Korea weekly news

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Dec. 5th - 11th

Corruption at heart of Presidential scandal In a rare scene, lawmakers questioned the CEOs of nine major conglomerates on live television. The CEOs represent the largest companies in the country, each suspected of buying favors from the government through Choi Soon-sil, the President’s confidante. The most common answer? “I

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Nov. 28th - Dec. 4th

Foreign residents banned from participating in nationwide rallies The weekly demonstrations have drawn enthusiastic crowds, but a reminder to foreign residents of South Korea: It’s illegal for them to participate. Immigration law bans non-citizens from any form of political activity. However, there’s a low chance of any negative

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Nov. 21st - 27th

State-authored textbooks: Another victim of Choi Soon-sil? Today the government gave the public its first look at the new state-authored history textbooks. When announcing it last year, the government held firm on its plans for new textbooks despite strong opposition from historians and academics. Possibly due to the weakened state

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Nov. 14th - 20th

Protests: Water cannon trucks still on standby Last year on November 14, police water cannons knocked an elderly demonstrator unconscious. Over a year has passed, but water cannon trucks are still being rolled out for every major protest. Last week, a group of NGOs declared November 14, the “Day

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Nov. 7th - 13th

Seoul plans to clear the air Seoul’s poor air quality has become a big talking point in recent months. TV weather reports now often include levels for particulate matter. Before last year, most South Koreans blamed the quality on the yellow dust from China, but Greenpeace has revealed

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Oct. 31st - Nov. 6th

No end in sight for Choi Soon-sil scandal The Choi Soon-sil gate continues to grip South Koreans and the world abroad alike. Choi Soon-sil is president Park Geun-hye’s confidante, accused of abusing her position to intervene in politics and embezzle money from government projects. Last week, prosecutors detained

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Oct. 24th - 30th

Choi Soon-sil scandal grows A smoldering political scandal surrounding Park Geun-hye turned into wildfire this week and is quickly engulfing Park’s presidency. Her approval ratings are in free-fall, her own party has turned on her, newspapers across the political spectrum are calling for her and her entire cabinet to

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Oct. 17th - 23rd

Conscientious objectors to military service not guilty, appeals court rules. In a rare decision, two conscientious objectors were found not guilty by an appeals court. Though lower courts have ruled similarly in the past, this ruling is a first at the appeals level. In South Korea, any man refusing to

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Oct. 10th - 16th

Blacklist of artists surfaces The president’s office has blacklisted nearly 10,000 singers, authors, directors and other artists. The reason? They’ve either signed a petition criticizing the government’s response to the 2014 Sewol disaster or supported two opposition politicians, both of whom are likely to run

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Oct. 3rd - 9th

NHRCK decides that it’s anti-HIV/AIDS discrimination The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has finally recommended that the Ministry of Justice end the practice of requiring HIV tests for E-2 visa recipients, after the UN’s CERD called for the same in May last year. As described

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Sept. 26th - Oct. 2nd

Baek Nam-gi’s struggle continues in death The government’s handling of Baek Nam-gi’s death has begun to attract international attention. Despite strong opposition from Baek’s family, civic groups, associations of doctors and lawyers, and even a joint statement from four major international NGOs and IGOs, the

Daniel Corks
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Weekly Brief: Sept. 19th - Sept. 25th

RIP, Baek Nam-gi Baek Nam-gi, the farmer knocked over by a police water cannon, has succumbed to his injuries (a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage) and passed away yesterday after being in a coma for the last 10 months. He was 69. As of press time there is a sit-up