New Year Pledges

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Here's how president-elect Park Geun-hye and the opposition DUP spent their New Year's Day.

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President-elect Park Geun-hye started her New Year's day by visiting the National Cemetery. After writing down her promise on the visitor’s log to start a new age of hope and fulfill the people's wishes, Park visited the graves of former presidents Rhee Syngman, Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung. While exchanging New Yew's greetings with her party members, Park stressed her resolve in bringing about a "new future and new change."

[Soundbite] Park Geun-hye(President-Elect) : "I hope we can let bygones be bygones and create a new future for Korea."

In her New Year's address to the people, Park reconfirmed her determination to center her government on the livelihoods of the people, uniting the nation, and putting what she pledged into practice.

[Soundbite] "I’ll strive to make a society where everyone can prosper under the spirit of coexistence and prosperity."

Planning to launch her transition committee within this week, the president-elect spent the second day of the New Year focusing on selecting her transition committee members and other following appointments. Leaders of the main opposition Democratic United Party visited the National Cemetery and the April 19th Cemetery and made their New Year's resolutions for a new beginning. At the party's New Year gathering, many voiced the need for reforms.

[Soundbite] Rep. Park Ki-choon(DUP) : "We must undergo a thorough self-examination, reform desperately and harshly, and evaluate ourselves."

Former major opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in paid a visit to the grave of former president Roh Moo-hyun along with others, including former opposition party leader Lee Hae-chan.

2. Sanitary System

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The government is to introduce a system for evaluating the sanitary conditions of restaurants in popular tourist spots this year. Here's more on the administrative changes expected in 2013.

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A "triple A" mark shows that this restaurant has received the highest score for its sanitary conditions from the government. The government evaluates the sanitary conditions of restaurants based on how clean their kitchens and facilities are. Until recently only restaurants in Seoul had been evaluated. But now restaurants in popular tourist spots in some 20 areas nationwide will also be evaluated on a trial basis. Starting this year, the government will also disclose daycare centers' records on punitive measures that they have received from the government. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments will post on their web sites the lists of daycare centers and their owners' names who had been accused of mistreating children or illegally receiving government subsidies. Families that subsist on basic living subsidies will be able to receive medical and educational subsidies for two more years after their breadwinners find jobs.

[Soundbite] Kim Ju-i(Min. of Public Administration & Security) : "The administrative changes are aimed at improving the livelihoods of the people and supporting the underprivileged. We expect these improvements to help boost the people’s happiness index."

The government will improve a total of 54 aspects of the administrative system this year, such as distributing school bullying diagnose forms to parents to help them figure out if their children are bullied at school, and mandating pharmacies to make the walls of the rooms where prescription medication is supplied transparent so that customers can check their sanitary conditions.

3. Legal Revisions

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Starting this year, the legal provision that makes sex crimes require a victim complaint to pursue prosecution will be dropped. The adult age according to civil law has also been revised.

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Starting in June, the requirement of a victim's complaint for the prosecution of sex crimes will be scrapped. This means even without the victim filing a charge, sex criminals can be investigated and punished. Sex crime victims will also be stated not as a 'woman' but a 'person,' allowing for the punishment of sex crimes that are conducted against men. The controversial law criminalizing people for soliciting sex under the false promise of marriage will also be scrapped. Certain criminals, such as those who have committed murder, violence or have abducted minors, will be placed under probation for a fixed period even after they're released from prison and having served their full term. Also, the adult age under civil law will be lowered from 20 to 19. An adult can, without a parent's consent, conduct real estate transactions, apply for credit cards, get married or engaged. Regarding the issue of granting which person has parental authority, the newly enacted “Choi Jin-sil Law” will be implemented, named after a late Korean actress. Presently, when a biological parent, who holds the sole parental authority, passes away, the other remaining parent automatically assumes the parental rights. But starting from July, the Family Court will carefully evaluate who will raise the child in question and designate that person as the one with parental authority. In the new year, the list of misdemeanors will be expanded. Come March, stalking a person will lead to a fine of US$75, while illegal ticket-scalping will be slapped with fines of US$150.

4. Displaying Prices

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Restaurant-goers will no longer be shocked by an unexpectedly high bill in Seoul. Starting this year, downtown restaurants and cafes of a certain size in the Korean capital have to display their exact prices outside their establishments.

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This neighborhood in downtown Seoul is home to a large cluster of restaurants. The prices vary significantly and picking the best place to eat is not easy. Some places only mark prices before taxes, and customers often end up paying more than they had expected. But starting this year, eateries and coffee shops of a certain size are mandated to label the final prices of their products. Barbeque restaurants must indicate the exact weight and price of a single serving of meat that they serve. Restaurants are also required to mark the after-tax prices of more than five of their dishes at the entrance so that customers can easily check them. The new regulation applies to some 15-thousand restaurants in Seoul. After the promotion and guidance period, which will last through April, the Seoul City government will seek to establish the practice of final price labelling starting from May by punishing those who fail to comply.

5. Taxis Gone Public

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A bill recognizing taxis as public transport has been approved in parliament. Also, large supermarkets will have shorter hours in the New Year, opening two hours later.

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Taxis have now been deemed as public transportation just like buses and the subway. The problem is that cabs will also receive subsidies granted to all public transportation including lower toll fees. The colossal financial burden of 1.88 billion dollars is a major concern. 1.78 billion dollars will go to cabs as subsidies and extra funds are also pledged for the bus industry to appease their objections of including cabs as public transportation. The government has expressed strong regret over the passage of the taxi bill.

[Soundbite] Kim Yong-seok(Min. of Land, Transport & Maritime Affairs) : "Public consensus is first necessary on whether taxis automatically qualify as public transportation and whether taxpayers money should be used for cab subsidies."

