The Korea Times

50% of mid-level civil servants to be hired from private sector

By Lee Hyo-sik The government said Thursday that it will abolish the 60-year old civil service examination next year and instead recruit 30 percent of mid-level civil servants from the private sector as part of efforts to select more qualified and competent personnel. By 2015, the government plans to increase the ratio to 50 percent. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said it will recruit 70 percent of prescribed mid-ranking government workers through a written test in 2010 as now, with the remaining 30 percent being recruited from the private sector. Additionally, the name of the civil service examination will no longer be used from next year. Private sector employees will be selected based on their educational and professional experiences, and interviews. A ratio of private-sector workers will increase to 50 percent of the new mid-level civil servants by 2015. The ministry said candidates who participated in volunteer activities, engaged in academic research and applied for a patent will be given preference.

Aug 12, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Sangji Univ. conflicts may spread to other schools

By Lee Hyo-sik Kwangwoon, Daegu, Kyonggi and other universities under temporary management may face a similar fate to Sangji University, which has been reeling from escalating conflicts between faculty members and students, and the school’s former owner. Sangji University in Wonju, Gangwon Province, has been embroiled in growing disputes among its stakeholders since August 9 when a mediation committee under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology granted school board seats to some members recommended by the university’s former owner, Kim Moon-gi. Kim was forced to quit in 1993 after he was put behind bars for admission irregularities and embezzlement charges. Former owners of other universities under temporary leadership are expecting similar rulings from the committee, while faculty members, students and unionized workers fiercely opposed the return of previous board members to the management positions due to their records of corruption. If the mediation committee makes similar decisions for these universities, they will also likely plunge into disarray l

Aug 12, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

109 to be pardoned to wear anklets

The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday that 109 criminals to be pardoned by President Lee Myung-bak ahead of the nation’s Liberation Day on Aug. 15 will be obliged to wear traceable electronic anklets. They include 19 sex offenders and 90 murderers. The ministry attributed the larger number of convicted criminals wearing the electronic devices to a revised law enabling the retroactive enforcement of the monitoring of offenders, which went into effect on July 16. Former criminals were not subject to wearing the device if they were convicted before Sept. 1, 2008, when the scheme was introduced in an attempt to control rapists and other felons prone to recidivism. But from July 16, offenders could be forced to wear the device even if they were indicted before September 2008. Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam visited a central monitoring center in northern Seoul Wednesday, saying prosecutors are currently investigating 6,916 convicted sex criminals nationwide to decide whether to place them under the monitoring system. “Given this, there will be more offenders wearing the anklets.

Aug 11, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Living separately under one roof cause for divorce

By Lee Hyo-sik The court ruled Wednesday that a 78-year old man can divorce his wife, 60, as the couple have lived in separate rooms for the past eight years even though they reside in the same house. It said the two have been in a state of “virtual divorce.” The Seoul Family Court said the couple continued to have problems since they married in 1969. The man had two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. But ever since the two tied the knot, they continued to experience discord. The husband was particularly unhappy with his wife as she did not want to participate in his family affairs, including an annual memorial service for his ancestors. The wife did not even show up to the marriage ceremonies of her stepchildren. In 2003, the couple decided to live in separate quarters under the same roof. They even had their own rice makers and refrigerators in their rooms. Recently, the husband filed a lawsuit with the court, seeking a divorce from his wife. In a ruling, the court allowed the man to divorce his wife, saying their marriage is irreconcilable. “From 200

Aug 11, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Inter-Korean ties hit all-time low

By Lee Hyo-sik An index gauging the degree of inter-Korean integration has declined for the second consecutive year, reflecting the heightening tension between the two Koreas since the inception of the Lee Myung-bak administration. The Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS), affiliated with Seoul National University, said Tuesday that the Inter-Korean Integration Index (IKII) stood at 198.6 out of a total of 1,000 in 2009, down from 209.5 in 2008. The index rose to an all-time high of 272.7 in 2007 when the late former President Roh Moo-hyun met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. But since the former Seoul mayor took the nation’s highest office the following year, the index has dropped for the second straight year, reflecting the worsening inter-Korean ties. The institute said the inter-Korean relations in 2009 were at their lowest in years as a result of the North’s nuclear bomb test, the North’s detention of a South Korean worker at the Gaesong complex and the Lee administration’s tough stance against the communist state. “A number of unfavorable inci

Aug 10, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Koreans work longest, take fewest holidays

