Articles by Yoon Min-sik
Yoon Min-sik
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com-
Han Kang's Nobel win sparks reading boom in Korea
Han Kang's historic win of the Nobel Prize in literature appears to have sparked a reading boom across South Korea, with data showing that locals have bought substantially more books following the Oct. 10 announcement. BC Card, one of the biggest credit card companies here, analyzed online and offline sales at major book outlets in recent weeks. It found that book sales of BC Card users for the period of Oct. 10-16 jumped by 39.2 percent compared to the previous week. Book sales in that sev
Books Oct. 24, 2024
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Draft-dodger falls from building trying to run from investigators
A young man on the run for allegedly dodging his mandatory military service survived a fall from a building while trying to evade prosecutors, officials said Thursday. The suspect, in his late 20s and wanted for violating the Military Service Act, was visited at his home in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province by officials from the Namyangju Branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office at around 12:40 p.m. on Monday. One investigator knocked on the door while the other was standing by outsi
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2024
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'No tattoo' policies at hotels spark dispute
Controversy over tattoos is brewing again, following reports about several five-star hotels in Seoul banning customers with "excessive tattoos" from using some facilities. One hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, reportedly has a clause allowing it to restrict gym and swimming pool access to customers with "an excessive amount of tattoos, to the extent of causing anxiety or discomfort to others." Another hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, was reported to ban pool use for those with tatto
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024
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S. Korea to allow driver's license tests on EVs
South Korea is planning to allow those taking tests for driver's licenses to do so with electric vehicles, the National Police Agency said Wednesday. According to the NPA, the revision of the Road Traffic Act allowing battery-powered cars to be used at state-run driver's test centers was passed at the Korean National Police Committee meeting on Wednesday. The revision is expected to come into effect as early as this year, in which case test-takers will be able to use EVs next year. Und
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024
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Celebrities to use special security lane at Incheon Airport
Incheon Airport said Wednesday it will allow celebrities to use the security lane that had previously been reserved for flight crew, in a bid to prevent fans from overcrowding the gates. The Incheon International Airport Corp. recently sent guidelines for a process that will allow celebrities to use exclusive security lane at the terminal during departure. This is a bid to minimize the crowd-gathering near the entrance, and is expected to be implemented on Oct. 28. "Celebrities tend to at
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024
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Jail term sought for man who gave baby away in illegal online adoption
The South Korean prosecutors said Wednesday they recently requested a two-year prison term for a man in his 30s for giving up his baby for adoption to someone he met online. In a hearing at the Daejeon District Court, the prosecution sought a jail term and a five-year restriction on the suspect's employment at any institutes related to children. They charged the suspect with violating Article 17 of the Child Welfare Act, which prohibits abandoning or neglecting a child. Last year, the suspe
Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024
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Korea has more workers 60 or older than any other age group: data
Government data showed Tuesday that of all the South Korean workers in the month of September, the largest portion of them were age 60 and over. According to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the country had 6.75 million workers in the 60-and-over age group as of September. The figured marked an all-time high for workers in this age group, with an increase of 272,000 compared to the previous month. September also marked the first time ever that the number of workers aged 60
Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024
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675 workplace bullying cases ruled 'industrial accidents' since 2019, including 16 deaths
In the past five years, nearly 700 cases of bullying in the workplace have been classified by the government as industrial accidents entitling the victims to compensation, including 16 cases that resulted in the victim committing suicide, government data showed Tuesday. A total of 675 cases of workplace bullying were recognized by the authorities as industrial accidents, defined as death, injury or disease caused by factors related to a job, according to Article 2 of the Occupational Safety and
Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024
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Complaint filed against writer who called Han Kang's historic Nobel win 'shameful and sad'
A South Korean civic group on Monday said it has filed a complaint against a local writer alleging she has defamed Han Kang, the first Korean and first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The group, Citizens' Solidarity for the Eradication of Deeply-rooted Corruption, accused Kim Gyu-na of a "politically-motivated and personal attack against an individual that not only exceeds the limits of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, but also goes beyond bound
Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024
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Man attempts to murder neighbor who asked him not to smoke indoors
A South Korean court said Tuesday it handed down a sentence of five years in jail to a man for the attempted murder of another man living next door, who had asked him not to smoke inside the home. The defendant, in his 20s, was found guilty of attempted murder by the Daejeon District Court. On June 20 of last year the convicted man had been smoking inside his home in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, when his 40-year-old neighbor -- with whom he shared a wall -- reportedly said, "Excuse m
Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024
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S. Korea to conduct biennial mental health checkup for youth
The South Korean government said Thursday that it has decided to administer a regular mental health checkup for those aged between 20 and 34, starting next year as part of the state-run national health examination program. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, state health examination committee members conducted a meeting and agreed to expand the mental health checkup program. As part of the national health checkup program run by the National Health Insurance Service, the current pr
Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2024
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Court clears charges for welfare worker acused of abusing disabled child
A 63-year-old welfare worker who applied a form of corporal punishment on a 11-year-old child with A brain disorder was cleared by the Supreme Court of criminal charges, after it ruled the actions were a form of discipline and not abuse. South Korea's top court upheld a lower court ruling that said the defendant was not to be punished for child abuse. The appellate court had said while the defendant's actions could be said to be excessive, it appeared to be in the interest of the child
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2024
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Koreans challenge Berlin district's decision to remove comfort women statue
A civic group of Koreans living in Germany said Thursday they had filed for a court injunction against a Berlin district's recent decision to remove the Statue of Peace, erected to honor victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Korea Verband said it submitted the papers to reverse the recent decision made by the officials of Berlin's Mitte district last month. The district had provided notification of an order to remove the statue by the end of this month, citing the road laws
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2024
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Losing 3 fingers 'not a disability': report
Recent government data has indicated the threshold of disability registration in South Korea remains high, as local media reported Friday that over 110,000 applications for disability registration over the past four years were not accepted by the government. From 2021 to June of this year, there have been 814,437 applications for disability registration, news agency Newsis reported, citing National Pension Service data submitted to Rep. Choi Bo-yun of the People Power Party. Of those, 123,816 ca
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2024
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Man dies after being turned down by 10 hospitals; govt. to investigate
The government said Thursday that a man in his 50s recently died due to delays in providing him with emergency medical care, in yet another case of an urgent care patient being turned down by multiple hospitals due to staff shortages from ongoing medical strikes. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, emergency services in South Gyeongsang Province received a report at around 3:28 a.m. on Sept. 6 that a man living in Yeoncho-myeon in Geoje city was suffering from abdominal pain and v
Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2024
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