Following are the winners of the 2019 Herald Journalism Essay Contest organized by Herald Edu in May. -- Ed.[Part 1]Ways to Solve the Problem of PovertyBy Lee Hae-jinGoyang Hwa Jung Elementary SchoolPoverty is a very serious problem all around the world. Since it is a serious problem which affects all of us, our world should be one and try to solve this problem. There are three steps that will probably make no poverty exist in our world. It will be hard and require lot of concentration and atten

The government said last week it would submit a motion to the parliament this fall for the ratification of three of four key International Labor Organization conventions that South Korea has not yet adopted.The move, announced by Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap, marks an about-face from the government’s position that the ratification should be sought after related domestic laws are revised.The country joined the UN agency on labor in 1991 but has not ratified four out of its eigh

Cheong Wa Dae, the ruling party and the government unveiled a police reform plan Monday, but it is questionable if this can prevent police from becoming too powerful and secure independence in investigations. The plan calls for the establishment of a “national investigation headquarters” and the expanded test operation of local police agencies to be created and run by provincial governments.The point of setting up the headquarters is to separate investigations from administration and

It is a positive development that there are signs South Korea and Japan are working to restore strained relations. The foreign ministers of both countries -- Kang Kyung-wha and Taro Kono -- are to meet on the sidelines of a ministerial conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development being held in Paris.This is expected to be followed by another top-level meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya, next week. T

The country’s chief economic policymaker pledged Monday to take steps to stabilize the local financial market in case of increased volatility amid the escalating trade standoff between the US and China.However, financial authorities’ position on the recent steep weakening of the won remains ambiguous, as Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, did not elaborate on what steps the country would take. The Korean currency lost value against the US dollar by 5.4 percent over the month to la

In a fiscal strategy meeting last week, President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his plans to continue to expand government expenditure.“It is urgent to solve structural social problems such as low growth, bipolarization, the low birth rate and the rapid aging (of the population),” he said at the meeting. “The government budget must take on a bolder role than ever before to solve these problems.”Government budgets expanded for two straight years after Moon took power -- 7 percent and 9.5 percent for 201