Korea's kings and queens in government even control the temperature

Korea Herald columnist Kim Seong-kon argues in favor of the incorporation of Seoul National University. One of the reasons he notes is too much government control now, including, even the temperatures in government-related institutions.

He writes:

26 degrees, by government mandate.

"Personally, I support the incorporation of Seoul National University. Currently, SNU faculty members are tied up with all sorts of bureaucratic procedures and government red tape that seriously hamper their research activities. For example, government regulations stipulate that all rooms shall be set at 26 degrees Celsius in government-related institutions."

I don`t have a problem with the government controlling the temperature in government-related institutions.

I do have a problem with government control of temperatures in private homes and businesses. If I want a sauna in my home, that`s my business. Or, on the contrary, if I want it so cold that I have icicles hanging from the ceiling, that is also my business, as long as I pay for it.

But there seems to be disagreement over whether or not there is a regulation on the temperature.
Korea Times: "Because of the government regulations on the air-conditioning temperature to be set no lower than 26 degrees, the department store feels even hotter and more cramped."

Joonangilbo quoting Kwon Oh-jung, an official from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy:

"Kwon said the government will continue to advise the service sector, which includes department stores and banks, to voluntarily keep indoor air-conditioning to no lower than 26 degrees Celsius. It will also ask restaurants, supermarkets and airports to set their air conditioners no lower than 25 degrees Celsius."

Kwon uses soft words: "Advise." "Voluntary." "Will ask."

But wait, Kwon kept talking:

"The government will regulate the use of air-conditioning in large buildings that consume more than 2,000 tons of oil equivalent (TOE) of energy during peak hours, and if they are found to be in violation of the measure, they will face a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,769)."

So it is voluntary, except when it isn`t.

Naturally, businesses preferred to pay the fine. As in so many cases, business does well in Korea despite the government, not because of it, paying fines to various government offices in order to remain and business. As is often the case, people do to themselves under democracy what would have outraged them under a king or dictatorship.

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Still writing (Korea Times, 2023-12-19)

Still writing by Casey Lartigue Jr. The Korea Times December 19, 2023 https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/12/626_365284.html

2019-12-19 Interview with Japanese reporter

"The interview is the honeymoon, publication is the divorce." --Shinae Chun I had a GREAT and FUN interview today with a reporter from Japan. Let's hope publication will also be great! www.lovetnkr.og

Back in America, 4 days and counting

I got back a few days ago, I'm still unpacking... Some of the highlights so far: * Friday morning I was in the audience for a CNN/The Root discussion about being Young and Black in America . As a veteran of so many of these Washington talking events I am less than enthusiastic about them these days. Still, I bumped into a few friends, some of whom are neither young nor black. The discussion seemed so 1980s, with the panelists trying to figure out how to politically empower young black people. I guess it was appropriate then that the head of the NAACP was there. His most irrelevant concern was about hate talk radio...or I guess Rush Limbaugh being on the air all these years explains the high level of black-on-black crime. 20 years later, how is the Stop the Violence movement working out? The highlight of this particular panel was running into old friend David Plotz, who is now editor of Salon Magazine. I don't think I've seen him since college but he recognized me. I forgot...

Michael Vick ain't got nuthin on me!!!

After football player Michael Vick admitted that he had been running a dog-fighting business I wrote that he was an idiot. If he was going to engage in such activity he should have gone to Indonesia or somewhere else. He certainly had the money to do so at that time. If he knew then what he knows now then he would have spent $10 million to run his dogfighting ring in Manila. Today I did something that probably not even Michael Vick ever did: I ate dog meat. I never expected that I would do so. It is a bit scandalous because Koreans don't just kill the dogs and eat them. Rather, they will beat them to death while they are still alive. That allegedly is to get the adrenaline flowing which allegedly makes the meat more tender which allegedly improves a man's stamina. I had told a friend that I wanted to give it a try. But as we sat down to eat I said: "I want to try this but don't give me any details until after we are finished eating." It just looked like regular me...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog