The Korea Times

Community Chest faces major overhaul

By Lee Hyo-sik The scandal-ridden Community Chest of Korea (CCK), the nation’s largest charity group, will be forced to undergo a drastic overhaul, with its fate hanging by a thread after more than half of its employees were found to have embezzled large sums of donations for entertainment purposes over the years. CCK workers were also found to have hired unqualified staff at the request of senior officials in the organization and managed donations recklessly. Experts say that the government needs to subject the charity group to a stringent structure on how it manages donations, which have grown to nearly 300 billion won a year. They say CCK, the only organization endorsed and sponsored by the state to collect donations, should set up an independent inspection body, consisting of civic group members and other non-CCK personnel, as well as make public how and where they spend the donated funds. Since its corruption and embezzlement scandals were revealed by lawmakers last month during a National Assembly audit of government offices, the group has been subject to strong p

Nov 23, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

40% of salaried workers unhappy with appearance

By Lee Hyo-sik Four out of every 10 salaried workers here are found to be discontent with their appearance, with the majority wanting to be taller and slimmer than they currently are. In a survey of 598 male and female salaried employees nationwide, conducted by online recruiter JobKorea Monday, 43.3 percent of them cited their looks as the biggest factor contributing to an inferiority complex. About 36 percent of the men said they are most concerned about their appearance, while 51 percent of females responded the same. By category, 39 percent of respondents said they would like to be taller, while 28.6 percent wanted to lose weight and 20.8 percent hoped to improve their skin texture. Respondents were allowed to give more than one answer. Following appearance, the second largest issue among salaried workers was educational background at 20.1 percent. Nearly 17 percent said they feel inadequate about their English skills, while 9.2 percent and 1.3 percent were not happy with their personality and names, respectively. Additionally, one out of every two workers said

Nov 22, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

School violence dies hard

By Lee Hyo-sik Schools remain anything but free from violence as more teachers and students get involved in fights despite the ban on corporal punishment within the classroom. Teacher beaten by student One middle school in western Incheon said Monday that a 13-year-old male student, identified by only his last name Kim, struck a female contract teacher in her 40s, identified by her surname Lee, with his fist several times during an after-school class on Nov. 10. The student was looking for a friend attending Lee’s class at the time. Kim opened a window to the classroom from the hallway and stuck his head inside to have a better look for his friend. The teacher ordered him to close the window and go away. But he did not budge. Lee then came out into the hallway and slapped Kim’s face. In response, Kim knocked Lee down by hitting her with his fist several times. Lee took a sick leave and has not returned to school since the incident. A school official said Kim was accidentally violent at the time, adding he now deeply regrets his wrongdoing. “He will receive psyc

Nov 22, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Is dating taboo at school?

By Lee Hyo-sik Eight out of 10 middle and high schools nationwide were found to have been maintaining rules disciplining students for engaging in relationships or physical contact with the opposite sex, a rights advocacy group for teenagers said Tuesday. According to a report issued by “Asunaro” (http://cafe.naver.com/asunaro), 286 secondary schools out of 354 across the country, or 81 percent, have internal regulations preventing students from dating or having physical contact with those of the opposite gender. In Yangpyong County, Gyeonggi Province, all middle and high schools are found to have rules against dating among students, with 119 out of 142 schools in Busan maintaining similar guidelines that specifically reprimand those engaging in relationships with fellow students. Asunaro said the education authorities and schools have been infringing upon the students’ rights, stressing that they should scrap regulations banning on-campus relationships. “All that the schools care about is creating overly strict rules and punishing students for dating. Teenagers should

Nov 17, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Others

Institutional support crucial for empowering women

By Lee Hyo-sik, Lee Dae-hyuk Government agencies and other political and social institutions should play an active role in empowering women in the Asian and Arab world, a prominent female politician in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said, stressing women themselves also need to make every effort to become leaders and make differences in the still male-dominated world. In an interview with the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, Najla Al-Awadhi, a member of the UAE Federal National Council (UAE Parliament) and deputy CEO at Dubai Media, said women must be supported through policies and legislations because empowerment is not a process that happens naturally. “It is a project that must be adopted and aggressively implemented through the relevant spheres of society, such as media, civil society, education and law. Even though I am not a big fan of traditional quota systems for women, I believe the application of meritocratic quota systems can contribute to empowering women,” she said. Al-Awadhi is one of the first women in the history of the UAE to become a mem

Nov 17, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Jongga families strut in Seoul

