Tag: South Korea

I guess you can add this to the something I did not know about Korea category:

Going to the restroom is a basic need. But for some, it is a daunting task even though they have access to restrooms nearby. At department stores and duty free shops, sales people are banned from using the same restrooms as customers.

They are told to use one of the limited number of “workers-only” restrooms, leading to long lines and added discomfort.

Members of cosmetics companies’ labor unions and the Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Unions (KFSWU) rallied in front of the National Human Rights Commission building in downtown Seoul on April 22 to call for the right to use restrooms that the department stores and duty free shops designated as “customers only.”

The unionists mainly belong to luxury brands such as Shiseido Korea, Bluebell Korea, ELCA Korea and LVMH. 

“The department store prohibited sales workers from using restrooms on every floor of the building, saying those are only for customers,” Kim Yeon-woo, head of the Shiseido Korea union, said during a press conference in front of the commission.

“Many workers have a hard time using the designated staff toilets because they’re not located close enough to the sales counters and there are not enough of them.”

According to the laws on public toilets, there is no mention of “customer-only” restrooms. Washroom facilities at large commercial buildings over 2,000 square meters, such as department stores and duty free shops, are considered to be public toilets, meaning they are available for use by the public as well as store employees, according to Kim.

“However, department stores go as far as to give regular education to the workers not to use customers’ restrooms, because consumers may feel uncomfortable when they encounter sales workers there,” Kim said. “I can’t believe we have to demand such basic rights in the 21st century.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty dramatic how these once financially healthy public institutions are now losing huge amounts of money:

“Moon Jae-in Care,” as the president’s health policy has become known, is driving a major decline in the profits of state-owned institutions, as is his energy strategy.

According to a Ministry of Economy and Finance report released late Tuesday, the net profits of 339 public entities plummeted 84.7 percent from 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in 2017 to 1.1 trillion won in 2018.  

The net profits of these institutions have been on a steady decline, falling from 15.4 trillion won in 2016. 

The National Health Insurance Service was hit hardest. After reporting 368.5 billion won in net profit in 2017, it posted a 3.9 trillion won net loss last year.

The dramatic change is largely blamed on the president’s health policies, which went into effect in July 2018. Moon Jae-in Care increases the range of medical treatments covered by national health insurance.

The goal is to raise national insurance coverage from 63.2 percent of treatments in 2016 to 70 percent by the end of 2022.

President Moon in August 2017 promised to improve national health insurance coverage, as Korea’s coverage rate falls far short of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 80 percent.

Public energy company net profits shrunk as a result of the changes in energy policy.  

Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (Kepco) net profit fell from 7.1 trillion won in 2016 to 1.4 trillion won in 2017. Last year, it reported a 1.2 trillion won net loss. 

The five affiliates of Kepco all reported net profit declines.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power reported its first net loss in five years. In 2016, before the Moon administration began, the company reported 2.45 trillion won in net profit. Its net profit decreased to 861.8 billion won in 2017, and the company reported a net loss of 102 billion won last year.

The loss is considered to have been the result of the government reducing the use of nuclear power while increasing power generated from renewables, including solar and wind. Alternative energy is more expensive than nuclear power.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Moon administration is a step closer to further consolidating control of the government and getting additional powers to go after their political enemies. In a rare statement, South Korea’s Prosecutor General came out against the bill:

Highly contentious bills on electoral reform and the establishment of an independent investigation agency were fast-tracked at the National Assembly late Monday by two special parliamentary committees. 

After a week of bitter partisan fighting that, at times, turned physical, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and three allied parties pushed the bills through two special parliamentary committees on political and judicial reform at around 11 p.m. in spite of vocal opposition by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

In the process, the heads of both committees had to exercise their rights to send bodyguards into the meetings to restore order after LKP lawmakers tried again to physically obstruct votes from taking place. 

The bills included one on electoral reform, which would change the number of single-member districts and proportional representation seats in the legislature, and three on judicial reform, including a proposal to create a new agency to investigate corruption by high-ranking civil servants and another to adjust powers between the police and prosecutors. 

Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il on Wednesday openly voiced his opposition to the judicial reform bills in a rare show of disagreement with policy issues.

“Law enforcement procedures must function in accordance to democratic principles,” Moon said, according to a release by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. “But the bills that were fast-tracked at the National Assembly currently go against the democratic principle of checks and balances.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this bill moves indictment powers from prosecutors and moves them to a special unit. If this special unit is staffed with political allies this would allow the Blue House to control who gets indicted and thus why this bill is so controversial.

Not that it surprises me that Korean police barged into a home without a search warrant, but what is weird about this is why would Hoengseong police be investigating in Seoul?:

It was confirmed on April 14, 2019 that the police are actually investigating, even by illegally entering a residence without authorization, those related to the college student gathering “Jeondaehyeop,” who posted satire posters all over university campuses.  The posters in question parodied letters from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, satirizing the behavior of the South Korean ruling party and their supporters.

