South Korean portal selling sanctioned North Korean artwork: lawmaker

North Korean artwork subject to United Nations sanctions and restrictions under South Korean laws is being sold on a major South Korean portal site, according to Rep. Park Choong-kwon on Monday. Some dozen pieces of artwork produced by Mansudae, a North Korean state-sponsored art studio in Pyongyang, are on sale on Naver, the South Korean ruling party lawmaker said. He said the art studio, founded in the 1970s by then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, was placed under UN sanctions in 2017 for bei

PoliticsSept. 30, 2024

Seri Pak & Annika Invitational Asia to be held at Serenity resort

Serenity Golf and Resort said Monday that it will serve as a venue for the second annual junior golf tournament, Seri Pak & Annika Invitational Asia, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, from Oct.1 to 3. Aiming to nurture young talent, the event is jointly organized by the Seri Pak Hope Foundation and the Annika Foundation with support from the Royal and Ancient and the Korea Golf Association. The 78 participants, aged 13 to 18, include top Asian players from the World Amateur Golf Ranki

IndustrySept. 30, 2024

Stricter monitoring urged for physicians with mental illness

More than 6,000 physicians each year are diagnosed with mental illness, but the absence of oversight verifying whether the doctors are able to adequately provide treatment is stoking concerns. An average of 6,228 doctors per year were diagnosed with mental illnesses between 2019 and 2023 and performed an average of 27.99 million treatments and surgeries, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's data on medical professionals diagnosed with mental illness, submitted to Rep. Choo

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2024

Hyundai Motor hits 100m vehicle milestone

Hyundai Motor Company marked the global cumulative production of 100 million cars Monday, a landmark record coming 57 years since the carmaker’s foundation. The company held a celebratory event at the car manufacturing plant in Ulsan earlier in the day, joined by Lee Dong-suk, head of domestic sales and chief strategic officer at Hyundai Motor Group, and Moon Yong-moon, head of the company’s labor union. The executives and staff marked the production of the first car after passing th

MobilitySept. 30, 2024

Strategic partnership inked with Slovakia

The leaders of South Korea and Slovakia agreed to elevate their ties by establishing the strategic partnership on Monday, at a summit held during the Slovak leader's visit to Seoul. Describing Slovakia as "an important European partner that shares common values in the face of the complex global crises," President Yoon Suk Yeol said during the summit in his office with Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico in Seoul that the strengthened diplomatic engagement would allow the tw

PoliticsSept. 30, 2024

Air mobility leaders to convene in Dubai next week

Global leaders in advanced air mobility are heading to Dubai for the fifth edition of the Airtaxi World Congress, slated to take place at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Conference & Exhibition Center from October 7-10. The next-generation clean air mobility event is expected to gather about 1,000 major players in the AAM sector such as airlines, airports, original equipment manufacturers, startups, investors and regulators. This year’s event participants include the US Federal Aviation Administ

MobilitySept. 30, 2024

Zerobaseone to perform 'Pokemon' theme song

Boy band Zerobaseone will sing the opening theme song for the popular Japanese TV anime "Pokemon." On Oct. 11, Zerobaseone will release its Japanese digital single “Only One Story." This song has been selected as the opening theme for the latest series of the popular Japanese TV anime "Pokemon." The series airs Fridays at 6:55 p.m. on TV Tokyo. "Pokemon," one of the most successful Japanese anime series, enjoys immense global popularity. Zerobaseone'

K-popSept. 30, 2024

Lawmaker proposes ban on med school prep courses for young kids

In a move that highlights the seriousness of the country’s college admission competition, a South Korean lawmaker proposed Monday a ban on private academies tutoring elementary students for medical college admission. Announcing the submission to the National Assembly of the bill, Rep. Kang Kyung-sook said the law was failing to protect children from the unbridled growth of private tutoring academies, known as hagwon, that teach subjects like calculus as early as five years ahead of the pub

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2024

P1Harmony opens pop-up store worldwide

Boy band P1Harmony will delight global fans with additional pop-up stores at home and abroad, celebrating the release of its latest album. P1Harmony opened a pop-up store from Sept. 20 to 26 to celebrate the release of its seventh mini album, "Sad Song," at the Hyundai Department Store Sinchon U-Plex in Seoul. Following the successful completion of pop-up stores in five US cities -- including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, as well as Berlin -- pop-up stores will also be held in Japan

