The Korea Times

Korean, Japanese civic groups to jointly act against Abe

Civic groups protest Japan's economic retaliation after holding a discussion on how to cope with it at their office on Yeouido, southern Seoul, on July 18. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon By Kim Jae-heunKorean and Japanese civic groups will join forces to urge the Shinzo Abe administration to resolve the issues of wartime forced labor and bilateral tension that have escalated since the Japanese government enacted trade restrictions against Korea.According to a coalition of 18 Korean civic groups, Tuesday, it and a coalition of civic groups from Tokyo will gather in Seoul on Aug. 15, the Liberation Day marking Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, to hold a joint rally.About 2,000 people are expected to participate, and they will march from Seoul Plaza to the Japanese Embassy in Korea, where they will deliver their written protest to the embassy.The participants will include not only the surviving victims and bereaved families of forced labor during Japan's occupation of Korea, but also Korean teenagers and university students, Korean residents in Japan and Japanese

Aug 6, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Korean, Japanese civic groups to jointly act against Abe

Health

Seoul opens shelter for shuttle bus drivers near Bulgwang Station

By Kim Jae-heunThe Seoul Metropolitan Government opened a shelter for shuttle bus drivers near Bulgwang Station in Eunpyeong-gu, northwestern Seoul, Tuesday.The shelter provides a resting place for bus drivers who mostly pick up students attending private institutes. According to the city government, the average age of the drivers is over 60 and they work for 12.15 hours a day including waiting times between classes. Despite their old age and long working hours, nine out of 10 rest uncomfortably in their vehicles as there is no separate place to rest and about 20 percent do not have meals regularly due to the lack of time and place. These drivers work for private academies but are registered as self-employed, so are excluded from the protection stipulated by the Labor Standards Act, according to the city government.To provide better working conditions for the growing number of shuttle bus drivers, the city government decided to establish a resting place near Bulgwang Station where many private institutes are gathered.At the space, available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, drivers

Aug 5, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Seoul to hold water festival at Nanji Hangang Park

People shoot squirt guns during the water fight event at Nanji Hangang Park in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, in this August 2018 photo. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Kim Jae-heunA water fight festival will be held over the weekend at Nanji Hangang Park in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday.The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the venue will be divided into four zones: a water zone, a healing zone, a picnic zone and a food zone.The main event at the festival will be a water fight where participants will be divided into two teams and throw water balloons and shoot at each other with water guns. Water fights will be held three times a day at 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, for an hour each. Seoul City said it has prepared some 100,000 water balloons for this event.The water fight will be followed by music played by DJs so people can dance in the water zone.Visitors can also go swimming at the festival as there will be four swimming pools and three water slides, the largest of which will be 8 meters tall and 35

Aug 5, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Seoul to hold water festival at Nanji Hangang Park

Health

'We need break'

Parcel delivery workers urge people not to use delivery services on Aug. 16 and 17 so they can take a break, during a rally at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, Thursday. They claimed they cannot take leave due to their heavy workload. / Yonhap

Aug 5, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Health

Two die, 855 treated for extreme heat

Two people died and 855 were treated for heat exhaustion at 508 emergency rooms across the country as of Monday morning, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. / GettyimagebankBy Kim Jae-heunHundreds of people have suffered from heatstroke and hundreds of thousands of animals have died from the heat wave.According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), two people died and 855 were treated for heat exhaustion at 508 emergency rooms across the country as of Monday morning. They suffered from various symptoms such as headaches, cramps, dizziness and fatigue after long hours of exposure in the sun. The number of patients increased from mid-July after the monsoon season ended and the heat followed.Between mid-May and mid-July, between 17 and 67 people were treated per week, according to the KCDC, but the number quadrupled to 176 between July 21 and 27, and rose again to 363 between July 28 and Aug. 3.Two elderly women died. The women, aged 82 and 85,

