Hi all! Today, we have covered two main stories. One is about a woman who committed suicide after experiencing sexual assaults and the other is about a politician gaining popularity trading upon anti-sentiment against feminism. This coincidental contrast saddened me and made me think about the long way ahead of us before women can be truly empowered.
Anyway, specifically, we are covering
- News: How devastated she must have felt
- Story: This young guy is creating a stir
- Video: How South Korea could win the war on food waste
Hope you enjoy 😀
News: How devastated she must have felt
A 23-year-old female air force officer was found dead at her home in May 22th. After reporting on the case of sexual assault from a coworker, she was pressured and blackmailed not to formally open up the case, and as a result she decided to take her own life.
What happened?
- On March 2nd, the victim was sexually assaulted by her coworker in a car on their way back to the base after a staff dinner. The victim immediately notified her superiors and military police of the incident.
- However, her superiors constantly coerced her into covering up the case. They even called her fiancé, who also works for the air force, and asked him to persuade the victim to reach a compromise with the perpetrator.
- After taking two months off, the victim applied for and was granted a transfer. But, according to the bereaved, she was treated as a troublemaker and had a hard time adjusting to work.
How badly the case was handled?
- The military police did not start investigating the perpetrator for 55 days after the incident, only after the victim committed suicide.
- The victim did not have access to talk with a lawyer hired by the airforce until 40 days after the incident.
After the case made headlines, the Air Force Chief stepped down holding himself responsible for the case. The air force and president belatedly promised a thorough probe.
Snippets
- No vaccine for ppl under 60: People younger than 60 years of age, who lack priority access to a vaccine, can no longer receive extra doses that eligible people did not show up for or were not fit to receive. The sudden change infuriated many younger people who were on the waiting list.
- Better food: The military will raise the average daily meal cost for service members by 14 percent to $9 next month amid criticism soldiers are poorly fed(see how bad their meals are)
- The reality of Korean Silicon valley: The IT and tech startups such as Naver and Kakao are under scrutiny due to an accusation of the toxic work environment. The investigation followed by the suicide of a Naver employee who allegedly suffered from workplace bullying.
Stories: This young guy is creating a stir😵
A 36-year-old young politician, Lee Jun-seok, is creating a stir in Korean political circles. In the upcoming People Power Party’s election — the biggest conservative party in Korea — for its new leader, Lee has remained a clear front-runner for the chairman seat by large margins leaving other veteran candidates with 20+ experiences behind.
Who is Lee Jun-seok?
Lee, a Harvard graduate and founder of a philanthropic educational service organization, started his political career as a member of an interim emergency leadership council at the age of 26. Since then, although he has run for elections three times, he has not had a chance to serve a parliamentary term yet. However, he has successfully accumulated recognition after starring in several tv shows and serving as a young politician icon.
Why is he so popular?
- The Korean version of Trump: Lee’s popularity came from his emphasis on ‘equality’ He gained large support from male Millennials and Gen Z, who feel left out and discriminated against amidst the rising social discourse about gender equality and feminism. Lee is against any forms of equality measures such as female or regional quota systems because they sabotage ‘fair’ competition based on merits. His stance often reminds people of Trump who took advantage of social conflicts and incited them.
- Generational shift: Lee recently raised $150,000 in three days thanks to younger donors. The enthusiastic political engagements of people in their 20s or 30s are shocking many as younger people have long been considered to have political apathy and thereby, often neglected by politicians. Some even see this phenomenon as the very beginning of a generational shift in political circles.
The party is holding its national convention on June 11 to elect its leader. Will the date be remembered as a monumental day when the most conservative party elects the youngest leader in history? We’ll see.
Content: How South Korea could win the war on food waste
June 5th was World Environment Day. In celebration, I’d like to introduce you to a video about a food recycling system in Korea, where people are legally required to separate food waste in their trash and pay for it to be collected, which is a Pay-as-you-throw system. Although most of the collected food waste is recycled in the form of compost or animal feed, still plenty of food is wasted. The volume of food waste is increasing as well.
The video was quite thought-provoking to me, making me look back at my diet and food waste I’ve made so far. If you want to know more about the system and how the waste you’ve thrown is processed, please check this video out.
