Environmental activists urge lawmakers to stop using diesel cars, calling on them to fight fine dust, during a press conference in front of the National Assembly on Yeouido in Seoul, Thursday. They requested lawmakers change their vehicles to eco-friendly cars to set an example in the efforts to tackle environmental issues. / Yonhap
By Kim Jae-heunA Korean women's community in London will hold a candlelit protest in Oxford Circus, Sunday, to urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of a recent case of gang violence targeting a Korean student there and request preventive measures against such crimes. The community decided to stand up against the violence as this is not the first case; another Korean was similarly assaulted last year. “Korean residents here feel threatened by the case as there is the possibility similar crimes could continue to occur,” a protest organizer told the local press on condition of anonymity. “We want social minorities such as children, women, the disabled and senior citizens to be protected and the English government to sternly punish hate crimes that come from discrimination against specific races and religions.” She said the demonstrators will use LED candles as it is illegal in England to use actual candles for safety reasons. On Nov. 11, Korean student Mary Lee, studying at the University of Creative Arts in Canterbury, was attacked by about 1
Protesters tear up posters with “Reconciliation and Healing Foundation” and “2015 Korea Japan Agreement” written on them, in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea in central Seoul, Wednesday, after the government announced it would close the foundation. / Yonhap Japan expresses displeasure at shutdownBy Kim Jae-heunThe government announced Wednesday the closing down of a Japan-sponsored foundation established to support Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery.The decision is likely to aggravate the already strained diplomatic relations with Japan, which has said the foundation was the result of a deal struck between the two nations over the issue.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which governs the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, said it would carry out the legal procedure to shut down the foundation. The decision came two years and four months after its establishment following a 2015 agreement between the former Park Geun-hye administration and the Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It was agreed that the two sid
Armed Forces High Court is shown in this picture. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kim Jae-heunThe Armed Forces High Court overturned, Nov. 8, a lower court ruling that had found two naval officers guilty of raping a female subordinate, causing a backlash from women's rights groups.One of the two men, a lieutenant commander, raped the female captain several times when she was a junior lieutenant in September 2010. He abused his power by threatening to disclose the fact that she was a lesbian.The woman became pregnant and opted to get an abortion before returning to duty. The second man who raped her was the commanding officer of the ship she was assigned to, and he committed the crime after she told him about the earlier rapes and her abortion.The two were arrested and a lower court sentenced them to 10 years and eight years imprisonment, respectively. However, the high court reversed this decision even though it acknowledged that sexual relations took place and the offenders were in a superior position. It said there was no “concrete evidence” to prove they forced th
By Kim Jae-heunSeven out of 10 people found guilty of child abuse were only fined or put on probation from 1998 and 2016, according to a report from a state-run institute, Sunday.The latest document, released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, showed that 339 out of 532 trials for child abuse, or 63.7 percent, during the given period ended up with suspended sentences, while assailants involved in 60 child abuse cases, or 11.3 percent, were fined.In 2010, only two out of 17 cases were criminals sent to jail, with 11 trials resulting in probation and fines.A total of 133 criminals were imprisoned for child abuse over the last 19 years, which accounts for only 25 percent of all cases, and the offenders served no more than three-and-half years' jail. The rulings were even worse for child abuse cases that led to death. Since 2001, 10 criminals among 32 indictments for the crime of child abuse have been sentenced to probation. Their crimes included involuntary manslaughter and foul play.However, these trends have been changing since 2014, when the special laws on child a
Members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday, calling on the government to scrap its plan to expand the flexible work hour system. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe backlash against the government's plan to expand the flexible work hour system is intensifying in the labor sector with the nation's two major umbrella unions going all-out to scrap it.Under the current flexible work hour system, workers only have to keep their working time under an average 52 hours a week for three months. The government plans to increase this to a six-month maximum. The Federation of Korean Trade Union (FKTU) held a rally in front of the National Assembly, Saturday, to protest against the government plan, denouncing it as an “anti-labor” policy that ruling and opposition parties are now discussing. About 30,000 FKTU members participated in the protest. “I cannot sit and watch the labor policy retreating and the government's income-led growth initiative failing. The FKTU will wage an all-out war if the government pushes ahead
Consultants receive phone calls at the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Nov. 3. /Courtesy of Women's Human Rights Institute of KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunSpreading sexual content on the internet, including voyeur videos and revenge porn, has become a serious problem here, with its means of circulation diversifying along with technological development. The Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea, an affiliated organization of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said putting a stop to the spread of sexually explicit pictures or videos shared without consent of the person shown is no longer as simple as requesting a website operator to delete the content.“The invention of the smartphone has allowed people to take pictures and shoot videos of sexually explicit scenes and share them online,” Ryu Hae-jin, consultant team manager at Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center in central Seoul, said during an interview with The Korea Times last month.“Some 75 percent of the crimes are committed by people close to the victim, most often a spous
By Kim Jae-heunPan-government efforts are being made to crack down on online sharing of illegally produced or uploaded sexual content.Relevant ministries and state organizations, led by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, are devising measures to strictly control and punish the prolific online sex crimes across the country.They believe the most serious problem with online sex crimes these days is that file-sharing websites have become the main distribution channel of illegal photos and videos, such as revenge porn and voyeur videos, and operators of these sites are abetting or even colluding in their distribution.The Ministry of Justice will strengthen punishment for online platform operators that are involved in the distribution of such content, and claim any related profits. A new law, which was passed in September, also enables the government to claim from the distributor the expenses spent for deleting obscene materials online.The National Police Agency (NPA) has received reports from civic groups and the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) about file-sharing
Italian Ambassador to Korea Marco della Seta, left, and Vice President of Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea Alberto Mondi, right, pose with Yoo Jung-suk, CEO of Italian restaurant Terra 13 in Seoul, in this November 2017 photo. Yoo is the winner of last year’s Ospitalita Italiana prize. / Courtesy of ITCCKBy Kim Jae-heunThe Italian Embassy in Korea will hold a World Week of Italian Cuisine in Seoul from Nov. 19 to 23 as part of its government's global initiative to promote Italian food in 110 countries.This is the third year the Italian Embassy will be hosting the event here along with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ITCCK), Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul and Italian Trade Agency. The main theme is Mediterranean seafood, which UNESCO has selected as intangible cultural heritage. Olive oil has been adopted as a representative of the Mediterranean diet at the Korean event, and experts will run seminars while offering food tastings to promote its nutritional value. “Seafood is a huge part of the Mediterranean diet and a strong element of the Italian food cu
A sign at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education shows that employees are only allowed to drive cars with license plate numbers ending in an odd number, Wednesday, after all public institutions and firms in Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas followed an alternate driving ban policy in response to fine dust. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe local governments of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province implemented an alternate day driving ban for civil servants based on even and odd last numbers of license plates, Wednesday, as a move to curb fine dust. However, people are questioning the effectiveness of the policy, as they have not noticed any improvement in the fine dust problem.“Seoul City has put forward various countermeasures to fight fine dust but they have been ineffective. Most of the measures only inconvenienced people,” said Kang Ho-jin, 43, who works in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. “I can see half of the people working in the public sector have to take public transportation on the alternate no driving day, but for ordinary citizens, they don't care. The policy