Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
[News Focus] A year after Halloween crowd crush, legislation remains stalled
In the aftermath of the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, in October 2022, lawmakers here have raced to introduce new bills to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. A slew of problems surfaced in the wake of the unprecedented human crush that killed 159 people in the heart of South Korea's capital. For example, Korea had no legal basis to assign responsibility for safety during a large gathering that does not have a specific host. Moreover, there was no automated external defibrillator in th
Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2023
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Seoul introduces own version of 'Jessica's Law' to stem child sexual abuse
The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday announced plans to deprive convicted child sex offenders of their rights to choose where to live after they are released from jail. The Justice Ministry will propose a new bill aimed at restricting the civil rights of convicted child sex offenders at a Cabinet meeting, following a legislative notice to collect public opinions beginning from Thursday. The government is looking to designate specific areas where those sentenced to 10 years or more for child sexual
Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023
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Yoon's office denies hasty secretary sacking to hide truth
South Korea's presidential office on Monday denied the notion that President Yoon Suk Yeol had sacked Kim Seung-hee, secretary to the president for protocol, in a hurried and preemptive manner to impede further truth-seeking. Yoon's office said in a written statement the presidential office was unaware of the accusation involving Kim's daughter and his alleged intervention until it was revealed in a parliamentary probe on Friday. According to reports, Kim's 9-year-old daughte
Politics Oct. 23, 2023
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Top court widens spectrum of stalking
The South Korea Supreme Court has recently ruled that a stalker's actions that seemingly did not irritate the victim but were repeated should be considered as harassment if they came along with an instance of stalking. The ruling widened the spectrum of stalking by criminalizing the endangerment of stalking for the first time in Korea's judicial history. In the a September ruling, judgment of which was disclosed Friday, the Supreme Court handed down a 10-month prison sentence to a man on charges
Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2023
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UNDP, Korean police to assist world with war against tech-facilitated gender-based violence
The Korean National Police Agency has agreed to work with the United Nations Development Program to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, the UNDP said Thursday. The two signed the agreement during a bilateral meeting in Seoul, held at the margins of the International Police Summit 2023 hosted by the KNPA. Under the agreement, Korean police will share their experiences and expertise in addressing such crimes, according to the UNDP. The agreement aims to create a global policy env
Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2023
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Yoon vows to bridge health equity gap by backing regional university hospitals
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to address a health care service shortage in remote areas by empowering state-funded university hospitals outside of Seoul to improve the health care delivery system. While addressing the need to increase the number of doctors, the presidential office, however, did not announce a plan to increase the medical school quota amid opposition from doctors' advocacy groups. The government's rationale for expanding the medical school quota is that the
Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2023
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Yoon names Lee Jong-seok as Constitutional Court chief
President Yoon Suk Yeol has named Lee Jong-seok as the nominee for the President of the Constitutional Court of South Korea on Wednesday, according to Yoon's office. Lee is currently one of the nine justices at the Constitutional Court. He started his role there in 2018 and now has one year left in his term. Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki told reporters Wednesday that it had not yet been decided if the nomination of Lee means that his term as a justice would be extended. Both Yoon a
Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2023
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Seoul urges Japan to 'face history' on Japanese leaders' Yasukuni visit
South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed regret over Japanese leaders' visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which Seoul sees as a symbol of Japan's military aggression during its 1910-45 colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula. The government urged Japanese leaders to "squarely face history" to break with militarism, which would mark a crucial step to pursuing the advancement of Seoul-Tokyo ties in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainties surrounding North Korea. "The go
Foreign Affairs Oct. 18, 2023
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Foreign workers' deaths get weak sanctions
A total of 187 fatal occupational incidents involving E-9 foreign workers occurred during the period from 2021 until June, and only one company was banned from foreign hiring, data showed Tuesday. The company that was punished -- a marine industry employer -- received a three-year hiring ban as a result of criminal penalties, according to Labor Ministry data gathered by Rep. Lee Joo-hwan, a member of the ruling People Power Party. Of all 187 cases involving E-9 visa holders' occupational de
Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2023
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Jeonse scams cause W510b in losses, with less than 25% recovered: lawmaker
Sophisticated rental housing scams in South Korea incurred over 510 billion won ($376.5 million) in damages from January to July this year, with less than 25 percent of the damages retrieved, data showed Monday. According to police data compiled by Rep. Jeon Bong-min, a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, the financial loss that 4,481 rental housing fraud victims across the nation suffered amounted to 510.5 billion won during the January-July period. The number of victims rose eightfold,
Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2023
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Ruling party chief clings on after election loss
The ruling People Power Party's Chairman Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon is facing setbacks, following a significant by-election defeat in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, amid internal party turmoil with less than six months to go until the general election. Kim did not express his intention to step down from his position as the party chairman as of Sunday. Instead, Kim presided over an emergency party meeting Sunday, a day after he accepted the resignation of eight officials. The party's announcement ov
Politics Oct. 15, 2023
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Import ban on Japanese seafood has loopholes: lawmakers
Imports of processed Japanese seafood and rice from regions near the disposal of the treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant to Korea are being overlooked, opposition lawmakers said Thursday, as Seoul only bans fresh seafood from the affected regions. Koreans could still unknowingly consume processed seafood from Fukushima and seven other nearby prefectures, as such products do not fall under the ban on fresh seafood from those areas, and are not labeled what prefecture they
Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2023
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Patriots Ministry vows to intervene in Gwangju's plan to honor China's military anthem composer
Minister of Patriots Park Min-shik asked the Gwangju city government Wednesday to suspend its plan to build a park in memory of a Korean Chinese composer who fought against the South during the Korean War. Park said the ministry would issue a correction order to stop Gwangju authorities commemorating Zheng Lucheng if the city government fails to abide by its recommendation. Zheng, more commonly known as Jeong Yul-seong in South Korea, not only composed the anthem of the Chinese People's Lib
Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2023
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Blame game builds up on 1st day of parliamentary audit
A series of flare-ups gave rise to a political blame game at the South Korean National Assembly's audit sessions that kicked off Tuesday. The ruling People Power Party and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea bickered over the fallout from President Yoon Suk Yeol's controversial approval of a new defense minister and a leadership void in the judiciary system for the first time in 35 years. Also topping the agenda was Seoul's stance over the release of treated wastewater in ea
Politics Oct. 10, 2023
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Korea to enforce public release of mugshots, identities of those who commit serious crimes
South Korea's parliament on Friday passed a bill that will allow law enforcement to release the mugshots of suspects arrested for serious crimes without their consent. The National Assembly voted 215-0 in favor of the bill. Eight abstained. The passage of the law will create legal grounds for the disclosure of an alleged offender's photograph as long as the picture is taken within 30 days of the date it is released to the public. The Justice Ministry said in a statement that citizens' right to k
Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2023
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