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Kim Jae-heun

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Society

Seoul becoming older, less populated city

There were 1.41 million residents aged over 65 years old in Seoul, constituting 14.4 percent of the city's population in last year. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunSeoul used to be called “a city with 10 million citizens” comprised of many young people who came from other parts of the country.However, the capital has failed to prevent its population from turning into an aged society.Last year, there were 1.41 million residents aged over 65 years old in Seoul, constituting 14.4 percent of the city's population. According to the United Nations' standard, a society where 7 percent of residents are aged 65 or older is considered an aging society; and 14 percent, an aged society; and 20 percent, a super-aged society.In 2017, the number marked 1.35 million, or 13.8 percent of the entire Seoul population. Seoul already entered the “aging society” category in 2005 and the city government expects it to become super-aged by 2026 at the current rate. Meanwhile, Seoul City is also witnessing a decrease in the total number of residents. The number has been declining steadily since

Sep 17, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Seoul becoming older, less populated city
Society

Autumn scenery

People take photos in a reed field at Haneul Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the clear weather will continue throughout the country for a while but warned of huge daily temperature differences. / Yonhap

Sep 17, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Society

High-speed train conductors launch strike

Train crew members of the nation's two high-speed trains KTX and SRT hold a rally at Seoul Stataion Plaza, Wednesday, as they launched a six-day strike, calling for a wage increase and direct employment by KORAIL. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunTrain crew members of Korea Train Express (KTX) and the Super Rapid Train (SRT) went on strike Wednesday, calling for a wage increase and direct employment by the state-run railway operator.The walkout, scheduled to last until Monday, is expected to cause inconvenience for those traveling by train to their hometowns during the four-day Chuseok holiday that starts today.According to the union of Korail Tour Service, a subsidiary of the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), the workers launched a six-day strike at 4 a.m. Wednesday and held a rally at Seoul Station Plaza at 1 p.m.Korail Tour Service has 550 KTX crew members and 80 SRT crew members. The workers on strike make announcements and check train tickets, so their walkout is not expected to affect train operations. But many are concerned about the inconvenience the strike will bring as the period covers

Sep 11, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
High-speed train conductors launch strike
Politics

Gov't intervention in mass defection of NK waitresses unconfirmed: NHRCK

Thirteen North Korean restaurant workers move to their accommodation in South Korea after defecting through Incheon International Airport in this photo taken in April 2016. / Courtesy of Ministry of UnificationBy Kim Jae-heunThere is a lack of evidence to prove the government orchestrated the 2016 mass defection of North Korean restaurant workers from China, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has concluded.However, the nation's human rights watchdog requested an investigation into the government's alleged violation of a relevant law, as its public disclosure of the defection could have put the employees' families in North Korea in danger.Lawyers for a Democratic Society, better known as Minbyun here, said Monday that the NHRCK notified it of the results of its investigation into the defection case.In April 2016, a male manager at a restaurant owned by the North Korean government in Ningbo, China, and 12 female workers came to the South, which the then Park Geun-hye administration disclosed ahead of a general election. But three of the workers claimed in a media int

Sep 10, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Gov't intervention in mass defection of NK waitresses unconfirmed: NHRCK
Law & Crime

Top court confirms ex-governor's rape charges

Former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung is taken to a prison transport vehicle after he has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in an appeals trial held at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, in February. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonBy Kim Jae-heunThe Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung guilty of sexual violence, Monday.The final ruling is likely to discourage An, once a high-profile politician who was believed to be a strong hopeful in the next presidential election, from returning to the political arena.An was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for raping his former secretary Kim Ji-eun four times and sexually harassing her six times between July 2017 and February 2018.The main issue in the final ruling was whether the judges would acknowledge the credibility of Kim's testimony.In the first trial, a district court acquitted An of the charges saying that she went with the ex-governor to a wine bar a day after one of the rapes took place and made supportive comments ab

Sep 9, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Top court confirms ex-governor's rape charges
Politics

