Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create an underground passage to connect major tourist attractions in central Seoul, the mayor said Tuesday.  Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said that the underground path would link Seoul City Hall, Deoksugung Palace and Gwanghwamun Square, to recreate the city’s historic Yukjo Street leading to Gyeongbokgung Palace. The underground pathway will house exhibition centers, cultural venues, museums, restaurants and shopping malls. Gwanghwamun Square in central Seo

 성소수자 시민단체 연합은 동성애 및 무슬림 혐오 공약으로 논란이 되고 있는 기독자유당을 이달 말 국가인권위원회에 진정할 예정이라고 3일 밝혔다. 행동하는성소수자인권연대, 무지개행동과 이주공동행동은 현재 온라인 및 오프라인으로 지지 서명을 받고 있으며, 잠정적으로 24일 기자회견을 열어 기독자유당을 인권위에 진정하는 취지를 밝힐 예정이다. 현재 3000명을 목표로 온라인, 오프라인 지지 서명을 받고 있다. 행동하는성소수자인권연대 오소리 활동가는 “인권위에 기독자유당의 차별선동 및 증오조장 행위에 대한 입장을 요구하는 게 진정의 취지”라며 “기독자유당을 위축시키고, 연대를 넓히는 것이 목표”라고 밝혔다. 지난 3월 창당된 기독자유당의 대표적 공약은 동성애 법제화 반대, 할랄단지 조성 등 이슬람 특혜 반대, 차별금지법 반대 등이다. 지난 1일 종로 보신각 앞에서 이주노동자 노동절 집회에서 행동하는성소수자인권연대가 기독자유당 국가인권위원회 진정을 위한 서명을 받고 있다 (성소수자인권연대)

Civic groups in support of sexual minorities are set to file a petition against a Protestant-affiliated party in late May amid growing controversy over the party’s campaign pledges.The groups advocating the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in South Korea began to collect signatures online on Tuesday, hoping to lodge the petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on May 24. There are a flyer reading “Christian Libertarian Party is Human Rights Violation Party! Sto

Prosecutors called in an opposition lawmaker-elect for questioning on Monday on suspicion that he received illegal political funds ahead of last month’s parliamentary election. Park Joon-young of the People’s Party, who served as governor of South Jeolla Province, denied the charges before entering the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office in southwestern Seoul. “I did not receive the money. There must be a misunderstanding,” the 69-year-old told reporters at the scene. “It is a shame that

Tens of thousands of South Korean workers took to the streets during May Day rallies across the nation on Sunday opposing state-led labor market reform plans. 　An estimated 80,000 laborers belonging to the nation’s two biggest umbrella trade unions – Federation of Korean Trade Unions and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions -- participated in demonstrations in 15 cities. 　The unionized workers called for a withdrawal of labor reform plans which they see as making it easier for employers to dismi

UIJEONGBU – One Sunday afternoon last month, a support center for foreign workers in Uijeongbu, some 20 kilometers north of Seoul, was filled with some 50 migrant workers who had travelled there from factory-concentrated cities in Northern Gyeonggi Province. The foreign workers from nearly 10 Southeast Asian countries had gathered to attend a 30-minute lecture aimed at raising awareness on preventing work accidents by the state-run Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.The program began wi

South Korean government said Wednesday that it would run a six-month pilot project to restrict foreign residents who fail to pay local taxes from extending residency visas. The Justice Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry have partnered to share foreign residents’ tax information and collect unpaid taxes totaling 74 billion won ($64 million) as of April. According to the Immigration Act, the government can revoke or change the visa status of foreigners who violate local laws. The government will r

Amid snowballing suspicions over the government’s alleged involvement in pro-government rallies by a right-wing organization, President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday loosely denied her office’s ties with the group. “I was briefed that it was not true that (a Cheong Wa Dae official was behind the right-wing group’s rallies),” she said in a meeting with editors in chief held at the presidential office.Questions have been thrown around in recent days upon news reports that Cheong Wa Dae and a business l

A South Korean passenger train derailed early Friday in the southern port city of Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, leaving one engineer dead and eight passengers injured, according to the state-run railway operator.The overnight train was traveling from Seoul to Yeosu when its locomotive and four of the train’s seven passenger cars came off the tracks near Yulchon Station at around 3:40 a.m., the Korea Railroad Corporation said. Officials of state-run railway operator KORAIL perform rescues and res

