The Korea Times

Gov't to crack down on prostitution websites

By Kim Jae-heunThe government plans to strengthen its monitoring of websites linked to prostitution and sex trafficking, the gender ministry said, Friday. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) held a meeting to discuss the measures to control the websites and prevent prostitution and foreign victims. The ministry will develop a large data-based artificial intelligence program to monitor the prostitution situation in the country.When the program is operational, the websites will be shut down and the operators warned of relevant punishment.The government believes it is important to take pre-emptive actions against the sites because they lead many people to start paying for sex. Brokers post advertisements and people share their experiences on the website, where many beginners find information for their first sex-for-money experience. However, it remains to be seen if the government will be able to shut down all the sites, because they can reopen with different web addresses. Also, the site's owners cannot be punished if operators argue that the content posted online is act

Oct 12, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Gov't to crack down on prostitution websites

Health

50,000 foreigners spent W215 bil. on plastic surgery

By Kim Jae-heunNearly 50,000 foreigners came to Korea last year to get plastic surgery, spending 215 billion won ($1.8 million) on their procedures, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Thursday. The data, revealed by Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea, showed 397,882 foreigners visited the country for medical treatments of all kinds, spending a total 639.9 billion won.The number was down 6.5 percent compared to 2016, and medical spending also dropped by 25.6 percent.However, the number of people receiving plastic surgery increased by 968 to 48,849, making up 12.3 percent of the total.Spending on plastic surgery has quadrupled from 52.5 billion won in 2012 to 215 billion won last year, accounting for 33.6 percent of total medical fees paid by foreign patients.By department, 20.2 percent of foreign patients received treatment in internal medicine, followed by 12.3 percent in plastic surgery, 10.9 percent in dermatology and 9.8 percent who had medical checkups.

Oct 11, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Construction of Busan skyscraper suspended following typhoon damage

By Kim Jae-heunThe local government of Busan has ordered the suspension of construction for LCT, a high-rise apartment complex in Haeundae, after hundreds of the building's windows were broken by the recent Typhoon Kong-rey on Saturday. According to the Haeundae-gu Office, Wednesday, some 100 windows on the 35th to 65th floors of the LCT's Landmark Tower building were damaged by the typhoon.Pieces of broken glass flew and destroyed 30 windows of another building of the apartment complex as well as windows of six shops further away. Some 60 cars parked underneath the Landmark Tower were also damaged.“The construction site and the facilities nearby have been damaged. We ordered the construction company to suspend the construction until safe conditions are secured. We have requested the buildings undergo expert inspection,” an official of the district office said.According to the builder, POSCO Engineering and Construction, a metal wire installed on an outer wall of the Landmark Tower was slackened by the strong wind and hit the tempered glass of the windows for over an hour

Oct 11, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

IPCC agrees to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius

By Kim Jae-heunScholars from around the world have called for urgent action to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, saying a 2-degree rise will cause global catastrophe. The 195 member countries of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adopted its special report on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, Monday, after its 48th session held in Songdo, Incheon.The goal is 0.5 degrees down from the original goal agreed to during the Paris pact in 2015.According to the report, if global warming continues between 2030 and 2052 at the current pace, temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5 degrees from the level in the mid-1800s when massive amounts of carbon dioxide began to be discharged during industrialization.The average temperature has already risen by 1 degree compared to the industrialization era, and the speed of the temperature rise has hastened recently to increase 0.2 degrees every 10 years. “One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seei

Oct 8, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Typhoon Kong-rey leaves two dead, one missing, 470 homeless

By Kim Jae-heunTyphoon Kong-rey has left two people dead and one missing, while displacing nearly 470, the state disaster management agency said, Sunday.Kong-rey, the 25th tropical storm of the season, made landfall on Jeju Island on Saturday morning, bringing heavy rain and extreme winds. It also hit Busan and South Gyeongsang Province before moving away from the Korean Peninsula in the afternoon. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, a man, 66, was killed while crossing a bridge in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, while another, 83, was swept away by a strong current in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province. A man, 76, was listed as missing after he slipped into a stream while trying to escape flooding in Pohang.A total of 467 people from 279 households have been displaced. Yeongdeok was affected most severely, with 418 people from 251 households displaced. Forty-nine were left homeless in Gangneung, Samcheok, Pohang, Hadong and Hapcheon. In North Gyeongsang Province, 1,326 houses were flooded; while 660 hectares of farmland were damaged nationwide.&l

