After story of 106-car accident occurred on Incheon Yeongjong Bridge. Several errors found on injured list – … pic.twitter.com/IzV222V5mp
— YA KOREA (@yakoreacom) February 13, 2015
What a horrible way to die in what was a preventable accident:
An incident Thursday in which a zookeeper was mauled to death by two lions has led to growing calls for increased safety measures.
The 52-year-old zookeeper surnamed Kim was found fatally bleeding in the wild cats’ enclosure at Seoul Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin District, northern Seoul.
Both lions, which were supposed to be locked up, were discovered wandering around the body, said another zoo worker surnamed Lee, who first came upon the scene at the enclosure, which measures 374 square meters, about 4,000 square feet.
In CCTV footage examined by the police, Kim appeared on screen alone after taking part in the zoo’s wild animal action development program, which is conducted two or three times a month to help exercise animals’ natural instincts.
During those exercises, workers typically throw raw meat or toys to the animals in their natural enclosures.
Police said Kim was working by himself and remained in the enclosure to clean it without realizing the lion cage was unlocked. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link.
The Korean Air heiress at the center of the Nut Rage case is not going down without a fight:
The eldest daughter of Korean Air Lines Co.’s chairman on Friday appealed a court decision that found her guilty of violating air safety and other laws, court officials said.
Cho Hyun-ah, former vice president of the nation’s top carrier, was convicted a day earlier of changing the planned route of a flight, intimidating and assaulting a flight attendant, and obstructing the business of the airline.
She was sentenced to one year in jail despite her repeated apologies to the judges, which she hoped would earn her a suspended jail term.
On Dec. 5, Cho ordered a senior crew member off the Korean Air flight headed to Incheon from New York because of the way she was served nuts. The plane had already been taxiing with 250 passengers on board. She said she was upset that her macadamia nuts were provided in an unopened packet rather than on a plate, which, according to the then vice president of cabin service, violated the proper nut-serving protocol.
The Seoul Western District Court in charge of the case said Cho’s attorney submitted an appeal Friday afternoon.
“The decision misconstrued facts and the principle of aviation law,” attorney Seo Chang-hui said. “We also believe the sentence is unjustified.” [Yonhap]
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Maybe this is what was planned all along, convict her for one year then appeal, and then wait for the media attention to die down. Once the media attention dies down quietly let her win the appeal and release her for time served.
The Future of South Korea’s Welfare System http://t.co/Q7ybRZryT9
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) February 10, 2015
A huge pileup due to foggy weather on the bridge leading from Incheon International Airport to Seoul has killed two people and injured dozens more:
Two people were killed and more than 60 others were injured on Wednesday as more than 100 vehicles piled up on a bridge near Incheon International Airport in foggy weather, police said.
The collision took place at 9:34 a.m. on the Seoul-bound side of the bridge linking the western port city with an island where the airport, South Korea’s main gateway, is located.
A total of 63 people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals. Ten of them were in serious condition, while two were in critical condition, authorities said.
Of the injured, seven were Chinese, three Thai, two Vietnamese and two Filipino. The other four foreign nationals were Japanese, Russian, Bangladeshi and Swiss, respectively.
One of the two Vietnamese victims was in serious condition, firefighters said.
The bodies of the two victims have been moved to hospitals in Goyang, a northern Seoul suburb, and western Incheon, respectively, police said. They were identified only as a 51-year-old surnamed Kim and a 46-year-old surnamed Lim.
Police said a taxi in the first lane bumped another taxi in front of it into the second lane. An airport limousine bus ran into the second taxi, causing a mass collision of cars behind it. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
I understand how these families members are upset, but the sinking of the fishing boat off the coast of Russia that resulted in 53 people dead or missing is not going to get much attention in Korea because the vast majority of the people who died were foreigners. Plus it happened so far out at sea where there was no news cameras compared to the Sewol ferry boat tragedy:
On a cold afternoon last month, a handful of demonstrators carried signs along a road in downtown Seoul, attracting little attention.