Two South Korean victims of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II on Thursday offered humanitarian assistance totaling 1.3 million won ($1,150) to quake-hit regions in Japan. Kim Bok-dong, 90, and Kil Won-ok, 87, offered the money to aid Japan’s rescue and restoration efforts for the disaster-stricken Kumamoto prefecture.The first quake on April 14 and the larger magnitude-7.3 quake 27 hours later left 48 people dead and more than 1,100 injured, with aftershocks continuing to strike the are

Amid the prosecution’s widening probe into Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea and other companies related to their toxic humidifier disinfectants, the British firm apologized on Thursday to victims and unveiled a plan to offer an additional 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in humanitarian assistance.　In a letter released Thursday afternoon, the company addressed its “social responsibility” in deaths and diseases caused by its humidifier sterilizers, saying it would cooperate with investigators to solve the

Maria, a 25-year-old dancer from a small country in West Africa, sustained leg injuries after falling on a slippery floor during a performance in 2012. The young migrant worker used to work for the African Art Museum in Pocheon, which later made headlines for their appalling working conditions for African workers in 2014. Her employer neither took her to a hospital nor paid for her medical expenses when she cried for help. Foreign workers attend a rally calling for protection of their rights in

This year’s Queer Cultural Festival will kick off on June 11 with a pride parade to be held in central Seoul, its organizing committee said Monday. The rainbow-studded pride parade will take place in Seoul Plaza for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender revelers and their supporters under the slogan “QUEER I AM.”During the nine-day Queer Festival, the main overnight party “Private Beach” will be hosted on June 11, after the parade. Films about sexual minorities will be played in major cinemas a

On a Sunday afternoon, fishmongers cheerfully call out to customers in several languages to lure them into buying seafood displayed in their small tanks and baskets lined up at the front -- a typical scene at the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market located in western Seoul. (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)But in what is a usually vibrant and lively fish market drawing some 30,000 customers a day, tension is running high. Red ribbons reading “Opposition to relocation of fish market” or “Please sa

The number of applicants that took the state-run Korean language proficiency test for non-native Korean speakers over the weekend reached a record high, the education ministry said Monday. A total of 72,295 applicants took the 46th Test of Proficiency administered on Saturday and Sunday at 164 locations in 45 countries across the world. Launched in 1997, TOPIK measures the ability to understand Korean language encompassing grammar, reading, listening and writing for those preparing to study or w

A Japanese reporter cleared of defaming South Korean President Park Geun-hye last year filed a criminal compensation suit against the government recently, according to legal sources. Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief for Japanese right-wing daily Sankei Shimbun, on March 18 demanded financial compensation to cover legal costs and transport fees incurred while standing trial in Korea. Tatsuya Kato (Yonhap)Under the country’s criminal law, the wrongly accused, whose charges are cleared in co

The local polling industry is in a sense of crisis after failing to forecast many of the outcomes of Wednesday’s parliamentary election, with questions growing over the validity of opinion surveys. In the election, the opposition bloc made an unexpectedly strong showing, defying the expectations of local pollsters and analysts, who thought that the ruling conservative party would easily regain the majority. Saenuri took 122 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while The Minjoo Party of Kor

The provisional voter turnout in Wednesday’s election reached 58 percent, marking the highest for a general election in 12 years.More than 24.4 million of over 42.1 million eligible voters cast ballots at 13,873 polling stations to elect 300 members to the 20th National Assembly, who will serve four-year terms. The turnout is 3.8 percentage points higher than in the previous general election in 2012, according to the National Election Commission. (Yonhap)The official turnout was set to be announ

The ruling Saenuri party has failed to winning the parliamentary majority in Wednesday’s general election if exit polls are correct, though it managed to stay ahead of its main opposition rival, The Minjoo Party of Korea.　The lackluster performance of the ruling party, combined with the rise of a new centrist opposition, is expected to result in a majority opposition here for the first time in 16 years.　The exit polls respectively conducted by the nation’s top three broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SB

Voter turnout in South Korea’s parliamentary election stood at 37.9 percent as of 1 p.m., eight hours after polls opened Friday, according to the National Election Commission.In the last general election, the voter turnout recorded 32.4 percent as of 1 p.m. The country saw the highest voter turnout in South Jeolla Province at 46.6 percent, while Daegu recorded the lowest turnout of 33.8 percent. Seoul's turnout was 37.2 percent. Some 42.1 million voters are casting ballots at nearly 14,000 polli