Oct 7, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Politics

Ex-Constitutional Court president is top civil service pension earner

By Kim Jae-heunA former Constitutional Court chief is the recipient of the largest amount of money from the Government Employee Pension, an opposition lawmaker said, Sunday. According to a document released by Rep. Lee Che-ik of the main opposition Liberty Party Korea, a former president of the Constitutional Court receives a monthly pension of 7.2 million won ($6,400). However, the lawmaker did not identify the recipient.Another Constitutional Court chief was second with a 7.16 million won pension, followed by a former Supreme Court chief justice, who receives 7.12 million won per month.Lee added that the all three former government officials served for 39 years and one month. The last ex-government official whose monthly pension surpassed 7 million won is a former Seoul National University president at 7.01 million won. Another former Supreme Court chief justice was ranked fifth with 6.96 million won of monthly retirement benefits while three out of four top-paid former civil servants coming in from sixth to ninth places were ex-chief justices of the Supreme Court. The other was a

Oct 7, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Global Community

Gov't to toughen rules for expats applying for health insurance

By Kim Jae-heunThe government is seeking to revise the national health insurance system to prevent foreigners from exploiting loopholes of the system and enjoying medical benefits.Korean residents living abroad are also subject to the revised regulation, which may take effect as early as December.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Thursday, it announced plans to have foreigners stay at least six months in the country to be eligible for health insurance, double the current period of three months. Foreign employees whose companies cover their insurance are not subject to the regulation.The measure has come as a number of foreigners have been traveling to Korea to take advantage of the national health insurance to get expensive medical treatments with small premiums.After review by the Ministry of Government Legislation and approval at the Cabinet meeting, the revised rule may take effect in December, according to the ministry. The government also plans to increase premiums for expats who have been paying comparatively smaller premiums because they had no registered income

Oct 4, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Base taxi fare to increase to W4,000

Taxies are waiting for passengers near Seoul Station, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe base fare for a taxi in Seoul is likely to increase by 1,000 won (90 cents) to 4,000 won next year, while the nighttime surcharge will begin one hour earlier at 11 p.m.A consultative body, consisting of experts, residents, labor and management, held a general meeting Tuesday to finalize this plan and report it to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “The consultative body made its proposal to improve taxi drivers' working conditions to a level that satisfies next year's living wage decided on by the city government,” said a Seoul city official. “However, we have yet to make a final decision at this point.” The local government fixed next year's “living wage” at 10,148 won per hour, a 10.2 percent increase from this year.The taxi consultative body said that transportation fares should also be raised to this level. Taxi drivers could earn a monthly salary of 2.85 million won if the minimum taxi fare is fixed to 4,000 won. Taxi fares in Seoul have been frozen at 3,

Oct 3, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

North Korea

Kim Il Sung Univ. to establish exchange with Berlin Free Univ.

By Kim Jae-heunNorth Korea's Kim Il Sung University has signed an agreement with the Free University of Berlin on cooperation and education exchange programs in the humanities and sociology, the German school announced, Monday. It said it had exchanged documents with the university in Pyongyang last Thursday.It is rare for the North Korean university to form an official cooperative relationship with an institute from a country that is not a socialist state.Kim Il Sung University President Thae Hyong-chol and the head of the Institute of Korean Studies at Berlin Free University, Lee Eun-jeong, attended the ceremony.“The Free University of Berlin has long been making educational exchanges with Kim Il Sung University, which brought us to establish an official relationship to cooperate at this stage,” Lee said during her speech at the ceremony. “We can now conduct more research in the fields that have not been much studied in North Korea.”The two schools will carry out joint research in the humanities and sociology. Also, the German language department at Kim Il S

Oct 2, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Health

Money most important in old age: survey

By Kim Jae-heunFour out of 10 people said money would be most important in their old age, which was more than good health and family, a report showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare report submitted to Rep. Yoon Jong-pil of the Liberty Korea Party, 82.8 percent of 2,000 adults surveyed in 2017 also said the country's aging issue was a serious problem.Over 83 percent also said they were worried about the influence of an aging society on their lives, with 16.4.percent saying they were “seriously concerned.”For people's later years, money has pushed out health and family to become the most important factor.Nearly 40 percent of the respondents picked “financial stability” as the most important element, pushing out “health,” which ranked top in the survey a year before. Health ranked second in the survey, with 38 percent, down by 10.3 percentage points.Employment ranked third with 6.9 percent, followed by friends and relationships, with 6 percent, and hobbies and volunteer work with 4.9 percent.When asked at what age they would c

Oct 1, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Gov't to crack down on prostitution websites

50,000 foreigners spent W215 bil. on plastic surgery

Construction of Busan skyscraper suspended following typhoon damage

IPCC agrees to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius

Typhoon Kong-rey leaves two dead, one missing, 470 homeless

Ex-Constitutional Court president is top civil service pension earner

Gov't to toughen rules for expats applying for health insurance

Base taxi fare to increase to W4,000

Kim Il Sung Univ. to establish exchange with Berlin Free Univ.

Money most important in old age: survey

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