September 2023

K-policy

Written by Yoo Yeon Gyeong, Korea.net reporter

Six Relatives of Ex-presidents
Visit Cheong Wa Dae Display

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 30 said six relatives of former presidents attended the day before the exhibition “Stories of Our Presidents: The Presidents Were Here” at Cheong Wa Dae, an event marking the first anniversary of the former presidential compound’s opening to the public.
Invited to the event by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon, the six were Cho Hye-ja, daughter-in-law of the nation’s first leader Syngman Rhee; Yun Sang-koo, son of former President Yun Bo-seon and CEO of the architectural materials trading and engineering company Dongsuh Corp.; Park Ji-man, son of former President Park Chung-hee, brother of former President Park Geun-hye and CEO of chemical manufacturer EG Corp.; Roh Jae-heon, director of the East Asia Culture Center and son of former President Roh Tae-woo; Kim Hyun-chul, son of former President Kim Young-sam and director of the Kim Young-sam Memorial Foundation; and Kim Hong-eop, son of former President Kim Dae-jung and chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center.
“This meeting is the first of its kind in our political history,” the six family members said in a statement. “We will strive to make this an opportunity to spread and boost a presidential culture of unity and positivity.”
Minister Park said, “This meeting is for the descendants of presidents’ families to overcome conflict and confrontation during our nation’s dynamic modern history through historical reconciliation and commit to creating a future image of new unity and progress for the Republic of Korea.”
They looked around the exhibition and made comments like “These symbolic items and photos convey in a friendly manner the history of leadership that unfolded at Cheong Wa Dae” and “A turning point has appeared to change the culture of presidential history in a new and healthy way.”
“The exhibition’s decoration is centered on items symbolizing the lives and lifestyles of former presidents,” Minister Park said. “Its intent is to faithfully reflect President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ideas and thoughts in reaching out to the public in an easy and interesting way and spreading the imagination of history.”
Since opening on June 1, the exhibition has attracted 230,000 visitors. It ended on Aug. 28.

Six relatives of Ex-presidents and Minister of Culture, Sports,
and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon toured the Cheong Wa Dae exhibition in Seoul on July 29.
© Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Written by Xu Aiying, Korea.net reporter

Police Launch Crime-reporting
Hotline in English, Chinese

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) on July 2 announced the next day the launch of an interpretation service for non-Koreans to report a crime using the emergency phone number 112.
The agency recruited four interpreters for English and Chinese, the two languages with the highest interpretation demand, and provided specialized training for crime reporting such as the 112 reporting process, legal terms and tips on responding to complaints.
The four will be deployed to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s 112 Emergency Dispatching and Operations Command Center to receive calls from foreign nationals and assist police on the job when interpretation is needed at front-line policing sites.
The interpreters completing the training are expected to quickly communicate with callers in English or Chinese, thus slashing reception time and enabling a faster first response.
Under pilot operations in the Seoul metropolitan region last month, the average reception time was three minutes 52 seconds, or two minutes 21 seconds faster than before.
The KNPA will analyze the service’s effectiveness and growth of demand and continuously expand the number of interpreters and languages available.