Articles by Lee Jaeeun
Lee Jaeeun
jenn@heraldcorp.com-
S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD
South Korea has the worst gender pay gap among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development according to 2022 data, an OECD estimate showed on Thursday. This marked the 27th year straight that Asia's fourth-largest economy recorded the most severe gender pay gap among the member states. The 2022 figure showed Korea's female workers were paid on average 31.2 percent less than their male counterparts in 2022, or 68.8 percent, the data showed. The d
Social Affairs May 23, 2024
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Symphonic music festival in Gwangju to bring together 2,000 musicians in July
The 2024 20th World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference Gwangju-Gyeonggi will open in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in July, hosting more than 2,000 musicians from over 30 countries, according to the municipal government. This year's edition of the biennial symphonic wind music festival will run from July 16-20. The music festival in the suburbs southeast of Seoul will include main concerts, lectures, fringe festivals and exhibitions, among which the main concer
Social Affairs May 23, 2024
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New CIO chief vows to restore public trust
Oh Dong-woon, the new chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, pledged Wednesday to strengthen the agency's role as an independent investigative body and to restore public trust. In his inaugural address, Oh said, “The CIO has been criticized for falling short of public expectations. My responsibility is to strengthen the agency's role as an independent investigative body in line with the purpose for which the CIO was created.” “Since t
Social Affairs May 22, 2024
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First 100 Filipino domestic helpers due September
The first 100 Filipino domestic workers will arrive in Seoul as early as September, with observers saying they are expected to earn at least 1.5 million won ($1,135) per month, in line with this year's minimum wage, according to South Korea's Labor Ministry, Monday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that the Philippine government posted a job notification earlier this month for 100 Filipino domestic workers willing to work in Seoul. The notification followed a wrap-up of discus
Social Affairs May 20, 2024
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Police raid trot star's house over suspected hit-and-run cover-up
Police raided popular trot singer Kim Ho-joong's house in Seoul on Thursday night over allegations regarding a hit-and-run accident, officials said. According to Seoul Gangnam Police Station, investigators searched Kim's house and the home and office of Lee Kwang-deuk, the head of Kim's agency, Think Entertainment, to figure out the whereabouts of Kim and his manager following the incident. Kim is suspected of hitting a taxi on the opposite side of the road and fleeing the scene w
Social Affairs May 17, 2024
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Human rights commission urges Korea to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights
South Korea’s human rights commission on Friday called for Koreans and the government to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBTQ rights. Song Doo-hwan, chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, issued a statement Friday to mark the 2024 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia. Celebrated annually on May 17, the day marks the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declass
Social Affairs May 17, 2024
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
The debate has intensified over indoor spaces barring older people, notably sparked by local reports of residents in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, debating on online forums whether to designate a newly opened public swimming pool as a "no-seniors zone." One commenter posted: “People over 65 use the pool in a very dirty way, such as urinating in the water, and complain a lot, which ruins the atmosphere. Their use should be restricted.” The pool in question, reportedly
Social Affairs May 16, 2024
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CIO chief nominee to explain allegations at confirmation hearing
The nominee for the new chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials is set to explain multiple accusations against him and his family, including allegations of nepotism, in a confirmation hearing scheduled for Friday. Oh Dong-woon, a former judge and attorney, was nominated last month to lead the state investigation agency but has since been mired in controversy surrounding the hiring of his wife at a law firm he worked for between January 2018 and Octobe
Social Affairs May 15, 2024
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Seoul Metro seeks solutions to scare away pigeons
Seoul Metro has installed spikes to keep pigeons from roosting in its stations and will introduce more such measures, it said Monday. The operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1 through 8 announced that it has introduced spikes and would soon adopt other measures to deter pigeons and other birds, including nets, bird repellent gel and ultrasonic bird repellers. These measures have come as complaints about birds have increased. Seoul Metro said it received 131 total complaints about pigeons specific
Social Affairs May 13, 2024
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
The South Korean prosecution is gearing up to summon Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young whose spy camera footage shows him meeting with first lady Kim Keon Hee and giving her a Christian Dior handbag valued at 3 million won ($2,210). The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office is scheduled to question Choi officially on Monday for the first time. It comes in the wake of the video's public disclosure last November by local media outlet and YouTube channel Voice of Seoul. The outle
Social Affairs May 12, 2024
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Court orders state to pay W10m to Moroccan asylum seeker for mistreatment
A local court ordered the government to pay 10 million won ($7,500) in compensation to the Moroccan asylum seeker who was detained in the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center for months beginning in March 2021 and suffered inhuman treatment there. The Seoul Central District Court delivered the ruling Thursday, about three years after the incident occurred at the detention center, during which the detainee was hog-tied, with his hands and feet bound behind his back. The Moroccan man originally a
Social Affairs May 9, 2024
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Court rules surgery not mandatory for legal gender change
A recent court ruling has declared it unlawful for the first time to require gender-affirmation surgery as a prerequisite for legally changing one's gender. Judges at the Yeongdong branch of the Cheongju District Court recently granted permission to five people who have not undergone gender reassignment surgeries to change their legal gender from male to female on their family registers. The decision was confirmed by the court on Thursday. The individuals, originally registered as male at b
Social Affairs May 9, 2024
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Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea
In recent months, a wave of murders targeting ex-girlfriends has not only sent shock waves across the country but has also raised questions about why these incidents occur and how such a crime can be prevented. The murder of a woman in her 20s by her boyfriend on Monday atop a building near Gangnam Station in Seoul, which occurred following her request to end the relationship, tragically mirrors a distressing trend of similar incidents. The suspect, whom the authorities only identified as a 20-s
Social Affairs May 8, 2024
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Seoul city aims to halve carbon emissions by 2033
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that the city aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2033 from the 2005 levels, and reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050. With the ambition of building a city safe from climate crises, the city has announced its new 10-year plan, named the Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth in Seoul, which includes carbon-neutral and eco-friendly energy transition policies to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2033 compared to 20
Social Affairs May 7, 2024
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
The corruption investigation office for high-level officials has called in key suspects for questioning over allegations that presidential and defense officials interfered in a sensitive military inquiry concerning the on-duty death of a Marine last year, multiple sources said Friday. Yoo Jae-eun, a legal affairs official at the defense ministry, and Park Kyung-hoon, a former acting chief of the Criminal Investigation Command under the defense ministry, underwent the Corruption Investigation Off
Social Affairs May 3, 2024
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