One of the major power abuse allegations that Yang Sung-tae, the former Supreme Court chief justice, faces is his use of “politically sensitive” trials as bargaining chips to gain presidential approval for establishing an appellate court in the country’s judiciary.　Questions have been raised as to why Yang, along with other judges at the Supreme Court, was so desperate to create the new court that he would lobby lawmakers, Cheong Wa Dae staff under then-President Park-Geun-hye and even journalis

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2018

Amid the prolonged heat wave, some 2,000 households in southern Seoul experienced a blackout for about two hours Wednesday, the day Seoul hit a record high of 39.6 degrees Celsius -- the city's highest level in 111 years.The electrical failure occurred in an apartment complex, Eunma Town, which consists of some 4,400 units. The complex was built in the 1970s.  A similar incident took place in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where 580 units in an apartment complex lost electricity. (Yonhap)　“We will d

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2018

Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said Tuesday that his party has been falsely accused by the Moon Jae-in administration of having been complicit with the Defense Security Command’s recently revealed plan to declare martial law in 2017, involving the deployment of tanks and special forces. 　The recently disclosed document was apparently drawn up in the event the Constitutional Court ruled against the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye. Massive mo

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2018

　Misogynistic contents and comments are “rampant” in South Korea’s online communities and content-sharing websites, including YouTube and social opinion aggregator NatePann, a newly released report showed Tuesday. 　　The report by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education was released as the Ministry of Gender Equality considers the introduction of a law to regulate hate speech online. 　　The study monitored 1,600 posts and 16,000 comments shared on eight prominent content-s

Social Affairs July 31, 2018

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon held an emergency meeting with the city’s senior officials to come up with measures to deal with the prolonged heat wave.　As the heat wave is expected to continue indefinitely, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it is establishing 181 more shades across the city -- there are currently 1,023 shades available -- while public areas where many homeless Koreans stay, such as outside Seoul Station, will be monitored 15 times a day. 　The city is also operating a total of 3

National July 30, 2018

More documents linked to the power abuse scandal involving former Supreme Court Chief Yang Sung-tae have been revealed, including allegations that he used trials involving former forced laborers during Japanese colonial rule of the country as bargaining chips for political favors from the presidential office. The newly unveiled documents were found in computers and USB devices that belonged to Im Jong-heon, former vice director of the National Court Administration. They show that the NCA had con

Social Affairs July 29, 2018

　A South Korean women’s rights group is protesting Facebook’s decision to reject its ad, which criticizes the country’s lookism and social pressures for women to look appealing. An illustration that includes nudity was the grounds for Facebook’s rejection of the ad, according to the group, which says the ad did not have a sexual connotation. 　The online ad was intended for a feminist event for high school girls scheduled to take place in Incheon on Aug. 11. The event aims to educate young women

Social Affairs July 29, 2018

A total of 261 public servants, including 38 lawmakers, are suspected of having taken illicit overseas trips, many of them financed by entities under their supervision, the state-run Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced Thursday.　The agency said public servants will now be banned from receiving funds from other government entities for overseas work trips. 　All state-run agencies and ministries whose staff are suspected of having taken such trips have been informed of the miscond

Social Affairs July 26, 2018

South Korean poet Ko Un, 84, an acclaimed figure both at home and abroad, has filed a 1 billion won ($893,000) compensation suit against a fellow poet who last year publicly accused him of sexual harassment, as well as a number of members of the media who have written on the case.　In a poem published in December, Choi Young-mi, 57, indirectly accused Ko of sexually harassing women. In “The Beast,” an elderly poet is depicted as a perpetrator who habitually and sexually assault women, including w

Social Affairs July 26, 2018

Almost 90 percent of some 2,000 Koreans surveyed by the government last year think the country’s low birthrate is a ”serious concern,“ while 65 percent aren’t familiar with the parental leave program for working fathers, a report showed Wednesday.　The report, compiled by the Ministry of Welfare and submitted to Rep. Yoon Jong-pil of the Korea Liberty Party, also revealed that more than 60 percent of Korea’s working parents feel uneasy asking for a parental leave, fearing possible blacklash in th

Social Affairs July 25, 2018

South Korea's prolonged heat wave is producing a number of unusual moments, including a chick hatching out of an egg reportedly without a mother hen or brooder lamp -- thanks to the blazing heat and continued tropical nights. 　　The country has been enduring unusually scorching weather for weeks since early July. Daytime highs exceeded 38 degrees Celsius in Seoul and other regions on Tuesday, while the temperature in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, reached 40.3 degrees on the same day. 　　A

Social Affairs July 25, 2018

Seoul announced Tuesday a revised plan that focused on a sharp reduction of domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.The country is sticking with a previously announced plan -- it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 315 million tons, or 37 percent from business-as-usual levels, by 2030 -- under the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. What has changed is the share of domestic reduction to be made, which has been increased from the previous 25.7 percent to 32.5 percent. As a result, the over

Social Affairs July 24, 2018

Seoul approved a government budget to replace a 1 billion yen ($8,989) fund Tokyo offered in 2015 to compensate the living Korean victims of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II, Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality said Tuesday.The announcement came about six months after Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that Seoul would set aside 1 billion yen, the same sum provided by Tokyo under the controversial 2015 deal, while upholding the agreement between the two countries. The 2015 deal -- in

Social Affairs July 24, 2018

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Sunday left his official residence in central Seoul and moved into a humble two-room rooftop dwelling in Gangbuk-gu, in the northern part of the city, even amid the scorching hot weather. He announced that the small property -- two tiny rooms and a bathroom, without air conditioning -- will be his residence for the next 30 days. But why?　Rooftop dwellings are generally considered among the worst types of housing in Seoul. They are too warm in the summer and too cold

Social Affairs July 23, 2018

Angry online petitions are being filed to the presidential office after a TV program accused Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, as well as Seongnam Mayor Eun Soo-mi, of maintaining an illicit relationship with members of an organized crime syndicate, among others. 　Lee, 53, considered among the most influential politicians in the ruling Democratic Party, is accused of having secret ties to a gang believed to be involved with a controversial murder case that took place in Pattaya, Thailand, in

Social Affairs July 23, 2018