The court ordered government bodies to compensate the family of a public servant who took her own life after suffering from sexual harassment and workplace bullying, according to the prosecution Tuesday.The Seoul High Court ordered the Government Employees Pension Service to compensate the family of the female civil servant in December, saying the organization did not provide proper treatment for the victim even after she reported several incidents.  (Yonhap)The married victim, who was working i

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2018

A two-day forum on sustainable development kicked off in Seoul on Wednesday, bringing together experts and international leaders to promote partnership among nations and organizations to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals.The first Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development was held at Yonsei University in Seoul, hosted by Yonsei University Global Engagement and Empowerment Institute and Ban Ki-moon Center for Global Citizens, which is based in Austria. (Yonhap)Fo

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2018

A close aide to former President Lee Myung-bak strongly denounced the prosecution and the government Tuesday for pointing to Lee as the main culprit in a spy agency fund scandal. The former lawmaker, Cho Hae-jin, also hinted that Lee is reconsidering accepting President Moon Jae-in’s invitation to the opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.  Former President Lee Myung-bak (Yonhap)“It is difficult to make a decision on Cheong Wa Dae’s invitation, while the prosecution a

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2018

Lawmakers who bolted from the minor opposition People’s Party launched a new liberal party Tuesday, ending a monthslong dispute over the leadership’s push to merge with a center-right political faction.Fifteen lawmakers and their supporters held an inauguration ceremony of Party for Democracy and Peace at the National Assembly and declared its goal to be a party that puts the livelihood of the people as its priority and promote reform in politics.  Cho Bae-sook, the leader of the new Party for D

Politics Feb. 6, 2018

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was freed Thursday, as a Seoul appeals court cleared him of major charges and handed down a suspended sentence. The Seoul High Court overturned a lower court’s five-year sentence and handed down two years and six months in prison suspended for four years for bribery -- rejecting the special counsel’s argument that it was linked to his succession. Prosecutors had maintained a 12-year prison term for Lee.The 50-year-old scion of the biggest conglomera

Industry Feb. 5, 2018

The temperature will drop back down over the weekend after the slight rise during the week, the weather agency said. On Friday night, it will snow in most regions, including Seoul.The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a cold wave warning for northern Gyeonggi Province, North Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province.  (Yonhap)During the weekend, the skies will be cloudy overall and snow will continue into Saturday morning for some regions in the southern part of the Peninsula,

Social Affairs Feb. 2, 2018

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea came up with a plan for the revision of the Constitution on Friday, which includes changing the current single five-year presidency and naming popular uprisings in the preface to the Constitution.On the second day of the party’s discussion on how to revise the Constitution, the party’s Floor Leader Rep. Woo Won-shik said they have decided to promote a change in the presidential system but maintain it as well. While there were many who favored a four-year two-

Politics Feb. 2, 2018

The Justice Ministry launched a sexual harassment prevention committee Friday, amid public outrage triggered by a female prosecutor’s revelation of sexual misconduct by a former Justice Ministry official.The newly established committee will investigate sex crimes that occurred at the Ministry of Justice and affiliated organizations, and come up with measures to prevent further occurrences. The prosecution, which has launched its own investigation team, will not be subjected to the ministry’s pro

Social Affairs Feb. 2, 2018

The head of a special probe team looking in to the sexual harassment allegation inside the Prosecution on Thursday vowed to get to the bottom of the case to prevent a repeat of such crimes. “I wish for the special investigation team to lead to creating a working environment where two genders can work together on equal footing,” Cho Hee-jin, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office said in a press conference in front of the prosecution. The 10 member-investigation te

Social Affairs Feb. 1, 2018

The female prosecutor who spoke up about sexual harassment within the prosecution has asked the public to shift its attention and efforts to measures to resolve the pervasive mistreatment of women in society, rather than focusing on her experience. “Please look at why the organization (the prosecution) did not listen to a lone victim, instead of what happened to me at the funeral,” Seo Ji-hyun, a public prosecutor at the Tongyeong branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office, said in a st

Social Affairs Jan. 31, 2018

After a female prosecutor claimed sexual harassment by a former senior Justice Ministry official, voices of support grew for the prosecutor Tuesday, along with demands for an investigation into the case. In a televised interview Monday, Seo Ji-hyun, a public prosecutor at the Tongyeong branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office, said Ahn Tae-geun, who was a senior Justice Ministry official at the time, sexually harassed her at a funeral in 2010. Members of the far-left minor opposition

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2018

American movements against pervasive sexual harassment -- #MeToo and Time’s Up -- have led to a slew of allegations against some of the world’s most powerful men.What started out as a tweet from a Hollywood actress encouraging those who have been victims of sexual harassment to use the hashtag #MeToo soon evolved into a global movement, starting with the downfall of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.  Cover of Times (AP-Yonhap)And while it was never easy for the silence breakers to come forward with

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2018

The prosecution on Monday demanded eight years in prison for Woo Byung-woo, a key former aide to ousted President Park Geun-hye, for dereliction of duty, abuse of power and perjury. The court is expected to rule on Feb. 14, before the Lunar New Year holiday. At the final hearing of the nine-month trial at the Seoul Central District Court, a special counsel and state prosecutors asked the court to sentence Woo, 50, to eight years in prison, saying he had abused his power as a presidential aide. “

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2018

About half of People’s Party lawmakers established a preparation committee to create a new party and held a meeting of promoters on Sunday, speeding up the breakup of the center-left opposition party.Sixteen parliamentarians, including veteran lawmakers Reps. Park Jie-won and Chung Dong-young and some 1,000 supporters gathered at the National Assembly held a ceremony and proposed the creation of a new party, the Party for Democracy and Peace. People's Party awmakers opposing the merger with Bare

Politics Jan. 28, 2018

Faulty wiring and flammable ceiling materials are suspected as the major causes of the fire at a hospital in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, which has so far claimed 38 lives and left 151 people hurt, investigators reported on Sunday, after a third on-site inspection.The special probe team, which includes officials from police, fire and forensics departments, focused on the structure of the building and whether the electrical wiring system had been managed properly, suspecting that defective

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2018