Extreme weather events such as an unusually long monsoon season and frequent typhoons last year caused 1.2 trillion won of property in South Korea, according to a report by the country’s weather agency. The Korea Meteorological Administration published a report on Thursday on last year’s extreme weather events and their social and economic impact on society, jointly with 24 related ministries and agencies.  The annual report addresses the causes of abnormal weather patterns

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2021

Half of job seekers in South Korea were not confident landing a job in the first half of this year mostly due to a grim economic outlook amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a survey by job search engine Job Korea of 934 people preparing to enter labor force in the first half of this year, 49.3 percent of the respondents said they were not confident in landing a job. Those who majored in humanities were less confident (55.4 percent) than those who studied science-related subjects (46.5 pe

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2021

Traditional markets are the cheapest option for grocery shopping for the upcoming Lunar New Year’s holiday, recent data showed, with food prices skyrocketing due to unusual weather patterns and the spread of bird flu. An average four-member household in South Korea can expect to spend about 240,700 won ($215) on groceries for the “charye” table at a traditional market, up 16.4 percent from last year, according to data collected by Korea Price Information. At a big supermarke

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2021

Gyeonggi Provincial Government said Thursday that it will offer 100,000 won ($89) in emergency cash payouts to all registered residents, including foreigners, starting on Feb. 1, as part of efforts to help cope with the COVID-19 economic fallout. Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said at an online press briefing that now is “the right time” to distribute relief funds given the devastating economic situation and the slowing infection rate.  Q. Who is eligible for the

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2021

Six out of ten office workers in South Korea said they will not visit their families in their hometowns during the Lunar New Year holiday due to the spread of the coronavirus, a survey showed Monday. According to a survey of 1,434 officer workers conducted by a job search engine Saramin, 63.4 percent of the respondents said they will not travel to their hometowns in what is normally the busiest time of the year for family get-togethers. This year’s Lunar New Year holiday falls on Feb.

Social Affairs Jan. 26, 2021

Facilities for homeless people at Seoul Station were temporarily shut down Tuesday after coronavirus infections were traced there, according to the Seoul city government. Three homeless people and two employees linked to the homeless support center and emergency shelter at Seoul Station Plaza had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Since the first case was reported Jan. 17, some 25 people had been hospitalized or gone into isolati

Social Affairs Jan. 26, 2021

South Korean government pushes to reform family-related laws to accommodate various types of familial and household structures such as cohabiting couples who are not married. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family laid out a basic plan for family policy on Sunday to be effective from 2021-2025, though revisions to related laws must pass through the parliament before they take effect. The current civil law stipulates that a family involves direct family by blood, siblings, a spouse and t

Social Affairs Jan. 26, 2021

Another court ruling came on Monday in favor of importing a life-size sex doll despite persistent controversy over the sex doll which many denounce as sexually objectifying women and prompting an increase in sex crimes. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a firm seeking to import one life-size sex doll into the country from China, ordering the head of Gimpo Airport’s customs agency to revoke its decision to block the import of the doll. The customs agency suspended the imp

Social Affairs Jan. 25, 2021

South Korea reported nine more cases of COVID-19 variants over the past week, health authorities said Monday as they scrambled to block the influx of highly contagious new strains into the country. Nine people were infected with the mutated virus variants over the past week -- four from the United Kingdom, three from South Africa and two from Brazil, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Seven of the patients were confirmed to be infected during the quarantine process

Social Affairs Jan. 25, 2021

The labor income gap among wage earners in South Korea worsened last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report showed, despite narrower disparities in disposable income under the Moon Jae-in administration. The Gini coefficient -- a measure of income inequality within a population -- went up slightly to 0.306 last year when calculated on the basis of hourly labor income, according to a report from the Korea Employment Information Service. The report was based on employment data fr

Social Affairs Jan. 25, 2021

Seoul education office’s push to protect LGBT students and eradicate discrimination at schools is facing opposition after the office released its 2021-23 draft plan to protect the human rights of students. In the draft plan, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education included its plan to support and protect minority pupils –- from multicultural to LGBT students -- to make sure schools are free from hatred and discrimination for their safety and welfare. The education of

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2021

Religious facilities were the biggest source of COVID-19 group infections in South Korea for the past year, with one in three confirmed patients being in their 40s and 50s, according to health authorities’ analysis.  According to the analysis by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on COVID-19 cases from Jan. 20 last year to Jan. 19 this year, 45.4 percent of all coronavirus cases in Korea were classified as “mass infections.” A mass infection is a group of

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2021

The Seoul city government released a list of restaurants, cafes and bakeries in the country’s capital offering vegetarian or vegan options, making it easy for users to search for one in their own neighborhood. A total of 948 restaurants -- 368 independent restaurants and 580 franchise chains -- were introduced, including vegetarian-only restaurants as well as others with vegetarian options. A click on a district on the map of Seoul will bring up a list of places in the district serving

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2021

All residents of Gyeonggi Province, including registered foreigners, will receive 100,000 won ($90.90) in emergency cash payouts to cope with the COVID-19 economic fallout regardless of their income, age or occupation, with the exact timing to be decided soon. Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday at an online press conference that it is appropriate to dole out the second round of cash relief and to do so rapidly, given the devastating economic situation, the slowing coronavirus infe

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2021

Women in Seoul spent almost four times longer than men on household chores and were paid less in 2019, highlighting the persistent gender disparity in the country’s capital, according to a report by the Seoul city government. Girls and women aged 15 or older spent about two hours and 26 minutes on housework in 2019, about 3.6 times longer than men who devoted 41 minutes, according to the 2020 Seoul gender statistics report on residents’ work-life balance. In double-income househo

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2021