The road ahead will be bumpy since the government has the right to decide on remaining issues such as whether cabs can use the bus-only lanes in the revision of the enforcement ordinances. Another disputed bill, aimed at advancing the distribution sector, was also passed in parliament. It will prohibit large supermarkets from operating between midnight and 10 a.m., which is two hours shorter than a previously proposed bill. Restrictions have been eased as retailers will take only two days off each month including holidays.

6. Reactor Resumes

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The operation of Yeonggwang nuclear reactor number 5 has been resumed after it was suspended due to technical problems.

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The Yeonggwang nuclear reactor number 5, whose operation was halted because of the forged warranties of its parts, has resumed its operations and reached its full output in just two days. The local residents gave their approval to the resumption as the parts in questions had been replaced and an inspection conducted by the government and private experts found no glitches. The operation of Reactor 6, which has also undergone the inspection, will likely resume before this coming weekend. The operation of reactors 5 and 6, each of which has a capacity of one million kilowatts, is expected to ease the nation's power shortages in January, when demand for electricity is expected to soar. But it's still unclear if the operation of Reactor 3 will resume, as it was found to have cracks in one of its pipes. A committee comprising local residents wants to recommend foreign experts to join an inspection team that will investigate the cause of the problem and oversee its repair process. But the nuclear plant authorities are not welcoming the move. The complete resumption of the Yeonggwang nuclear power plant's operations will likely take a while as the inspection team to investigate Reactor 3 has yet to be set up after resolving the conflict between the residents and plant authorities.

7. Greeting 2013

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Let’s take a look now at how Koreans greeted 2013.

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The bell at Bosingak sounds to herald the beginning of 2013. Despite temperatures dropping to minus eight degrees Celsius, around 100,000 citizens gathered around the belfry to greet and celebrate the New Year. Day breaks and the New Year's sun rises on the horizon. Around 200,000 others gathered at the shores to greet the New Year and make their wishes. Some watched the arrival of the New Year from Cape Ganjeol in Ulsan, where the sun first rises on the peninsula, to Haeundae Beach in the southern port city of Busan. The beach saw tens of thousands of more visitors than other popular sites along the east coast. People at here joyfully greeted the New Year's Day. In Seoul, a large number of people gathered at the Palgakjoeng Pavilion on Mount Nam. Although the sun was not visible because of the cloudy sky, it didn’t stop people from praying and wishing for a happy New Year.

[Soundbite] "Our younger daughter is having a baby. We hope she has a safe delivery and wish for a healthier and happier year for the entire family."

Many Koreans greeted the first day of 2013 filled with hopes and expectations.

8 . Show Biz Hits

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The movie "The Tower" has set a domestic box-office record by drawing over two million viewers in its first week. Here's more from the world of show business.

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The Korean movie "The Tower" about a blaze in a skyscraper drew over two million viewers just a week after its release. More than two million and 10,000 viewers saw the movie as of December 31. "The Tower" has broken the record set by "Les Miserables," which took eight days to sell two million tickets. The Korean film "Gwanghae, The Man Who Became King" also drew its two millionth viewer eight days after its opening last year. The idol boy band 2PM will hold a concert at the Tokyo Dome in Japan for two days starting on April 20. The group's agency says 2PM has grabbed the spotlight of the Japanese media, including the daily newspaper Asahi, for performing at Japan's prestigious concert venue less than two years after their debut in the country. Before the concert, 2PM will release its second Japanese studio album entitled "The Legend of 2PM."

9. Aging Gracefully

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These days, many Koreans begin a whole new life after they retire. Today we're going to meet some people who have waited until later in life to start strutting their stuff on the runway.

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These models work the catwalk under the lights.

[Soundbite] "Today is graduation day; graduation day for our walking class."

[Soundbite] "(How old are you?) I'm 67. But I dress like this all the time. This is my everyday look."

These are students of a modeling class run by a senior citizen's center. Today, they're giving a graduation performance to show what they've learned over the past six months.

[Soundbite] "Everyone here is a senior model."

For this type of modeling, looks aren’t as important as they are for other models.

[Soundbite] "(Did you ever think of becoming a model when you were young?) I lacked confidence then. There were so many beautiful people and I was ugly. As I grew older and after I turned 50, I thought I should give it a try."

These folks haven’t let life slow them down, and they impress their teacher with their passion.

[Soundbite] Jeong Yu-sin(Teacher, Modeling Class) : "The desire to model has helped cure illnesses like arthritis. I could see the healing effect it had on them."

This lady says modeling helped her regain her lust for life.

[Soundbite] "Before I started modeling I was very introverted and shy. I was never able to do an interview. But now I have more self-confidence and can proudly stand in front of people. I'm happy about it."

None of the students expected this experience to be part of their career paths, but they’re now looking to work as professionals. Finally, the fashion show begins. The teacher has taught them well, and they exude confidence on the runway.

[Soundbite] "I'm going to model for a commercial. I'm going to become a global model in the future. I mean it."

Korea has one of the most rapidly aging societies in the world, and more programs are being put in place to support the growing senior community. As a result, the modeling opportunities are increasing. In September, a modeling contest was held in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. These three are the winners.

[Soundbite] Park Min-hong(Senior Model) : "I though modeling was only for the young. But it's great to know that we can do it too; that I can do it. When I became a model it felt like I was dreaming."

This man also became a senior model. Even though he had never dreamed of doing such work, he’s appeared in a number of commercials. In his day job, he works as a counselor for senior citizens. He says he thinks of his modeling as a form of volunteer work that lets him show people how to age gracefully.

[Soundbite] Yun Eun-sik(Senior Model) : "Life can be both long and short. Spending the short time I have doing what I want to and volunteering for others makes me feel great."

These models are living proof that you’re only as old as you feel.