By Lee Hyo-sik Lee Sung-jin, a 34-year old manager at one of Korea’s largest electronics manufacturers, normally spends more than 12 hours a day at work from Monday through Friday. Even on weekends, he is often called in by his superiors to perform additional duties. He is legally allowed to take a break from work for around 15 days per year whenever he wants to after giving notice. But he usually goes on a five-day summer vacation in August and lets the remaining holidays go unused. Lee does so because he is concerned that his job status may become insecure and he may get bad reviews from his superiors and peers if he uses all of his paid leave. Lee is a typical salaried worker of Korea today, working the longest hours and taking the fewest holidays among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Koreans worked an average of 2,256 hours in 2008, down from 2,316 hours a year earlier. But it was still the highest among the 30 OECD members and far more than the OECD average of 1,764 hours. After surveying 952 salaried employees

Aug 9, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Doctor caught for molesting sleep-induced patients

By Lee Hyo-sik A 58-year old doctor in Gwangju was taken into custody Monday for having sexually molested female patients while they were anaesthetized for orthopedic treatment. The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency said the orthopedist is suspected of having sexually assaulted a total of 13 female patients over the past year. It said the doctor injected psychotropic drugs into patients with pain in their neck, shoulders and back to put them into a state of sleep before treatment. While his victims were asleep, he is suspected of touching sensitive parts of the patients and performed abnormal acts to fulfill his sexual desires. Police said given the fact that he has been treating patients this way since December 2003 when he opened his clinic, it is likely that there are more victims of sexual molestation. In 2010 alone, a total of 156 female patients were anesthetized by the orthopedist for treatment. Of the 13 patients who were found to have been sexually abused, only seven decided to press charges against the doctor. Among others, a 55-year old woman with a

Aug 9, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Plan for cable car at Mt. Bukhan draws protest

By Lee Hyo-sik The government is considering erecting a 4.2-kilometer cable car line at Mt. Bukhan National Park as part of its efforts to restrict the growing number of climbers from damaging the natural environment there. The envisioned cable car would transport climbers from a parking lot to one of Mt. Bukhan’s major peaks, Bohyeon-bong (714 meters above sea level). However, environment conservation groups are strongly protesting the planned installment of the cable car, insisting it will attract more visitors to the mountain and further destroy the surrounding environment. The Korea National Park Service (KNPS) said that it is currently looking into the cable car line, adding the Ministry of Environment will revise an ordinance concerning Korea’s national parks during a Cabinet Meeting later this month to expand the legally-allowed length of the cable car to 5 kilometers from the current 2 kilometers. KNPS asked the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI) early this year to study the economic feasibility of setting up a cable car at the mountain. After examining

Aug 8, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Prosecutors banned from leaving country

By Lee Hyo-sik An independent counsel investigating about 100 former and incumbent prosecutors and investigators suspected of receiving bribes and sexual entertainment from businessmen Friday banned 11 of them from leaving the country. They include investigators at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office and at the Gangneung District Prosecutors’Office, who were dined and entertained by a head of a mining firm in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. Among them, an investigator, identified by only his surname Kim, is suspected of receiving money and sexual entertainment on multiple occasions from the CEO between 1999 and 2004. The CEO recently filed a complaint against Kim with the prosecution after “PD Notebook,” an investigative TV program, had reported the allegation in April, based on its interviews with him. Independent counsel Min Kyung-sik is also considering prohibiting prosecutors, believed to have been entertained by a Busan-based construction firm owner, from leaving the country. Meanwhile, Min went to Busan on Thursday, following the launch of the 67-member investigati

Aug 6, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Language tops foreign tourists complaint list

By Lee Hyo-sik Communication problems top the complaint list of foreigners who visit Korea, with nearly half of non-Korean travelers saying they experienced a high degree of difficulty in communicating with locals in English or other widely spoken international languages. Other difficulties facing tourists here include a shortage of affordable and clean lodging facilities, high prices of various goods and services, traffic congestion, inadequate directional signs and overly localized foods. According to a survey released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Wednesday, 45.8 percent of respondents said they often faced trouble in conversing with Koreans and obtaining tourism-related information while traveling here, as most Koreans are not proficient enough to communicate in English, Japanese or Chinese. Respondents were allowed to give multiple answers. The high price of food and lodging were their second biggest complaint (34 percent), followed by traffic congestion (30.6 percent), overly localized foods (18.4 percent) and inadequate directional signs (12.1 percent),

Aug 4, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

50% of mid-level civil servants to be hired from private sector

Sangji Univ. conflicts may spread to other schools

109 to be pardoned to wear anklets

Living separately under one roof cause for divorce

Inter-Korean ties hit all-time low

Koreans work longest, take fewest holidays

Doctor caught for molesting sleep-induced patients

Plan for cable car at Mt. Bukhan draws protest

Prosecutors banned from leaving country

Language tops foreign tourists complaint list

Top 5 stories