More suspicions growing over Cho's daughter's awards history

Justice minister nominee Cho Kuk enters the lobby of his office building in downtown Seoul, Wednesday, after answering questions from the press about suspicions surrounding the academic career of his daughter. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunSuspicions surrounding the academic career of justice minister nominee Cho Kuk's daughter are not dying down despite his attempts to explain them away. Rather, they are continuing to grow with new allegations emerging.It was found that Cho's daughter received an award from the president of Dongyang University and recorded this on her resume when applying for Pusan National University's medical graduate school in 2014. The award certified her hours of community service participating in the school's project to make English education books for younger students.But the school president told a local daily that he never approved such an award.The suspicions grew bigger as Cho's wife is currently a professor at Dongyang University and some suspect she could have exercised her influence to ensure the award went to her daughter. As a result of the allegations, pro

Sep 4, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
More suspicions growing over Cho's daughter's awards history
  • Parties agree to hold one-day confirmation hearing for Cho
Society

Typhoon Lingling likely to hit Korea over weekend

Central and local governments raised their alert status Tuesday after the state-run weather agency reported that Typhoon Lingling was gaining strength as it approached the Korean Peninsula. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunCentral and local governments raised their alert status Tuesday after the state-run weather agency reported that Typhoon Lingling was gaining strength as it approached the Korean Peninsula.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), this year's 13th typhoon was moving north-northwest at a speed of 9 kilometers per hour from an area about 650 kilometers southeast of Taiwan.The storm, which was formed east of the Philippines, started as a small typhoon with a central pressure of 994 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 21 meters per second near its center. However, the KMA forecast the typhoon to grow stronger and faster as it travels north toward the peninsula, and its maximum wind speed will record 37 meters per second. The typhoon is expected to arrive in waters 310 kilometers southwest of Jeju Island at 9 a.m. Friday and move north to approach seas 110

Sep 3, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Typhoon Lingling likely to hit Korea over weekend
Society

Labor groups hold rally for workers' right over weekend

Some 2,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gathered in front of Jongno Tower in central Seoul to urge the Korean Expressway Corp. to reinstate 1,500 toll collectors as ruled by the Supreme Court. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunLabor groups held rallies in Seoul on Saturday, calling for employers to give permanent positions to part-time workers and provide a better and safer working environment.Some 2,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) gathered in front of Jongno Tower in central Seoul to urge the Korean Expressway Corp. (KEC) to reinstate 1,500 toll collectors as ruled by the Supreme Court.The toll collectors were dismissed earlier this year after refusing the state-run expressway operator's attempt to hire them indirectly through its newly established subsidiary. The workers argued that the KEC was reluctant to hire them directly because it plans to fire them soon and adopt a smart-tolling system by 2020.Last Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of the toll collectors, a decision that came six years after the wo

Sep 1, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Labor groups hold rally for workers' right over weekend
Law & Crime

Tension grows ahead of queer festival

Anti-gay protesters clash with riot police in Incheon ahead of a queer festival, Sept. 8, 2018. Strong protest from conservative groups disrupted last year's event. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe Incheon Queer Culture Festival is set to open for the second consecutive year after the previous festival foundered due to frequent disruptions by Christian protesters. According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, Friday, the festival will begin at a public square near Bupyeong Station on Line 1 at 11 a.m. The event organizer said the second Incheon Queer Culture Festival is expected to attract some 500 people who will participate in its main event of a 1.7-kilometer parade from Bupyeong Station to Bupyeong Market Station. The festival first began in Seoul in 2000 and has since spread to other parts of the nation, where advocates call for the rights and dignity of LGBTQ people.However, it remains to be seen if the event will be disturbed by possible violent protests from conservative civic and Christian groups as happened last year.Last year, the organizers were supposed to hold the inau

Aug 30, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Tension grows ahead of queer festival
Foreign Affairs

No Abe!

Members of a civic group protest the Japanese government's decision to remove Korea from its list of countries that enjoy minimum export controls, in front of Songdo Convensia in Incheon, Friday, where three culture ministers of Korea, China and Japan held a meeting and agreed to boost cultural and tourism exchanges amid escalating diplomatic and trade rows between Seoul and Tokyo. / Yonhap

Aug 30, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
No Abe!
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