The lack of interest was troubling for the small group, whose loved ones disappeared on Dec. 1 when the Korean-owned trawler Oryong 501 sank in the Bering Sea off the coast of Russia.
Six Koreans were confirmed dead in the sinking of the 1,753-ton vessel; five others remain unaccounted for. In all, 27 men, including Filipinos and Indonesians, have been confirmed dead and 26 are listed as missing.
Some of the Korean family members want the owner of the ship, Sajo Group, held accountable, saying the company sent out a non-seaworthy boat and is evading its responsibilities. They also want the government to apologize for what they believe was lax monitoring of the firm.
“We demand that Sajo Group be punished for letting a malfunctioning fishing boat go out to sea; for an apology from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries; and a pledge that the ministry will properly supervise future ocean operations,” said Ko Jang-un, a representative for the families, whose brother has been confirmed dead.
Ma Sun-sook, who also lost her brother, said, “You can’t call it an accident if the sinking of the vessel was predictable.” [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but the boat took on water during a bad storm and a bad water pump resulted in the boat not being able to extract the water and it sunk. It had been known for months that the boat had a bad pump. It seems to me the company is to blame more so than government regulators.
Jeju's disappearing grave guardians http://t.co/dcxmlBwvc1 #Stone #Culture #Jeju
— The Jeju Weekly (@JejuWeekly) February 7, 2015
So if South Korea does increase their birthrate then where are all these people going to go in such a small country?
President Park Geun-hye called Friday for measures to address South Korea’s low birthrate and aging population, which experts say could undermine the vitality of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
South Korea’s birthrate stood at 1.19 in 2013, the lowest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 34 mostly rich nations.
South Korea has tried in vain to boost a falling birthrate as the rising cost of raising a child and job shortages have discouraged women from having more children.
Park said the next five year is the golden time in handling the country’s population crisis marked by the low birthrate and rapidly aging population.
“We can transform a crisis into an opportunity and create a sustainable growth engine only when we properly cope with” the population crisis, Park said in a meeting meant to address both issues at the presidential office.
By 2018, South Korea is expected to become an “aged society,” in which 14 percent of the population is 65 or older. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but basically the problem becomes that there are less workers supporting a large number of aged people. So it sounds like the government is admitting to a ponzi scheme that is unsupportable without more people signing up for it.
Why you should celebrate your child's first lie: great ideas from Korean novelist Kim Young-ha http://t.co/qO44jZC8aA pic.twitter.com/C0T692YZc6
— Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) February 5, 2015
Here is a horrible story of a honeymoon gone wrong for a Korean couple who traveled to Guam:
Meanwhile PNC spoke to one of the witnesses of the Ritidian drownings. Ben “Guelo” Rosario says the victims were Korean tourists, a husband and wife who were on Guam celebrating their honeymoon. Rosario is a member of the nonprofit organization called Tasa and he said one of the rescuers who pulled the victims from the waters was one of the younger members of the organization Jerome Laguana. “He’s sixteen years old and he actually helped the two couples. The lady he said was too close to the reef and the wave came and pulled her out and the husband came and tried to help her and the husband got pounded by the second wave,” said Rosario.
Rosario says Laguana and his cousin battled rough currents to pull the couple in to shore. “After they brought them up some of the Koreans ran up there and started [doing] CPR and it tires you so you know I asked them to have me do it.” So Rosario jumped in and began to help administer CPR while they waited for Guam Fire Department crews to arrive. “How long until rescue units arrived?” asked PNC. Rosario replied saying, “After we started probably about another twenty minutes. Yeah it’s a far place you know.” Also, the road to Ritidian is riddled with potholes which no doubt made it more difficult for GFD units to get there. “Anybody that goes up to Ritidian please take care. The water is not cooperating up there all the time so be careful when you’re up there,” said Rosario. [Pacific News Center]
