The Korea Times

Kazakh man honored for saving 10 people from blaze

Yuldashev Aliakbar from Kazakhstan, left, poses with Yangyang County head Kim Jin-ha at his office in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of Yangyang County OfficeBy Jung Min-hoA Kazakh man, 28, an undocumented migrant who risked his life to rescue 10 people from a burning building in March, has received an award for his heroic deeds.Kim Jin-ha, head of the Yangyang County Office in Gangwon Province, presented the award to Yuldashev Aliakbar, better known as “Ali” among Koreans, for outstanding bravery.The ceremony was held at Kim's office after the Ministry of Health and Welfare selected him last month as one of the two recipients of the bravery honor, along with Kang Cheol-soo, a taxi driver who rescued a man trying to commit suicide in Seoul in January.Ali came into the spotlight after saving people from a burning apartment at a Yangyang town on March 23. While trying to wake his neighbors and open windows to let the smoke out at around 11:20 p.m., he suffered burns to his back, neck and hands.Despite his bravery, Ali immediately faced deportation after his i

Aug 4, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Kazakh man honored for saving 10 people from blaze

Undocumented hero: Koreans urge gov't not to deport Kazakh man who saved people from burning building

Global Community

New Zealand citizens among flood victims: report

Firefighters search through debris during rescue efforts at the resort area in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / YonhapYonhapBy Jung Min-hoNew Zealand nationals were among the victims confirmed dead after a mudslide engulfed a resort pension in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, amid heavy rain in Korea's central regions earlier this week, according to a local media report.Police and rescue workers said Tuesday that they recovered the bodies of three people, who were inside when it was buried under a landslide Monday morning.According to JoongAng Ilbo, a local daily, the victims were New Zealand citizens ― a pension owner, 65, her daughter, 36, and her grandson, 2. A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Embassy in Seoul told The Korea Times that she could not immediately confirm the report.On the same day, a landslide swept over a temporary building in a semiconductor parts plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, killing three workers in their 30s and seriously injuring one in his 50s.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said the downpour had left 13 people dead and

Aug 4, 2020By Jung Min-ho

New Zealand citizens among flood victims: report

Politics

Bill proposed to ban top-ranking policymakers from owning more than one house

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA bill has been proposed to ban top-ranking government officials, including lawmakers and ministers, from owning more than one house amid soaring housing prices across Korea.Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, proposed the bill Monday, saying change is necessary to rebuild public trust in the government's real estate policies.“(If passed), the bill would prevent conflict of interests in the policymaking process,” Sim said at a press conference. “High-ranking officials must abide by certain rules for stock trading. It would be unconvincing to argue that real estate trading is different.”The bill would require new appointees in certain government positions to sell houses within 60 days if they have more than one.Over the past three years, the Moon Jae-in administration has implemented various policies to cool the unusually hot property market ― to no avail. Critics have pointed

Aug 3, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Bill proposed to ban top-ranking policymakers from owning more than one house

Foreign homeowners face probe into suspected tax evasion

Law & Crime

Two refugee brokers arrested over fraudulent applications

GettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoTwo brokers have been arrested on charges of helping 146 foreigners file fraudulent refugee applications for money.According to Busan Immigration Office's investigation bureau Monday, a Vietnamese woman, 27, was recently arrested for allegedly helping 91 Vietnamese file the applications with false information so they could stay and work in Korea until the process is completed.The woman is suspected of receiving between 1.3 million won and 4 million won from each ― a total of 180 million-360 million won ― in return.In a separate case, a Russian man, 24, was arrested for allegedly providing the illegal services to 55 foreigners, many of whom are Russians. He is suspected of taking 1.2 million won from each ― a total of 60 million won.So far, 50 of them have been deported. The immigration office said it is searching for the rest.According to investigators, applicants falsely claimed that they faced persecution in their countries for reasons race, religion, sexual orientation and others. But they concluded that these were not real reasons.“It usually ta

Aug 3, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Two refugee brokers arrested over fraudulent applications

Economy

Interpreters feel pinch of COVID-19 pandemic

People in masks check displays at PR booths during an exhibition of pharmaceutical and cosmetics products at KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, July 27. With the COVID-19 pandemic showing no sign of abating, many interpreters are struggling. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoLee, an interpreter with 15 years' experience in the industry, was looking forward to a busy year while making plans for 2020.But the new coronavirus plunged the world into a “crisis like no other” early this year, forcing many countries to shut borders and cancel international events.“My income has been halved compared with the same period last year and I'm considered one of the lucky ones in the market,” Lee told The Korea Times Wednesday.The pandemic has not affected his earnings as much as many other interpreters because he largely works on long-term contracts rather than on demand. With major international events canceled, many freelance interpreters are feeling the pinch more acutely.Semicon Korea, an international trade fair for semiconductor technology, Seoul Living Design Fair, an international