By Lee Hyo-sik Korea’s “jongga,” or head family of a clan sharing the same last name and tradition under Confucian ideas, has been fading over the years as the country becomes more Westernized and urbanized. But there are still hundreds of jongga in rural areas who uphold and maintain tradition. In a move to raise public awareness of head families and revive their culture and tradition, North Gyeongsang Provincial Government has developed seals for 12 representative jongga within its jurisdiction, in partnership with the Institute of Visual Art at Seoul National University. During the Jongga Forum 2010 held at the Coex in southern Seoul, Tuesday, the seals were on display under the theme of “The Culture of Main Families in Communication with the World,” attracting over 1,000 people, including Confucian scholars, foreign diplomats and members of jongga households from the province. Jongga is a household descended from a distinguished ancestor through the eldest son of each generation. Some of these families’ histories are over 500 years old. In North Gyeongsang Provi

Nov 16, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Rights agency chief wont budge

Chairman Hyun Byung-chul snubs growing call for resignation By Lee Hyo-sik National Human Rights Commission Chairman Hyun Byung-chul vowed to hold onto his job by all means Tuesday, dismissing growing calls for his resignation from within and outside the organization. In a statement uploaded on the agency’s website, he argued that those calling for his resignation have misunderstood his remarks and that what he said and did has been greatly distorted, engineered by opponents and some media outlets. “I had initially intended to wait until things calmed down. But a number of statements made by people demanding my resignation and reports by some media outlets have distorted the facts,” he said. The chairman said it was regrettable that three commissioners felt the need to step down and that he is sorry to the public for raising concerns. “I am worried that the internal strife within the commission may develop into a political dispute. It is undesirable for the independence of the human rights agency to be compromised by outsiders. By holding up the principles of prot

Nov 16, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

More subways, buses to run on day of college exam

By Lee Hyo-sik More subway trains and buses will be put into operation on Nov. 18, the day of the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT) to help exam takers arrive at test centers on time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. On the big test day, students with physical handicaps will be given priority in using a vehicle specifically designed for the disabled, while public workers at City Hall, 25 district offices and hundreds of affiliated organizations will delay working hours to begin at 10 a.m., one hour later than usual, in a bid to ease possible traffic congestion. In cooperation with the police agency, the city also plans to clamp down on singing rooms and other entertainment establishments frequently visited by students to smoke, drink and engage in other delinquent activities after the exam ends. Seoul City unveiled these and other measures to make the once-a-year test for university applicants proceed without a hitch. First, 35 additional subway trains will run between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Thursday to more effectively handle the larger number of stu

Nov 15, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Korean Air warned of faulty maintenance

3 planes had engine troubles over past 2 months By Lee Hyo-sik Korean Air, the nation’s largest flagship carrier, has been warned over faulty engine maintenance by the government, following a series of incidents in which its airplanes were forced to make emergency landings due to engine problems. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Monday that it had conducted an extensive safety check on airplanes operated by Korean Air from Oct. 25 to 29, after three of its planes had engine troubles and made emergency landings over the past two months. After the five-day inspection, the ministry found that Korean Air kept an engine in operation longer than it should have, and did not promptly fix oil leaks. An engine of a Boeing 747 airplane is required to be inspected after five long-haul flights. But it had been in operation for a total of nine flights. Additionally, engines of seven Boeing 747 and one Airbus 330 were found to have been leaking engine oil. But the airline had not taken steps to promptly repair the problem. Violation of safety regulati

Nov 15, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Prosecution vs. lawmakers: New round of clashes looms large

By Lee Hyo-sik With the G20 Seoul Summit winding down Friday, the prosecution is set to resume its stalled probes early next week into a nearly dozen politicians suspected of receiving bribes in an influence-peddling scandal. Prosecutors are also expected to reopen investigations into the heads of several large business groups who allegedly created slush funds and lobbied influential figures in exchange for business favors. The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office plans to summon 11 ruling and opposition party lawmakers as soon as possible, as they are suspected of taking bribes of more than 10 million won each from an association for private security guards in exchange for helping amend a law on their wage and welfare contract terms. Earlier this month, investigators raided the offices in the legislators’ constituencies and confiscated hard disks and accounting books. Among those whose offices were raided were Rep. Choi Gyu-sik of the opposition Democratic Party and Rep. Lee In-gi of the ruling Grand National Party. Both governing and opposition parties strong

Nov 12, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

Community Chest faces major overhaul

40% of salaried workers unhappy with appearance

School violence dies hard

Is dating taboo at school?

Institutional support crucial for empowering women

Jongga families strut in Seoul

Rights agency chief wont budge

More subways, buses to run on day of college exam

Korean Air warned of faulty maintenance

Prosecution vs. lawmakers: New round of clashes looms large

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