, slated for Dec. 3, many question whether they are on equal footing. The impact of the coronavirus outbreak has been unequal, putting those still in school at a disadvantage against older competitors in university admissions, many students, parents and some experts say. “Everything was so chao

Social Affairs July 19, 2020

A Seoul court will decide on issuing an arrest warrant for a reporter accused of colluding with a prosecutor to take down a media personality friendly to the Moon Jae-in administration later Friday. The Seoul Central District Court started a hearing at 10 a.m. upon the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for Lee Dong-jae from Channel A, a cable TV network owned by Dong-A Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates here. The allegation was first raised in an investigative

Social Affairs July 17, 2020

The Supreme Court has become the target of more criticism since it ruled Thursday in favor of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, saying he had not violated the election law. The highest court overturned a lower court’s decision and found Lee not guilty of spreading false information during a TV debate in the run-up to the gubernatorial election. The ruling Democratic Party welcomed the judgment, calling it a brave and historic decision that protected freedom of expression. The deci

Politics July 17, 2020

The highest court on Thursday ruled in favor of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in an election law violation trial, effectively saving his governorship as well as ambitions to contend in the race for the presidency. 　 The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision that found him guilty of spreading false information during a TV debate in the runup to the 2018 gubernatorial election. The Suwon High Court had levied a fine of 3 million won ($2,500) on Lee, which, if finalized, w

Politics July 16, 2020

A year has passed since the so-called “workplace anti-bullying law” came into effect, but experts say a meaningful change in the work culture has yet to arrive, though progress is being made in efforts to prevent abusive practices and protect victims. According to a survey by the Korea Labor and Employment Relations Association, 71.8 percent of workers said nothing has changed in terms of bullying practices at work since the law went into effect in July last year. Nearly 20 percent

Social Affairs July 15, 2020

Incheon’s city government came under fire after several residents reported finding larva-like creatures in their tap water. A total of 10 such complaints have been filed in the city’s largest district, Seo-gu, since last Thursday. The Incheon Metropolitan City Government told a total of 28,262 households in the district to refrain from drinking tap water while it investigates. Inspectors have so far found no sources of contamination and said the overall water quality was up to sta

Social Affairs July 14, 2020

The legal minimum wage will rise 1.5 percent to 8,720 won per hour next year, the smallest gain since the system was introduced, as the country braces for a pandemic-triggered economic contraction. The decision was made early Tuesday morning during the ninth plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission, the rate-setting body composed of a total of 27 representatives -- nine each representing labor, business and the general public. The new rate will take effect on Jan. 1 after the labor min

Social Affairs July 14, 2020

South Korea saw torrential rain on Monday, with floods in low-lying areas, traffic disruptions and property damage mostly in the southern part of the country. At least three people have died, and some regions received over 200 millimeters of rain between Sunday and Monday morning. Two men in their 70s were swept away to their deaths Monday morning in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, after a stream overflowed. They were trying to fix a water pipe when the accident occurred. Their bodie

Social Affairs July 13, 2020