The fixed book price system is a system in which the government forces bookstores to sell books at a lower price than those set by publishers. All books, regardless of the release date, can only be discounted by 10 percent. Despite the discount, the rising price of books has increased the burden on consumers. Since the book price system was first implemented in 2014, the book market has fallen by about 17 percent, while book spending by households has fallen by 44 percent. The publishing industry is scheduled to discuss whether or not to extend the fixed book price system in November 2020. It
The 2019 ASEAN- Republic of Korea commemorative summit took place in Busan from November 25 to 26. The first Mekong-ROK Summit took place in Busan, on November 27 in conjunction with the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. This commemorative summit was the biggest international diplomatic conference under the Moon Jae-in administration. As a part of the summit, the ‘2019 Development Cooperation Day’ was held as well. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) co-hosted this event. There were two sessions and a welcoming address by the minister of forei
In the real world, we have to reveal our information such as name, age, and face. But on the Internet, we do not have to reveal our information. When we act on the Internet, we can use a nickname instead of our real name. That means we can speak our opinion more freely than in reality. Recently, the issue of introducing the Internet real-name system is arising because many people are suffering from malicious comments and the spread of false information on the Internet. Therefore, there are many different pros and cons for the introduction of this system. Pros Recently, a Korean celebrity commi
The number of dog owners is gradually increasing. As the number of dog bites increases, something rather dangerous is happening. The government said dogs should wear a leash when they go out, or else their owners should be fined. Despite the fine, a girl was bitten by a big dog called Foxteria in July. Therefore, some people oppose not only the idea that all dogs should have leashes, but also the idea that dogs should have their mouths muzzled, and that dogs are stressed. Pros Lately, there have been a lot of incidents of dogs biting people. As a result, people say we must strengthen related l
The minimum wage for 2020 was set at 8,590 won as of July 11. It is the third time that the minimum wage rate increase has been 5 percent or lower level since the IMF and the global financial crisis. President, Moon Jae-in’s pledge to set the minimum wage of 2020 at 10,000 won was broken, so strong opposition from labor groups is expected. The Minimum Wage Council held the 13th plenary session at the Sejong Government Complex on July 12, 2019, and voted for the 2020 minimum wage of 8,590 won. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which failed to finalize the plan during the 12th ple
Hong Kong citizens have held protests to oppose the extradition bill since March 31, 2019. The extradition bill allows criminals to be sent to countries or regions that have not signed criminal extradition treaties with Hong Kong including mainland China, Taiwan and Macau. But Hong Kong citizens oppose this bill because if the extradition bill is enacted, the Chinese judicial system will torture people and force a confession. They are also concerned that the Chinese government could abuse this bill to repatriate anti-Chinese figures or human rights activists from Hong Kong to mainland China.
On Feb. 28, 2018, the National Assembly passed a revision bill to the Labor Standards Act, which calls for reducing the legal working hours per week from the current 68 hours to 52 hours. The revision stated that "a week is seven days," reducing the maximum working hours by 16 hours from the current 68 hours to 52 hours. The current 68 hours per week is due to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's interpretation of the state's unit as only "five days a week," while Saturday and Sunday were excluded from the calculation of legal work hours, adding eight hours each to the holiday work. Pros S
On Sunday, June 30, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, alongside President Trump at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Through this meeting, President Donald Trump made history as the first sitting US leader to set foot in North Korea. On June 29, on the last day of the G20 Summit and on the Korea-U.S. summit, Trump tweeted about meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the DMZ. Soon after the Korea-U.S. summit, President. Moon officially declared the meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom. While inside North Kor