Tag: Seoul

I am not a fan of occupying Gwanghamun Square with tents, but would the government remove tents of their political allies if they set them up in Gwanghamun Square?:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government removed tents, Tuesday, which had been put up illegally by a far-right minor opposition party in Gwanghwamun Square protesting the imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye.

However, the Our Republican Party, put up new tent on the same spot just five hours later, indicating a possible clash between it and the city government in the near future.

According to the city government, 500 municipal officials and 400 hired workers raided the spot at 5:20 a.m. to remove two tents and a canopy installed by the party.

The party, which changed its name the previous day from the Korean Patriots Party, set up the tents May 10 for sit-in protests calling for an investigation into the deaths of five pro-Park supporters who died during a 2017 rally against the impeachment of the former president. Seoul City has been sending letters of notification to the party to remove the tents set up without its permission. 

The officials and workers clashed with 400 party members and supporters, who tried to protect the tents after a city official read out a notice on the execution of an administrative order.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

If you find yourself in trouble in Hongdae there may be a foreigner on patrol with the police to assist you:

Amid a rising number of foreign residents, tourists and multiracial families here, Mapo-gu Office in western Seoul has launched a patrol unit comprised of foreigners, to offer help to foreign residents and tourists in the areas around Hongik University Station.

The district office said, Monday, that it held a welcome ceremony for the unit, Friday, consisting of 20 volunteers including foreign residents from Nigeria and China. 

The move follows an influx of more and more foreigners in the district. 

According to the population and housing census in 2017, the number of multiracial family members living in Mapo-gu was 5,585. Also, the Hongdae area is one of the most popular tourist destinations visited by many foreigners and local residents, together with Yeonnam-dong next door which has gained popularity recently. 

The unit members will patrol twice a week for four hours. The patrol course will include Yeonnam-dong and the area near the university, known colloquially as Hongdae. Their main jobs are to provide translation to tourists and listen to their complaints as well as solve conflicts among foreign residents.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Unfortunately it looks like some foreign students in Seoul had to deal with a creepy ajushi:

A building superintendent has been booked for allegedly sexually harassing foreign residents in Seodaemun, northwestern Seoul, Seodaemun police said. 

The suspect, in his 40s, allegedly verbally and physically harassed foreign women, most of whom are studying or on a temporary stay in Korea. The building is used as a dormitory for foreign students of a nearby university. 

Police began their investigation after one of the alleged victims complained.

Police allege the suspect has been harassing foreign residents for a long time. The victims said they did not know how to deal with it.

“He tried to kiss me twice and grab my butt,” one victim told a local news outlet. “He would also ask me to sleep with him.” 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Another ruling party and Moon administration official caught up in a scandal:

A real estate investment by presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom has prompted accusations that he is guilty of real estate speculation – which the administration has done its best to crack down on.

On Thursday, the Government Ethics Committee’s Public Service Ethics Program released this year’s report on assets of senior public servants, including Blue House aides and cabinet ministers. According to the report, Kim purchased a building in Heukseok-dong, southern Seoul’s Dongjak District, for 2.57 billion won ($2.26 million won) last July, just weeks before the government announced strong antispeculation measures that applied to that neighborhood. 

“Throughout the morning meeting, we discussed concerns over Kim’s purchase,” an official of the Blue House told the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday. “We wonder if the public will accept the fact that he borrowed 1.6 billion won to make an investment in a redevelopment zone when the government was strongly pushing its policy to stabilize the real estate market.” 

To purchase the building, Kim borrowed over 1.02 billion won from Kookmin Bank. He borrowed another 360 million won from individuals. In total, he took out over 1.6 billion won in loans to purchase the building.

The property is located inside the Heukseok 9 redevelopment district, one of the hottest redevelopment projects in Seoul. Lotte Engineering and Construction will redevelop the area to build 11 buildings that will house 1,536 apartments under the name Heukseok Signature Castle. A realtor in the neighborhood said the project is considered to be highly profitable to investors depending on when they got in. (…..)

“It is common sense among ordinary people that you shouldn’t take out a huge loan and invest unless you are certain that the building will soon be redeveloped,” said another Blue House official. “If accusations are made that Kim used information he obtained as the presidential spokesman and made the investment, the situation can be uncontrollable.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

So says this survey:

South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, ranks as the seventh most expensive city in the world to live in this year, a survey showed Saturday.

The Worldwide Cost of Living (WCL) Survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), measures the prices of more than 150 items in 133 cities across the globe, with the index for New York set as a benchmark of 100.

According to the latest WCL poll, Seoul ranked seventh, on a par with New York, down one notch from the previous survey.

Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong are the joint most expensive cities in the world with an index of 107, followed by Zurich of Switzerland with 106, and its sister Geneva and Japan’s Osaka coming next with 101 each.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.