An Incheon city councilman has been booked for sexually harassing a female employee of a social welfare foundation.Incheon Nambu Police Station said Wednesday that it has booked the suspect without detention.The councilman is accused of putting his arm around her waist during a corporate dinner at a live cafe in Incheon on Feb. 13. (123RF)Having no acquaintances with her, the suspect joined the foundation’s corporate dinner after his own corporate dinner as there was a friend of his in the group

Social Affairs April 25, 2018

About 1 out of 3 South Koreans are worried about dining in office cafeterias or restaurants, a survey showed Monday.According to the survey on perception of food safety from the Office for Government Policy Coordination, 35.3 percent of 967 respondents answered they were “worried” about eating at office cafeterias. The figure for restaurants came in at 33.9 percent.  (Yonhap)As for imported food and “adulterated food” on sale near schools, about 40 percent of respondents answered similarly said

Social Affairs April 23, 2018

Police launched an investigation into a case in which a dead baby was found floating in the Han River.A passerby filed a report around 6:05 a.m. on Sunday that there was a dead body of an infant floating near Ttukseom Han River Park, according to Seoul Gwangjin Police Station. (Yonhap)The dead baby had an umbilical cord attached when he was found. Police suspect the baby to have died a few days ago taking its conditions into account.Police are analyzing CCTV footage and asking witnesses to trace

Social Affairs April 22, 2018

The Supreme Court said Sunday that it has ruled a Military Manpower Administration employee not guilty of possessing books published in North Korea.The administration employee, surnamed Kang, was accused of possessing North Korean books, an act in violation of the National Security Law. (123RF)The suspect had been indicted in March 2012 on charges of having North Korean books including a collection on the North’s notion of “juche,” or self-reliance.The suspect said, “The texts from North Korea w

Social Affairs April 22, 2018

South Korea is gearing up to reintroduce the deposit system for disposable cups as a way to prevent another recyclable waste crisis.In its statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Environment announced that it “would prepare a comprehensive plan to reduce disposable materials and promote recycling and provide the legal base for the deposit system for disposable cups.”With the deposit system, customers who return the used disposable cups will get the deposits back. The system had been shut down in

Social Affairs April 19, 2018

Police are investigating the deaths of a couple after the two fell from their 17th floor apartment.Muan Police Station said Wednesday that the couple died in two separate falls from a studio apartment on the 17th floor in Samhyang-eup, Muan-gun, South Jeolla Province, at around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday. (Yonhap)Police suspect the woman to have fallen first, followed by her boyfriend.Police are seeking a more detailed report after finding out the couple had been fighting when the woman came to take bac

Social Affairs April 18, 2018

The Gwangju District Court handed down a six-month jail term suspended for two years and a four-month jail term suspended for two years respectively to the older and younger sisters, indicted for physical abuse and locking up an academy student.The court also ordered 120 hours of community services to the two sisters.The sisters, who were running an academy in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, held a grudge against a student after his mother visited the academy and complained, having been told th

Social Affairs April 17, 2018

Daejeon Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency announced Tuesday that it has been selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the leading agency of local webtoon campus development.Webtoons are South Korean webcomics, or manhwa, that are published online.The budget worth 790 million won ($740,000) will be implemented on building a webtoon campus in Daejeon to foster the growth of webtoon artists and to provide favorable working conditions for them. (123RF)Webtoon campus

Social Affairs April 17, 2018

More than 15,000 South Koreans have applied for the government’s special vacation fund, a new state project. The Korea Tourism Organization said Monday that 1,211 corporations and 15,443 individuals had filed applications by April 11.Although applications are open until April 20, the organization expects the number of individual applicants to soon surge beyond 20,000, as 1,200 workers are applying per day on average.  (123RF)The fund, called “Vacation Fund for Workers,” is supported by corporati

Social Affairs April 16, 2018

Pyeongtaek Police Station in Gyeonggi Province is investigating a suspect on charges of robbery at a convenience store on Monday morning.The suspect is accused of entering a convenience store located in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and repeatedly striking the clerk’s head around 5 a.m. (Yonhap)Having failed to open the safe in the convenience store, the suspect ran away to his house but was arrested 20 minutes later by police.The clerk was heavily injured and sent to a hospital.The suspect sai

Social Affairs April 16, 2018

The Haeundae District Office in Busan plans to support waste paper collectors by paying them for attaching side panel adverts on their handcarts after their incomes were hit by a dramatic fall in the price of waste paper.The collectors will be paid 50,000 won ($46) a month by advertisers for displaying advertisements on their handcarts. (Yonhap)The district office decided to provide financial support for the collectors, who are suffering from sharp decline in income.Concerns were fueled in that

Social Affairs April 13, 2018

Busanjin Police Station in Busan said Friday that it booked a hotel clerk without detention for stealing cash from a customer’s vehicle that he had parked. (123RF)The suspect valet-parked the client’s automobile at a hotel in Busan and took 130,000 won ($120) from the business card holder inside the center console, according to police.After the theft was reported, police analyzed CCTV footage and traced the suspect to arrest him.By Ahn Sang-yool (koolsangon@heraldcorp.com)

Social Affairs April 13, 2018

Seocho Distict Office said Wednesday that it will convert the traffic island, a designated area for protection of pedestrians, near Seocho Metro Station in southern Seoul into a square for children. The coming renovated location, dubbed the “Seoripul Children’s Square,” is designed to provide elementary school students with cultural and educational opportunities.The Seoripul Children’s Square is comprised of three sets of 30 containers put together to make two stories. The outer walls are painte

Social Affairs April 12, 2018

The Supreme Court handed down prison terms to three defendants for recording indecent footage of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee and extorting 900 million won ($841,000) from the conglomerate. They have been charged with blackmailing Lee and extorting huge sums of money from Samsung. The main suspect, a former CJ Cheiljedang employee, received a 4 1/2-year prison sentence from the court.  (Yonhap)The other two, the former CJ employee’s younger brother and another accomplice, were senten

Social Affairs April 12, 2018

A professor at a college in North Chungcheong Province is under investigation by the institution on suspicion of having forced students to drink with him.The school said Wednesday that the professor drank with four freshmen on March 21.The professor and students reportedly drank for seven hours, from noon to 7 p.m. making the students unable to attend classes. (123RF)The professor is also accused of inflicting disciplinary punishment on students.An official from the college said, “We have launch

Social Affairs April 11, 2018