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☆ Seoul bus drivers strike over pay, snarling commute in South Korean capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A commuter bus drives along a road in the Jongno district of Seoul on Dec. 4, 2023. Bus drivers in the South Korean capital of Seoul went on strike on Thursday after last ditch efforts at negotiating a wage hike broke down, snarling the commute for the city of more than 9 million people and another million from the outskirts. With disruptions expected during rush hours, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said the subway will run for extended hours with additional trains put into service. The full scale strike by the city's bus drivers is the first in 12 years. The negotiations between the Seoul Bus Labor Union, which represents drivers serving 97% of bus operations, and their employers failed after the union demand for a 12.7% hike in hourly wages was dismissed as "excessive," Yonhap reported.

Persons: Yonhap Organizations: Bus, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Bus Labor Union Locations: Jongno, Seoul

☆ South Korea Halloween crush: 3 former police officers sentenced for destroying evidence
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Three former police officers were sentenced in a Seoul court on Wednesday for destroying evidence related to the deadly Halloween crowd crush in the city’s Itaewon neighborhood in 2022. They are the first officers to be convicted of crimes related to the crowd crush, in which nearly 160 people were killed. The court document said Park ordered his officers to delete police reports warning of crowd-related incidents and raising public safety concerns ahead of the Halloween celebrations in 2022 shortly after the Itaewon crowd crush occurred. One of the deleted police reports stated a need for measures to prevent male police officers from hitting on women during Halloween. Most of those killed in the October 29 crush were young adults and teenagers, who were among tens of thousands of partygoers who poured into Seoul’s Itaewon district to celebrate Halloween.

Persons: Sung, Kim Jin, Young, seok, Kim Kwang Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul’s, Seoul police Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Seoul’s

☆ South Korea: Itaewon crush haunts survivors one year after Halloween crowd disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Hye Minyi can still vividly recall what happened in Itaewon, South Korea, on the night of October 29, 2022. Whether the disaster in Itaewon last year will put a dent in this growing popularity is yet to be seen. “We are extremely concerned that there could be a repeat of the Itaewon tragedy,” said Shibuya mayor Ken Hasebe. The Itaewon crowd crush was South Korea’s worst peacetime disaster since the sinking of a ferry in 2014 killed 304 people – among them 250 students and teachers from the Danwon State High School. Lee is certain of one thing, however – that she is “never going back to the area again.”“For me, Halloween and the Itaewon tragedy are (inextricably) linked,” she said.

Persons: CNN — Hye, Amy, Hye, ” Hye, ”, “, Anthony Wallace, expats, Ken Hasebe, Hasebe, ” Hasebe, overtourism, Yuya Shino, Critics, Jung Yeon, Yoon Suk, Kim Kun, Chung Sung, Lee, Kim Ho, Lee Sang Organizations: CNN, Getty, “, Reuters, Danwon State High School, South Korean, Seoul Metropolitan Government, South, City, Facebook, Interior, Safety Locations: Itaewon, South Korea, Seoul, AFP, Asia, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, Shibuya, “, Tokyo's Shibuya, Guangzhou, China, South, Danwon, Yongsan

Seoul, South Korea CNN —As South Korea struggles to get young people interested in marriage and kids, authorities are trying a new tack: importing foreign workers to carry some of the household burden. The plan will expand the number of industries and companies eligible to employ foreign workers, as South Korea faces an aging population, shrinking workforce and labor shortages in various sectors. South Korea has long struggled with chronic labor shortages in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, Reuters reported. Some politicians have previously urged the government to import foreign workers to help alleviate the burdens on young couples and parents. Singapore’s migrant worker system is just as controversial for employing cheap foreign labor to sustain one of the world’s richest countries.

Persons: ”, They’ll, Seoul’s, –, Housekeepers, Indonesia – Organizations: South Korea CNN, Authorities, Reuters, Ministry, Employment, Labor, Hong Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, birthrate, Korean, “, Philippines, Indonesia

Seoul, South Korea CNN —For years, South Korea’s biggest annual LGBTQ pride celebration has been held in the same grassy square in central Seoul, which fills up with performers and joyful participants decked out in rainbow costumes. Organizers for both the festival and the Christian concert applied to use the Seoul Plaza venue from June 30 to July 1, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said in a statement Thursday. The foundation is linked with the Christian broadcaster CTS, which has vocally opposed homosexuality and the pride festival, according to Reuters. The tension between South Korea’s LGBTQ community and their conservative, often Christian critics is clearly displayed at each pride festival, where both groups show up. At last year’s SQCF festival, opponents and religious groups gathered outside the venue, displaying protest messages on banners and shouting anti-LGBTQ slogans through loudspeakers.

☆ South Korean police seek manslaughter charges over deadly Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Police in South Korea are seeking charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, including law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge last year that killed nearly 160 people. Despite anticipating a Halloween weekend crowd of more than 100,000, Seoul police had assigned 137 officers to the capital’s nightlife district Itaewon on the day of the crush. Those officers were focused on monitoring narcotics use and violent crimes, which experts say left few resources for pedestrian safety. Son Je-han, who headed the National Police Agency’s special investigation into the incident, said Friday his team will now send the case to prosecutors. However, Son said the special investigation team will close its investigations of the Interior and Safety Ministry, the National Police Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, saying it was difficult to establish their direct responsibility.

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Two former police officers were arrested in South Korea on Monday, accused of destroying evidence relating to the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Seoul, according to authorities in the country. They allegedly ordered their subordinates to destroy an internal report about the risks stemming from a large crowd gathering in Itaewon during Halloween festivities. The two officers were already dismissed from their posts in November over their handling of the Itaewon incident. Both are under suspicion of professional negligence in relation to the crowd crush resulting in deaths and injuries. Video Ad Feedback CNN reporter returns to Itaewon's narrow alley one day after the Halloween disaster.

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