Renewable energy accounts for only about 6 percent of the total electricity generated in Seoul, while residents living in apartments pay higher maintenance fees -- including electricity bills for shared spaces -- than those living outside of South Korea’s capital. However, things are slowly changing thanks to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s efforts to tackle the heavy reliance on coal and nuclear energy. Over the past few years, many apartment complexes in the capital have started using sola

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2018

Police concluded on Saturday that the wife of Lee Jae-myung, the controversial governor of Gyeonggi Province, is the owner of an abusive Twitter account that was mobilized to attack Lee’s political rivals, adding yet another layer to the scandal-ridden politician’s tumultuous career.　　After a monthslong investigation, police said Kim Hye-gyeong, the wife of the Gyeonggi governor, is indeed the owner of the infamous Twitter account dubbed “Hyegyeonggung Ms. Kim.” 　Authorities believe that Kim has

Politics Nov. 18, 2018

A recent assault case involving three men and two women at a bar near Isu Subway Station in Seoul -- better known as the “Isu Station assault” case -- has triggered an unexpected gender war online, after the women said they were attacked by men for their feminist choices, while others accused them of fabricating the account.　　More than 350,000 Koreans signed an online petition asking for the presidential office to punish the three men after one of the two women claimed online that she and her si

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2018

A fake high-end watch worn in public by the chairman of the Financial Services Commission is fueling an unexpected discussion on counterfeit goods in South Korea. 　　The controversy was triggered earlier this month as Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, was seen wearing what many assumed to be an expensive watch during a Budget and Accounts Special Committee meeting at the National Assembly on Nov. 7.　　Witnesses said that Choi’s watch -- which a watch expert in Seoul late

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2018

Rep. Hong Young-pyo, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, said at a meeting with youth activists Wednesday that he will make efforts to lower the voting age to 18 from the current 19.　　During the meeting, the lawmaker stressed that Korea is currently the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development where the voting age is 19.　　“The current administration, as well as the ruling party, understand that it is necessary that the voting age be lowered to 18,” h

Politics Nov. 14, 2018

A number of high-profile figures, including former chairman of Daewoo Group Kim Woo-choong and former President Chun Doo-hwan, are on a newly released list of some 9,260 delinquent taxpayers -- those who failed to pay at least 10 million won ($8,824) worth of local taxes in the past year.　Made public on Wednesday by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and municipal governments, the list exposed people who collectively owed some 500 billion won in taxes. Former Bohae Mutual Savings Bank CEO O

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2018

Seoul said Tuesday that it plans to ban ads with scenes of people consuming alcohol, in its latest initiative to promote safe drinking and prevent drinking-related illnesses and injuries.As part of the initiative, most public properties and spaces, as well as educational and recreational institutions for teenagers, will be designated alcohol-free zones, starting as early as 2020. All alcohol commercials will be banned from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day, including those for TV and radio. (The Korea

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2018

Doctors and nurses at a hospital in Incheon were investigated Tuesday after an 11-year-old boy, who received an IV infusion for enteritis at the facility, died about an hour after receiving the shot.　Before the Incheon police announced the decision to investigate the medical staff, the National Forensic Service, who performed an autopsy on the boy, said the cause of death was still unknown and an additional procedure was necessary.“The result of the second autopsy will be released in about two t

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2018

More Korean men in their 30s are becoming vulnerable to chronic health conditions and obesity, a newly released government report showed on Monday.　The annual report, released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, showed that the proportion of Korean men in their 30s who have developed obesity increased to 46.7 percent last year, from 45.4 percent the year before. 　However, the proportion of all obese Korean men dropped by 0.7 percentage points to 34.1 percent from 34.8 percent.(123RF)　The repo

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2018

When Jeon Eun-hee was in her 20s, her mother suffered a stroke. To care for her mother full time, she took a year off from university. She spent the rest of her 20s caring for her mother, without any help from her aunts and uncles.　Now 38, and never been married, Jeon is still the sole caregiver of her mother, who requires assistance with her activities.　“When she first had a stroke, she was no different from a 6- or 7-year-old,” Jeon said. 　“She was hospitalized for a year, and then had to visi

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2018

South Korea’s popular women’s curling team, who won silver medals at this year’s PyeongChang Winter Games, openly accused their coaches of workplace bullying including verbal abuse on Thursday.　　Better known as “Team Kim,” or the “Garlic Girls” -- the players all have the most common Korean last name Kim, and also all hail form the Korea’s farming region of Uiseong, known for producing garlic -- became a global sensation after surprisingly winning South Korea’s first Olympic medal in curling at

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2018

The case of Yang Jin-ho, the CEO of a cloud storage service company who was taken into police custody on Wednesday over allegations of workplace abuse, continued to fuel controversy amid new allegations that he masterminded the sharing of spycam porn on file-sharing sites operated by his companies.　Authorities say porn has been the main source of revenue for Yang, 47, who is also suspected of having paid pornographic content providers to share their illicit footage on WeDisk, a file sharing site

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2018

South Korea has a “serious racism problem” that needs to be addressed by the government, a newly released report by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea says. The report is a periodic review of the country’s human rights status required of all signatories to the UN International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.　　The report stressed the importance of enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, which would make racist acts illegal and therefore pun

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2018

Yang Jin-ho, the CEO of a cloud storage service company, was taken into police custody Wednesday over multiple workplace harassment and abuse allegations by his employees.A police probe was launched after video footage went viral online, appearing to show Yang abusing his employees. In one video, the CEO of WeDisk and robot developer K-Technology is seen killing chickens with a crossbow and aggressively ordering an employee to do the same.  Yang Jin-ho (Yonhap)Authorities believe the footage was

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2018

South and North Korea on Wednesday agreed to jointly establish measures to combat infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and malaria, during an inter-Korean meeting of the two countries’ high-ranking health officials held in the North’s border town of Kaesong. 　The agreement was reached after Kwon Deok-cheol, South Korea’s vice health minister, and his North Korean counterpart, Park Myong-su, discussed ways to expand cooperation on health care policies at the joint liaison office in Kaesong

North Korea Nov. 7, 2018