Jul 30, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Interpreters feel pinch of COVID-19 pandemic

Global Community

Gov't seeks to extend foreign workers' stay permits amid pandemic

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a coronavirus response meeting at the government complex in Sejong, Wednesday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoKorea is seeking to extend stay permits for foreign workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that the government is planning to lengthen the stay for foreign workers and temporarily allow them to work on farms. It would be a win-win for many workers who cannot immediately leave here after their visas have expired because of travel restrictions around the world, and the farmers who may need them for the coming harvest season, Chung said.“After the pandemic, farmers have faced severe labor shortages,” he said at a virus response meeting. “Meanwhile, some foreign workers say they are 'stuck' here due to shutdowns and travel restrictions by their countries.”Gov't steps up quarantine measures on sailorsThe government is also stepping up quarantine measures on sailors coming from overseas.Under the new measures, sailors from Russia and six other designated nations ― Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzsta

Jul 29, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Gov't seeks to extend foreign workers' stay permits amid pandemic

Society

PHOTOS Heavy rain in capital area forecast to continue until Thursday morning

People shelter under umbrellas during heavy rain near Namdaemun in Seoul, Wednesday. Heavy rain is forecast to continue in the capital and other central parts of the Korean Peninsula until Thursday morning, the weather agency said. YonhapYonhapBy Jung Min-hoHeavy rain that pounded the capital region of the Korean Peninsula is forecast to continue until Thursday morning.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration Wednesday, torrential rain of over 30 mm an hour, accompanied by lightning strikes and thunder, lashed Seoul and other regions, including Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces.Yongin, in Gyeonggi Province, was one of the hardest hit cities, with more than 70 mm of rain an hour at one point.YonhapThe weather agency said up to 150 mm of rain is predicted to pour down in the central region until noon Thursday. The rain is expected to stop later that day in most areas.Authorities advised extra caution for traffic safety and potential damage to outdoor structures.

Jul 29, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Heavy rain in capital area forecast to continue until Thursday morning [PHOTOS]

Defense

Military guardhouse system to be abolished after 124 years

The South Korean military said its guardhouse system will be abolished next week. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoThe South Korean military's notorious detention system will fade into history after 124 years.The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that its guardhouses, where rank-and-file soldiers can be detained up to 15 days without warrants, will be abolished by Aug 5.According to the revised Military Personnel Management Act, education programs and other types of penalties, such as salary reduction, will replace the punishment method, which human rights groups have long criticized.Under military law, all able-bodied men must serve in the military or other public institutions for a certain time in South Korea. But time spent in the confinement facilities does not count.After the revision, any incarceration of soldiers will be possible only through court trials. The ministry said the origin of the detention system dated from Jan. 24, 1896, under King Gojong.“We will continue to push for defense reform to better protect the human rights of service members while maintaining a strong military

Jul 28, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Military guardhouse system to be abolished after 124 years

Companies

VIDEO DNA knows your ancestral roots - YouWho offers to crack that code

EDGC co-founder and co-CEO Shin Shang-cheol speaks during an interview at The Korea Times' office in Seoul, July 14. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-minBy Jung Min-hoShin Shang-cheol, co-founder and co-CEO of EDGC, a genetic analysis company in Incheon, is Korean. But ethnically, it is a bit more complicated: he is 47.71 percent Korean, 26.56 percent Chinese, 23.44 percent Japanese and some other roots originate from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.Shin made this assessment based on his test results from YouWho, which can trace people back to their ancestral roots through genetic analysis. It provides details of what regions and ethnicities the users' DNA is most related to by comparing it against its reference data set.Since the firm started the service four months ago, more than 11,000 people have had their DNA analyzed. It is a remarkable performance, especially given the adverse business conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Shin said in a recent interview.“My goal is to attract more than 5 million customers in five years,” he said. “In the long run, ED

Jul 27, 2020By Jung Min-ho

DNA knows your ancestral roots - YouWho offers to crack that code [VIDEO]

Books

Bolton's memoir shows Trump is only hope for North Korea and 'Moonshine' policy

A copy of the book, "The Room Where It Happened," by former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, is seen at the White House in Washington DC on June 18. The 500-plus page memoir was released in South Korea last week. APBy Jung Min-hoTop U.S. officials in current and past administrations have maintained that “the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” is an essential precondition for any negotiations with North Korea. A new book by former National Security Advisor John Bolton suggests that President Donald Trump has been the only one open to other possibilities.In his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” Bolton criticized Trump's way of dealing with North Korea, which, in his view, was “naive” and “dangerous.” Trump, the book clearly shows, truly believed it would be possible to rid North Korea of its nuclear arms through diplomatic means and was ready to make concessions he deemed necessary ― if he was not stopped by his key aides.One of many such moments came during Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim

Jul 22, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

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