As Korea’s working- age population declines, migrant workers have become an essential presence in the Korean economy. However, many migrant workers still face appalling conditions, including withheld wages and the infringement of human rights. Marking International Migrants Day on December 18th, as
Simsan Kim Chang-suk, the founder and the first president of Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), was a Korean independence activist for most of his life. What were the lives of independence activists like, and how are the lives of their descendants now? Honoring the Patriotic Martyrs’ Day on November 17
This year, the competition rate for the Grade-9 civil service examinations dropped significantly. Also, the competition rate for the Grade-7 exam was recorded as the lowest ever. It seems that the “Public Official Fever” has become an outdated word. Also, with private companies enhancing their inter
Political fandoms are very influential in modern-day Korean politics. Recently, a Member of Parliament (MP) Lee Jae-myung received strong support from his fandom and was elected party leader at the August 28th Democratic Party convention. Thus, the Sungkyun Times (SKT) will examine the concept and h
On July 1st, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court (SLBC) began to apply a new rule: to prepare a support plan for debtors who have failed to invest in stocks or cryptocurrency. However, there have been opinions that by applying this rule, the SLBC will be helping those who went into debt in order to invest. T
The government is conducting reinvestigation on a murder case that occured in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, on July 30th, 2019. The prosecution arrested criminal suspects A and B on a charge of murdering A’s husband for life insurance, and this incident has caused a stir in society. Insurance fraud e
From the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to controversy over BTS’s military service, being given military exemption has become one of the most debated issues in Korea these days. As military service is a common worry for most Korean men in their 20s, the issue of military exemption has always been cont
On May 10th, the term of the 19th President Moon Jae-in finished, and the 20th President Yoon Seok-yeol started. Since the votes of people in their 20s and 30s were crucial in this presidential election, many pledges were made for them. Hence, the Sungkyun Times (SKT) would like to review the result
People use plastics every day. As plastic consumption increases, our earth is getting more polluted, further negatively influencing the future environment. Hence, in May, the Ministry of Environment will distribute an application that gives the deposit back in return for used plastic cups and restar
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rise with North Korea’s 10th missile provocation carried out in Pyongyang on March 16th . There is no solution to North Korea’s missile testing due to the opposing international situation where the United States (U.S.) proposes nucleardisarmament while North Korea re
This year, the Seoul Metro subway service was delayed many times due to a group of disabled protesters. Because of this, the non-disabled continually complained about being late for their work and important appointments. However, the fundamental reason why the disabled consistently protested cannot
With the start of 2022, the government declared an enforced vaccine pass by applying expiry dates and expanding its restrictions. However, complaints have been raised due to exhaustion from the long haul of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) curbs. In particular, controversies, such as vaccine
In January, an elderly woman at a nursing home in Gimcheon was lynched by her caregivers and got injuries that required six weeks of medical treatment. It suddenly became public through the fact that they kept assaulting the woman even though she tried to resist. Even worse, they lied to her family
Korea’s platform giants, Naver and Kakao, are currently being accused of abusing their dominant power in markets. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on September 23rd, the Fair Online Platform Intermediary Transactions Act and Act on the Consumer Protection on Electronic Commerce were bein
Google, which has a share of the app store market that no one can compete with, has declared that in-app payments will be compulsory for all apps in Google Play from this October. And, of course, what do people use the most while using their smartphones? Applications. To listen to songs, search the
On July 2nd, a petition against Minecraft being R-rated was raised on the presidential office’s website. Behind this situation lies a Korean policy known as the Shutdown Law. Since there have been continuous discussions regarding the effectiveness of this law, some people are wondering how the Shutd
Recently, there have been many vicious incidents related to stalking in Korea. In turn, the Stalking Punishment Act has finally been legislated and will take effect in October. As stalking is now recognized as a “crime” through this law, heavy punishment can be given; however, there are voices that
On July 14th, a laborer working at a KT business in Pohang was crushed to death by an optical fiber cable weighing over 400 kilograms. The fact that safety equipment such as safety helmets was not provided at the construction site was shocking. Along with a series of industrial accidents at construc
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency - but it is far more. It is an economic crisis. A social crisis. And a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis… Human rights cannot be an afterthought in times of crisis,” said António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-Ge
Last April, actress Seo Yea-Ji found herself at the center of controversy due to text messages she exchanged with her ex-boyfriend, actor Kim Jung-hyun. Although the term “gaslighting” is not new, it is not often publicly discussed because of its deceitful nature. The Sungkyun Times (SKT) will explo