K-popSept. 30, 2024

Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year

The legendary Britpop band Oasis, which disbanded due to conflicts between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, will perform in Korea for the first time in 16 years after a dramatic reunion. According to the foreign media outlet NME, Oasis will embark on a world tour in 2025 after completing its UK tour. The band will hold reunion concerts in Toronto, Chicago, New Jersey, Boston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to

PerformanceSept. 30, 2024

Telegram pledges zero tolerance for deepfake pornography: media regulator

South Korea's media regulator said Monday that Telegram has pledged to adopt a zero-tolerance policy and immediately remove deepfake pornography and other illegal content from its platform, in cooperation with local authorities. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) said it had a face-to-face working-level meeting with Telegram on Friday, raising concerns over deepfake content involving doctored images of Korean women, which has surfaced on Telegram in recent months. In respo

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2024

BTS’ Suga fined W15m for e-scooter DUI

Suga of K-pop boy band BTS was fined 15 million won ($11,468) for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol. Judge Lee Yoo-seop of the Seoul Western District Court has imposed the fine on Friday in a summary judgement –- a legal decision made by a judge without a full trial, usually applied to cases deemed relatively minor allowing for a quicker resolution. The amount is identical to the penalty previously requested by prosecutors. Suga has the right to request a formal tr

K-popSept. 30, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Real estate finance reform, industrial tech protection

Proposed bill: Real Estate Development Project Management Act Proposed by Rep. Kwon Young-jin (People Power Party) and Rep. Son Myoung-soo (Democratic Party of Korea) ● In the domestic market, real estate project financing is characterized by a low capital adequacy ratio and heavy reliance on third-party guarantees. As the volume of real estate PF increases, the need for systematic government management has become increasingly urgent. Therefore, this bill promotes the effective management of rea

PoliticsSept. 30, 2024

Court to deliver verdicts for Yongsan Ward office chief, ex-Yongsan police chief over Itaewon crowd crush

A Seoul court is set to deliver verdicts Monday for the Yongsan Ward office chief and a former chief of the Yongsan Police Station over the deadly 2022 crowd crush in the district of Itaewon. Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan Ward office, and former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae were indicted last year over allegations that they failed to take steps to prevent the crowd crush that left 159 people dead on a Halloween weekend in the Itaewon nightlife district on Oct. 29, 2022. The Seou

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2024

Prosecutors question CEO of Qoo10 over e-commerce insolvency incidents

Prosecutors on Monday grilled an e-commerce tycoon believed to be at the center of the large-scale insolvency incidents involving online shopping platforms TIMON and WeMakePrice. Ku Young-bae, CEO of the Singapore-based Qoo10 Group, the parent company of TIMON and WeMakePrice, underwent questioning as a fraud and embezzlement suspect at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in the morning. He entered the prosecution office at 8:55 a.m. after telling reporters that he will faithfully unde

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2024

Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies

Park Zi-a, who played Moon Dong-eun's mother in the Netflix series "The Glory," died Monday. She was 52 years old. “Park Zi-a passed away at 2:50 a.m. from cerebral infarction. We will not forget the passion of the deceased who loved performing," Park's agency Billions said in a statement. Park began her acting career in the drama company Chaimu, starring as an extra in “Film-making” (1997) and “Maria and the Inn” (1997). Park took part in m

TelevisionSept. 30, 2024

Yoon's approval rating sinks to lowest point since taking office: Realmeter poll

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has fallen to 25.8 percent, the lowest level since he took office in 2022, with the negative assessment of his performance topping 70 percent for the first time, a poll showed Monday. The survey, conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, showed Yoon's positive rating fell 4.5 percentage points from the previous week. The previous record low in Realmeter surveys was 27 percent in the second week of September. The survey att

PoliticsSept. 30, 2024

[Korea Quiz] Armed Forces Day

Find the answer at the bottom. South Korea boasts one of the world's strongest military forces, a result of the Korean War (1950-53) having ended in an armistice but without a peace treaty, with continuing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea across the border. The country marks Oct. 1 every year as the Armed Forces Day, to honor the services of all military personnel -- including young conscripts -- to the nation. All able-bodied male South Korean citizens over age 19 are requir

Hashtag KoreaSept. 30, 2024

Prosecutors set to request sentencing for opposition leader over alleged perjury subornation

Prosecutors were set to request a sentence Monday for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor in 2018. Lee, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, was indicted last year on charges of demanding a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony in a 2018 election law violation case involving him. The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hold the closing hearing on the

PoliticsSept. 30, 2024