South Korea's pension reform plan will include a proposal to increase benefits for those who served in the military and women who give birth. Aiming to ease the pension burden on young adults, as most military service members and women who give birth are in their 20s and 30s, the presidential office and the government have ramped up measures to credit those who contribute to the community. The government also has decided to apply the “maternity credit,” which is granted from the

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

  Prosecutors are reportedly investigating the bank accounts of former President Moon Jae-in and his wife in connection with allegations that his son-in-law received an unfair advantage in being hired by an airline company. According to legal sources Friday, the Jeonju District Prosecutor's Criminal Division 3 recently executed a search warrant to trace the financial accounts of former President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook. This comes about four years after a complaint was filed

Politics Aug. 16, 2024

The Education Ministry announced Wednesday that care programs for elementary schools driven by the state will begin in the second semester of the 2024 academic year, benefiting more than 6,300 schools nationwide. Dubbed "Neulbom school" which directly translates to "always caring" in Korean, the policy is a comprehensive after-school management system that integrates various educational resources from the school, the community and universities in the area in addition to regul

Social Affairs Aug. 14, 2024

As South Korea prepares to implement the world's first artificial intelligence-powered, tablet-based digital textbooks in 2025, concerns over privacy violations and students' over-reliance on digital devices continue to stir controversy. Amid growing concerns, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho reaffirmed the importance of turning classrooms "digital" on Monday at a briefing with reporters at the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety, pledging full support to teachers as t

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2024

Despite the government's efforts to reduce the blind spot for the national pension, only four out of 10 people in the low-income bracket are enrolled in the national pension system, a study showed Sunday. According to the National Pension Research Institute, among the people aged 20 to 59 in the last tier of the income group, those who earn less than two-thirds of the median income of 2021, only 40.96 percent enrolled in the national pension system. The enrollment rate increased a mere 2.15

Social Affairs Aug. 11, 2024

In response to a recent surge in fires caused by electric vehicles in underground parking lots across South Korea, the government is reportedly considering regulatory changes, including installing additional sprinklers and expediting the fire department's response times. The Ministry of Environment was set to hold a meeting Monday to have the National Fire Agency explain how to mitigate the risks associated with EV-related fires. Discussing major measures starting from the Monday meeting, t

Social Affairs Aug. 11, 2024

The South Korean government has turned a blind eye towards a joint request by a group of a hundred children and teens here calling for the elimination of restaurants and cafes banning the entrance of children, a local news report revealed Thursday. A joint resolution calling for the riddance of so-called "no-kids zones," drafted last year by a hundred students aged 10 to 17 from across the country -- elected by their peers to represent them at a government-organized 20th National Child

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2024

Seoul Cyber University, South Korea's first online university, is recruiting new students for the second half of the 2024 academic year in 43 majors across 11 colleges. Providing education tailored to social demands and trends by establishing and reorganizing departments and majors for the 2024 academic year, the university has created an artificial intelligence convergence college that includes majors such as AI service marketing, AI real estate big data, AI smart farm, AI creators and o

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2024

Prosecutors recently arrested dozens of university students for the mass use and trafficking of illegal drugs within a social club comprising hundreds of members from 13 universities in the Seoul metropolitan area, raising a red flag in what was once known as a "drug-free country." The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office arrested four university students, including the club's president, and charged two others with violating drug laws on Monday. Eight college students

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2024

진행자: 최정윤, Chelsea Proctor Internet drives K-pop stars to overwork [1] The punishing schedule and little rest that K-pop stars endure are not new. Big-name K-pop agencies have been consistently criticized for operating like factories in producing and managing artists. endure: 견디다 big-name: 일류의, 유명한 [2] Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of Hybe, the largest K-pop agency globally, acknowledged this issue in a CNN interview in March 2023. "It’s not a total urban legend. Of course, there was some

Podcast Aug. 5, 2024

Amid South Korea's growing demand for private education, the Ministry of Education said Monday it will conduct a special inspection on agencies that arrange or help students study abroad. The Ministry of Education will focus on false and exaggerated advertisements of such centers to put the brakes on sales methods that prompt advanced learning and promote private education from August to September, with the cooperation of the 17 provincial offices of education nationwide. The ministry will

Social Affairs Aug. 5, 2024

The number of schools with more than 30 percent of students from international backgrounds has sharply surged in the past five years, a recent study showed Friday. Research conducted by the Korean Educational Development Institute revealed Friday that multicultural students accounted for more than 30 percent of the student population at 350 elementary, middle and high schools in the country. This is equivalent to 2.96 percent of all such schools in Korea. The number of schools has increased by 4

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2024

South Korea is poised to announce compensation plans for dog meat sellers in September, in a follow-up to its passage of a bill in January banning the eating and selling of dog meat. The country seeks to end the centuries-old yet controversial practice amid growing support for animal welfare. "We will announce the basic plan in September after consulting with financial authorities," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement Friday. "Nothing specific h

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2024

South Korea's planned shutdown of coal-fired power plants to achieve carbon neutrality could exacerbate regional disparities, according to a new study by a national research institute on Thursday. In a report on the paradox of carbon neutrality, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlement, a think tank in the country, claimed that South Korea's coal phaseout will increase the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, from the current level and widen economic disparities b

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2024

진행자: 최정윤, Chelsea Proctor Korea to tackle wedding charges, housing regulations to boost birth rate 기사요약: 저출산 대응 방안으로 저출산고령사회위원회는 출산가구를 공공임대 우선공급 1순위로 지정하고 일명 "스드메" 거뿜도 빼는 방안 발표 [1] The government announced new measures to boost marriages for young people and support housing for families with children, as a follow-up measure after a "demographic national emergency" was declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month. boost: 신장시키다 declare: 선언하다 [2] Facing dire warnings that S

Podcast Aug. 1, 2024