Category: Korea-General Topics

After the suicide of a taxi driver who set himself on fire to protest the introduction of a ride sharing app in South Korea, 100,000 taxi drivers will surround the National Assembly on Thursday.  I was pleasantly surprised that someone in the media is actually reporting on what I believe these taxi drivers should be doing instead, evolving with the times: 

But taxi drivers say Kakao’s planned ridesharing app steps outside legal boundaries. The app allows users to hail rides at any time of day, rather than being limited to rush hour. 

The app would also charge around 70 percent to 80 percent of the normal taxi fare, which means it could easily take customers away from taxi drivers who are already facing long work hours and small incomes. 

“I’m sacrificing my life in the hopes taxi drivers can earn livable wages one day,” Choi wrote in a suicide note. 

Despite such strong protest from taxi drivers, public sentiment has mostly been in favor of the ridesharing app due to dissatisfaction with the availability and quality of taxi services. It is common for taxi drivers to refuse passengers going short distances late at night, especially in crowded areas of Seoul like Hongdae, Gangnam and Itaewon. 

But the problem can be solved within the taxi business itself, Lee said. 

“We actually have too many idle taxis, so the number of operating taxis in the country is virtually 200,000, not the registered 250,000,” Lee said. “We are working to resolve this by creating our own cab-hailing app that sends taxis to where they are most needed. The app will also hide the intended destination of passengers from the driver, so they can’t pick and choose between passengers.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but there is nothing hard about making a rival app for taxi drivers, the hard part is changing the taxi driver culture which is causing the demand for a ride sharing app in the first place.

Yes, but is this the #SouthKorea that is doing its best to undermine sanctions on #NorthKorea and is absolutely determined to support #KimJongUn? President #MoonJaein is no friend of the US. Trade breaks for him should be out of question. https://t.co/wR4Zmilz5c

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) December 7, 2018

A suicide note was found at the scene. Lee’s body has been transferred to a hospital morgue.

Lee, 60, was being probed by the prosecution over his alleged involvement in the illegal surveilling of bereaved families of victims from a 2014 deadly ferry sinking that took more than 300 lives.

Prosecutors accused him of ordering his officers to collect information about any possible misconduct by the families to adversely affect the public’s sympathetic sentiment toward them.

I've been called a free speech "absolutist" & I embrace the label. But no society can remain free if it allows some people to threaten violence against others for the peaceful expression of their views. A society that does so selectively commits censorship by proxy. #juchejugend https://t.co/ZETAzwrTzB

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) December 3, 2018

Probably not the best venue to let his views on radical feminists be known:

Rapper San E’s explosive remarks against online radical feminist communities during a concert have stirred up yet another controversy.

Hip-hop label Brand New Music held its year-end “Brand New Year 2018” concert at Jamil Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

There, San E offended females by saying in English, “Are there any WOMADs or Megalians (referring to online communities for radical groups that support misandry and female chauvinism) out there?

“One thing I want to say to you is that I don’t give a xxxx. Feminist NO, that’s mental sickness. WOMADs and Megalians are social evil.” After his remarks, the angry crowd shouted for an apology and the concert was interrupted for several minutes.

His appearance on stage had met with a chilly reception ― he recently came under fire for posting on YouTube a controversial song targeting feminists.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

In a city filled with riot police, why can't (or won't) the South Korean government protect the safety & freedom to speak of its most prominent dissident in exile? https://t.co/znChDnwAzT

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) December 1, 2018

Metal workers union members (under the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) beat company exec b/c the firm was negotiating w another labor union. Police blocked by 30 or so unionists, waits while beating occurs for 40 minutes. Beaters threaten exec's family too. https://t.co/nZDGXZP5W9

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 28, 2018

South Korea’s test of its anticipated space launch vehicle was a success:

South Korea successfully tested its locally developed rocket engine on Wednesday, officials said, taking a step closer to the full-fledged development of the country’s first space launch vehicle.

The test of the 75-ton thrust engine was conducted using a single-stage rocket that was launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4:00 p.m.

The rocket engine, designed and developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), will be used on the three-stage Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2) currently under development.

The 75-ton thrust engine is considered a core technology behind the KSLV-2, which would make South Korea the seventh country in the world to build a space launch vehicle with homegrown technology.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and KARI said the critical rocket motor combustion time was maintained for 151 seconds, surpassing an initial goal of 140 seconds.

KARI said evaluating the performance of a liquid propellant rocket engine is determined by the length of the total combustion time.

To be fair this is nothing new in modern societies with politicians using welfare handouts to get votes:

The government’s cash handouts as part of welfare benefits will reach a record W33 trillion next year (US$1=W1,130). The cash handouts for people in need have increased by W10 trillion in the two years since President Moon Jae-in came into office, with the total number of recipients reaching 10 million or one out of five citizens.

There are no fewer than 50 different types of welfare benefits ranging from basic pension payments for the 5.39 million elderly people to child benefits for 2.3 million people, living cost subsidies for 1.58 million low-income households and financial support for some 100,000 young jobseekers. Of course the government should provide for the needy, but the current administration’s cash welfare programs are like showering gifts of money on all comers.

In reality they are money for votes. Opposition parties do not want to sit idle and take the blows, and the Liberty Korea Party has already promised to boost next year’s proposed budget by W7 trillion to expand childcare support and others to keep up.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

So many people said the police was investigating their bank accounts for donations, and here's one. This is so illegal, yet the police is told to do this & they comply. #MoonJaein -Im Jong-seok admin of #SouthKorea is suppressing the freedom of assembly. https://t.co/Fc5K7fK56C

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) November 23, 2018