The government and businesses have stepped up efforts to create job opportunities for vocational high school students in a country where too many college graduates compete for too few jobs. The education, labor and economy ministries signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with five major business organizations including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries and Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business to make efforts to provide more job opportu

Rival parties are pushing to abolish the statute of limitations for those charged with sexual assault against disabled people or children under 13.The bill review subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee examined and passed the so-called “Dogani” bill regarding sexual assault on children and the disabled. The bill is now awaiting approval by the National Assembly. Dogani is the title of a film based on the true story of teachers who committed sex crimes against

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday advised the administration to abolish police conscription and hire professional police officers to replace draftees. It also advised the Ministry of National Defense to cooperate with the National Police Agency in replacing personnel. The panel recommended the Ministry of Public Administration and Security increase recruitment of police officers and that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance allocate sufficient funds for it.According to the independ

More foreigners who have made large corporate investments will be able to obtain temporary residency visas, while a new visa class will be opened for foreign spouses, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.According to ministry officials, foreigners currently holding a corporate investment (D-8) visa may now obtain an F-2 visa if they have spent three continuous years here.The revised bill passed by the Cabinet Tuesday also states foreigners who have invested over $300,000 and employ at least two Kor

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- A new visa reserved for foreigners living in the country after marrying South Koreans will be introduced as part of efforts to guarantee their stable stay and better deal with their growing numbers, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.Under the legal revisions to the immigra

South Korea lags far behind other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economies in “social quality,” a survey said Monday.South Korea ranked 28th among 30 OECD member nations in the survey conducted by the Seoul National University Institute for Social Development and Policy Research.The survey showed Korean society was relatively good in education and an ability to provide jobs, but one of the bottom-ranked nations in social cohesion (23rd), people’s participation in po

Ranks, titles meaningful; communication with Koreans is importantJune Acuna from the Philippines has been working at an ink cartridge factory in Seongsudong, eastern Seoul, for two and a half years. Still, he has to guess the hidden meaning of what his boss or Korean colleagues say to him, and is often offended by direct commands from superiors. “I am here to learn Korean ways at work and appropriate way to deal with them,” said Acuna at the fifth lecture on the Whys and Hows of Korean Ways last

Half of non-regular workers in Korea were employed for less than six months, earning about half the wages of regular staff during that time. According to a report released Monday by the Korea Labor Institute, the average duration of employment for non-regular workers, including temporary, part-time and subcontract workers, came in at 23.6 months as of August last year, less than a third of that for regular workers, which was 77.3 months. Employment lasted for less than six months for 50.6 percen

A Seoul court has acquitted South Korea’s oldest living independence fighter of sympathizing with North Korea, overturning a 49-year-old conviction.Along with four other members of his now-defunct Unification Society Party, Gu Ik-gyun, 103, was convicted of supporting the North by opposing the then anti-communist law and espousing “ideologically neutral reunification.”Gu was given a suspended sentence as the court took into account his previous fight against Japan’s colonial rule (1910-45) of th

Foreigners in Seoul think samgyeopsal, or Korean pork belly meat, is the most delicious food in the city, followed by kimchi and tteokbokki, a survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed Monday. The city government polled 1,984 foreigners about their favorite Korean dishes in Seoul via the city government website, social networking sites such as Facebook, Japanese blog websites and the Chinese microblogging site Weibo for five weeks from Sept. 3 to Oct. 2.Samgyeopsal ranked first with vot

BOGOTA (AFP) ― The Colombian Navy has rescued four Koreans from their catamaran after it suffered a breakdown while sailing across the Caribbean, a Colombian official said Saturday. “We responded to a call from the Korean embassy, which alerted us to a boat with four of its nationals aboard,” Comman

A pair of illegal Vietnamese immigrants fell to their deaths out of a four-story motel window while trying to evade an illegal-gambling raid by police in Gwangju on Sunday.The two men, aged 30 and 34, whose names were undisclosed to the media, fell while attempting to hide during the raid and were t