Aug 5, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Foreign Affairs

People outraged by Japan's removal of Korea from whitelist

A civic group protests against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to remove South Korea from its “whitelist” in front of the Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunPublic sentiment against Japan began hitting fever pitch after Tokyo removed Korea from its whitelist of preferred trading partners, Friday. Following the announcement of the removal, civic groups took to the streets to protest what they called an “economic invasion,” and encourage citizens to strengthen the ongoing campaign to boycott Japanese products.An association of 682 civic groups gathered in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to denounce the Shinzo Abe administration's decision, saying it ran counter to the free trade regime the Japanese prime minister claimed to support.“This is an economic invasion that seeks to hurt vital areas of our country's economy,” said Park Seok-woon, president of the Korea Alliance for Progressive Movements.The civic groups plan to hold a candlelit protest in front of the embassy today. Ordinary citize

Aug 2, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

People outraged by Japan's removal of Korea from whitelist

Society

Students frustrated over revised Higher Education Act

By Kim Jae-heunUniversity students are venting concerns and frustration at the government and schools over their lax preparation for the implementation of the revised Higher Education Act that took effect, Friday.According to the new law, universities have to guarantee three years of employment for adjunct professors as part of the Ministry of Education's plan to strengthen their job security. However, the plan has seen little progress as it puts financial pressure on schools, which have consequently delayed hiring part-time lecturers and making a new syllabus available for students. A network of university student councils from across the country posted a statement Wednesday on social media that denounced the education ministry and the schools for shunning their responsibilities. The statement said many of the universities failed to confirm the syllabus for second semester courses prior to the class registration period for students that was scheduled for the end of July, because of the revised act.“The ministry admitted their late distribution of the new manual for hiring part-time

Aug 2, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Students frustrated over revised Higher Education Act

Society

'Principal's death on retirement day is not in line of duty'

The Seoul Administrative Court said Wednesday that it could not recognize the death of a school principal, who died in a car accident on the day of his retirement, as death in the line of duty, due to strict regulations on the time of retirement. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonBy Kim Jae-heunThe Seoul Administrative Court said Wednesday that it could not recognize the death of a school principal, who died in a car accident on the day of his retirement, as death in the line of duty, due to strict regulations on the time of retirement.The court recently ruled against the bereaved family who asked it to cancel the Government Employees Pension Service's (GEPS) refusal to pay compensation for the principal's death.The principal of an elementary school was to retire on Feb. 28. 2018. On his final days at work, he filled in for the coach of the school's volleyball team who could not attend off-season training from Feb. 26 to 28. But on Feb. 28, he was involved in a fatal car accident at 1:30 p.m. on his way back home using his own car, not the students' bus.The GEPS refused to pay the c

Jul 31, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

'Principal's death on retirement day is not in line of duty'

Society

Rescue operation

Rescue workers descend into a large rain drainage reservoir in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Wednesday, after three workers ― two Koreans and one Myanmarese ― went missing during a downpour while checking its operation. One Korean worker was found dead while the other two remain missing. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

Jul 31, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Health

1 out of 45 people take anorectic

Anorectic agents have been prescribed to one out of every 45 Koreans over the last 10 months, and 90 percent of those were women, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Tuesday. / GettyimagebankBy Kim Jae-heunAnorectic agents have been prescribed to one out of every 45 Koreans over the last 10 months, and 90 percent of those were women, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Tuesday. An anorectic is a type of agent that stimulates the brain to make a person feel full or less hungry.Some 1.16 million people or 2.2 percent of the total population were prescribed these appetite suppressants. People in their 30s took up 30.3 percent of the total.An anorectic agent is recommended to be taken alone for safety reasons, but 10 percent of the 1.16 million were prescribed more than one agent. It is also advised not to be taken for more than four weeks but 30 percent had the medicine prescribed for longer periods.Taking anorectics for a long period of time can cause side effects such as pulmonary hypertension and serious cardiac disorder. So the ministry issued a guideli

Jul 30, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Korean, Japanese civic groups to jointly act against Abe

Seoul opens shelter for shuttle bus drivers near Bulgwang Station

Seoul to hold water festival at Nanji Hangang Park

'We need break'

Two die, 855 treated for extreme heat

People outraged by Japan's removal of Korea from whitelist

Students frustrated over revised Higher Education Act

'Principal's death on retirement day is not in line of duty'

Rescue operation

1 out of 45 people take anorectic

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