Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, pledged to put his utmost efforts into creating inclusive classrooms for minorities and students of multicultural backgrounds, while emphasizing the successful implementation of digital textbooks. Speaking at a press conference at the Education Office on Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of his inauguration, Cho highlighted his goal of bringing diversity and inclusiveness to schools across Seoul, addressing the import

Social Affairs July 2, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered related government agencies to respond swiftly to the deadly car accident that took place late Monday near Seoul city hall. “President Yoon was briefed about the car accident and ordered the minister of interior and safety, and the chief of the National Fire Agency to ‘focus all resources to rescue and treatment of the victims,” Kim Soo-kyung, the president spokesperson said in a written briefing Monday evening. The incident took place at around

Social Affairs July 1, 2024

A major traffic accident occurred near Seoul's City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, killing at least nine pedestrians and injuring four others, according to fire authorities. According to the National Fire Agency, a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk at an intersection near Exit 12 of City Hall Station at around 9:26 p.m., hitting pedestrians who were waiting to cross the street. Police arrested a man in his 60s at the scene. The driver is reportedly claiming that the accident was caused by a

Social Affairs July 1, 2024

Amid the growing concerns over sex crimes against minors, South Korea's national police agency announced Monday it has established an international response platform to tackle the spread of online content on the sexual exploitation of children. Dubbed "InaRae," which stands for International Response Against Exploitation, the system allows law enforcement agencies in Korea and other member countries to mutually request the removal and blocking of child sexual exploitation content.

Social Affairs July 1, 2024

Ahead of the summer vacation season, the national police agency announced that it will conduct a special crackdown on drunk driving nationwide for two months starting Monday. The Korean National Police Agency will administer breath tests every Friday, and each municipal police agency will lead the crackdown at least twice a week. Crackdowns will also be carried out on a regular basis by region, according to the police. The crackdown is aimed at highlighting the need to eradicate drunk driving, p

Social Affairs June 30, 2024

South Korea on Sunday saw heavy rainfall across the country overnight, marking the start of the summer rain season. The government activated the first stage of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and raised the heavy rain warning level from "concern" to "caution." The rain front, dumping strong rain mainly in the southern part of the country, moved further inland Sunday, causing rain to fall in most parts of the country, including Seoul, according to

Social Affairs June 30, 2024

Operations of nurseries and kindergartens will be integrated with the Education Ministry becoming the single institution to manage the overall policies of children up to age 11, the government said Thursday, stressing that the plan is aimed at improving efficiency in policies to tackle the nation's plummeting birth rate. For more than 30 years, Korea's early childhood education and care system has been divided into kindergartens and day care centers under the supervision of the Ministr

Social Affairs June 27, 2024

Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor raided Aricell and partner companies that sourced workers for its battery plant on Wednesday to investigate irregularities in their operations after a deadly fire killed 23 workers and injured eight earlier in the week. The move came a day after the Labor Ministry charged five Aricell officials with violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and laws on professional negligence resulting in death or serious injury, as well as banning them fro

Social Affairs June 26, 2024

HWASEONG/SEOUL -- The deadly fire that killed at least 23 people at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, may have been worsened by deficiencies in prevention measures and unsafe working environments, with a report that a fire had broke out two days before the Monday outbreak. While the exact cause of the fire will be determined through further forensics, experts believe that the lack of a proper evacuation route may have worsened the fire's effects. The proximity of the

Social Affairs June 25, 2024

A fire that broke out at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, has left at least 22 workers dead, eight injured and one missing as of 6:30 p.m., according to local authorities Monday. Most of the deceased were among the 21 workers who were trapped inside and unaccounted for during the initial fire rescue efforts. The Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters confirmed the deaths of 22 people, including 19 foreign workers, following a fire that occurred at 10:31 a.m. at Aricell&

Social Affairs June 24, 2024

진행자: 최정윤, Elise Youn IV drips: A quick energy shot for overworked Koreans [1] “Feeling burnt out? You’ve come to the right place,” the doctor said during my consultation at a clinic in Yeouido, Seoul's financial district, before prescribing what he called a “garlic injection.” * prescribe: 처방을 내리다 n. prescription / 규정,지시하다 (stipulate) [2[ As an average South Korean national, I am used to eating tons of garlic, but I wasn’t quite ready to have it inje

Podcast June 24, 2024

Former Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong will announce his candidacy for the chairmanship of the ruling People Power Party on Sunday, Won's camp said Friday. "I have concluded that the party and the government must now work together in unison to bring about changes and reforms that fully support the public sentiment expressed through the general election," said Won. Earlier, Han Dong-hoon, who led the ruling People Power Party through the April election fo

Politics June 21, 2024

Gyeongju in South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province has been recommended to host the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government's host city selection committee voted to recommend Gyeongju as the candidate city for next year's APEC Summit at its fourth meeting. The upcoming APEC summit is to be hosted in South Korea for the first time in 20 years since its previous one was

Social Affairs June 21, 2024

YEONGJONGDO, Incheon -- As more and more universities in South Korea face financial crises due to a shrinking student population, four-year colleges are eyeing attracting and educating international students to secure successful operations of their institutes. A survey result conducted with some 130 presidents of universities showed such a trend, where 52.7 percent of respondents were interested in securing foreign students, which came as the third on the agenda of their interests, following fin

Social Affairs June 20, 2024

진행자: 최정윤. Elise Youn No. of mosquitoes unusually high in June [1] Amid a relentless heat wave sweeping across South Korea, Seoul has seen a significant surge in its mosquito population over the past two weeks, turning a seasonal nuisance into a widespread concern. *relentless: 가차 없는, 끈질긴 (relent: v. 포기하고 동의하다, 누그러지다) *nuisance: 골칫거리, 성가신 사람(것/일) / public nuisance: 사회적 골칫거리 [2] According to the Seoul Mosquito Forecast System, the average mosquito activity index in the capital city has increase

Podcast June 20, 2024