Two police officers from the Hoengseong Police Station in Gangwon Province entered the home of Mr. “A” in Seoul’s Dongjak District without a search warrant.  A, as a member of “the Solidarity to Support Jeondaehyeop,” transported the posters. 

East Asia Research Center

You can read more at the link.

With all the scams out there I generally do not trust charities either and highly recommend that everyone do their homework before donating:

Close to 60 percent of Koreans are hesitant to make donations to charity organizations as they don’t trust how the funds are being used, a recent survey showed.

The Korea Association of Fundraising Professionals (KAFP) released the results of its survey, Tuesday, conducted at the request of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The KAFP surveyed 1,052 people over the age of 19 from October to December.

According to the survey, 424 people, or 40 percent of the respondents, had given donations at least once in the past year, and 56.8 percent of them said they didn’t know how their contributions were spent.

The people who had not given any donations during the period were allowed to give multiple reasons for their decision. Of this number 65.3 percent said they did not donate because of economic reasons and 61.5 percent said because they could not trust the charity organizations.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This should not be surprising to anyone that rapidly increasing the minimum wage will cause small business owners such as restaurant owners to cut jobs because they cannot afford to pay them:

Restaurant jobs in Korea have been vanishing quickly, according to data released Tuesday.

Analysts say the loss in jobs is largely the result of the rapid increases in the minimum wage over the past two years.

According to the Supplementary Results of the Local Area Labor Force Survey in the Second Half of 2018, the number of people employed by restaurants last October was down 104,000 from the same month a year earlier.

That fall was the largest of all categories in the survey.

Other categories also showing major year-on-year declines included: employment agencies, down 85,000; retailers, with 37,000 jobs lost; and land transport services, with 28,000 fewer jobs. Due to troubles at domestic automakers, employment by auto part manufacturers was down 28,000.

By job types, the number of retail workers decreased by 63,000 in October 2018 year on year, followed by construction workers (at a negative 48,000), drivers (down 40,000) and food and beverage service workers (with a fall of 38,000 year on year).

Analysts believe the rapid rise in the minimum wage is largely to blame.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Notices how the goals of all these plans are always way out in the future when no in power will be held responsible for not meeting them:

South Korea’s industry ministry said Friday it will significantly cut the country’s dependency on conventional energy sources, such as coal, and move toward environment-friendly resources for sustainable growth.
During the public hearing for a draft of the country’s energy master plan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said it will expand the portion of renewable sources to around 30 to 35 percent in its portfolio by 2040, significantly up from 7.6 percent posted in 2017.
The master plan is renewed every five years with a 20-year goal. 
The ministry is expected to draw up details on the scope of the reduction in its energy supply plan that will be announced later this year.
The proposal is in line with the Moon Jae-in government’s push to move toward clean and safe energy sources to meet the country’s demand for electricity.
“The new policy goal will focus on reforming the structure of energy demand instead of expanding the supply,” the ministry said, claiming the master plan aims to build a high-efficiency and low-consumption energy market.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

South Korea expresses its condolences to France for the fire that damaged the Notre Dame cathedral:

South Korea voiced regret Tuesday over the massive fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and announced plans to conduct emergency inspections of local cultural assets.
The flames damaged the 12th-century cathedral, located in the heart of Paris, the previous day, sending a shock wave across the world.
“On behalf of the South Korean government, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) expresses deep regret for the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral,” the agency said in a press release. “South Korea has nearly suffered a loss of precious cultural property due to the fire at Sungnyemun Gate.”
In 2008, the wooden portion of the gate, designated as a National Treasure of South Korea, was damaged by arson, with restoration work completed five years later.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but like the Sungnyemun Gate, it will be interesting to see if the Notre Dame cathedral fire was cause by arson as well. However, Paris officials are claiming it is an “accident” though they are investigating where the fire started. I don’t know how you claim something is an accident if you don’t know what started it.

I guess we will see what happens.

Due to the slow economy more Koreans are turning towards learning trade skills than trying to pursue white collar jobs:

A growing number of people of all ages are learning blue-collar skills like building maintenance and landscaping, even if they have degrees from top universities or have previously worked for big conglomerates. 
The reason is that they feel that blue-collar jobs offer more job security than office work in a recession. 
At the city-run Seoul Institute of Technology and Education, the most popular class just five years ago was cooking, favored by people who wanted to open their own restaurants. But now it is landscaping and grounds-keeping, perhaps because there seems to be a growing appetite from condos and municipalities for clean, well-designed open spaces. 
Building and electrical maintenance are also in high demand. Courses are free and last from six months to a year . 
Choi Sung-cheol, an instructor at the institute, said, “In tough economic times the popular classes are not entrepreneurship but skills that guarantee work past the average retirement age.”

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I think it is good that more people are learning trades. Going to college and working a white collar job is not for everyone and many trades do offer a good income.