Court upholds 4-year prison term for W2.3b embezzlement by funeral home employee

A South Korean appellate court upheld the four-year prison sentence Tuesday for a woman in her 50s for embezzling about 2.3 billion won ($1.73 million) over eight years from a funeral home. The 54-year-old employee was convicted in June for embezzlement and had appealed her original sentence, claiming it was excessively harsh. However, the Daejeon High Court rejected her appeal. The woman was accused of siphoning company funds while working as a bookkeeper at a funeral home in Asan, South Chungc

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2024

Rising rookies Kiss of Life to release 3rd EP next month

K-pop girl group Kiss of Life is gearing up for a new release next month, following its impressive summer hit “Sticky,” a digital single with an infectious Afrobeat rhythm. S2 Entertainment announced Wednesday that the group will drop “Lose Yourself,” its third EP, on Oct. 15. Leading up to the album's release, a prerelease track is set to launch Oct. 4. The announcement came with a teaser image shared on the group’s official social media channels, featuring th

K-popSept. 25, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa to tour Asia in November: report

Lisa of Blackpink will visit fans in Asia for the first time on her own in November, according to a local media report Wednesday. She will be hosting fan meetups in the region with plans to visit Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong in mid-November, the report said. The artist, as a solo act, won the Best K-Pop Award from the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards with “Rockstar” earlier this month and is set to headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York this weekend. &l

K-popSept. 25, 2024

Panel decision put prosecution in dilemma over Dior bag case

South Korea's prosecution is facing a dilemma over the high-profile luxury Dior bag case involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, as the investigation review committee for the nation's top prosecution body gave the upper hand to the pastor who wishes to be indicted in the graft case in hopes of bringing the first lady to the court. A 15-member independent review committee for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Tuesday night recommended that Korean-American pastor Choi Jae-young be indicted for his allege

PoliticsSept. 25, 2024

2025 Trend Forecast: Small details, new happiness trend amid sluggish economy

After completing his annual bestselling series “Trend Korea” for the upcoming year, Seoul National University professor Kim Rando lamented that "grandeur has disappeared." Next year, Kim explained, will mark a shift from the grand to the details, with an emphasis on paying attention to small details and subtle differences. Now in its 17th year, the "Trend Korea" series forecasts consumer trends for the upcoming year through 10 key predictions, with allusion to the

BooksSept. 25, 2024

K-water unveils digital innovations at Beijing forum

Korea Water Resources Corporation, or K-water showcased Wednesday its cutting-edge "super gap" technologies and a range of innovations to tackle water-related risks at the 3rd Asia International Water Week in Beijing, marking a significant step toward securing leadership in the global water technology market. At the six-day event, K-water, Korea's state-run water management agency, hosted a special session focused on climate change and the advancement of digital water management w

IndustrySept. 25, 2024

Less than 20% of this year's E-9 migrant worker quota filled

Despite the South Korean government increasing the quota of non-professional work visas to an all-time high this year, less than 30,000 have actually been recruited so far, data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor showed Wednesday. As of July, 29,316 foreign nationals were issued the E-9 visa for non-professional employment this year, according to the ministry data submitted to Rep. Kim Ui-sang of the ruling People Power Party. A total of 13,102 workplaces have received permits to hire wor

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2024

Seoul shares snap 6-day rise on disappointment over value-up index

Seoul shares ended more than 1 percent lower Wednesday to end their six-day winning streak as investors were disappointed with a new stock index to be launched next week. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 1.34 percent, or 35.36 points, to 2,569.32. Trading volume was moderate at 441.8 million shares worth 11.4 trillion won (US$8.6 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 516 to 355. Retail investors and institutions bought a

MarketSept. 25, 2024

Value-up Index stirs mixed market reactions

The Korean equity market reacted to the launch of an index developed to address domestic companies' undervaluation with investors showing a preference for stocks included in the new index. Following the Korea Exchange’s unveiling of the Value-up Index, comprised 100 Korean stocks with stellar corporate value, on Tuesday, those that made the list, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix showed a strong start in Wednesday morning trading. SK hynix and Samsung Electronics had gained

IndustrySept. 25, 2024

LG Innotek develops AI-powered materials monitoring system

LG Innotek said Wednesday that it has developed the industry’s first artificial intelligence that detects defective raw materials for its chip substrates. The new system, combining AI-based material information and image processing technologies, has already been adopted for the company’s production process. More recently, it has been used to upgrade the product quality of value-added chip substrates, including the flip-chip ball grid array. With chip substrates becoming increasingly

TechnologySept. 25, 2024

Twin brothers convicted of academic fraud via proxy testing

A pair of 35-year-old twin brothers were convicted after one impersonated the other to take an exam that is part of the official recruitment process for the Financial Supervisory Service. The younger brother who orchestrated the fraud received a prison sentence, while the older brother who took the test as his proxy was given a suspended sentence. Judge Kang Ji-yeop of Namyangju District Court on Monday sentenced the younger brother to one year in prison on charges of the obstruction of business

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2024

French writer Sylvie Germain wins 13th Pak Kyongni Prize

French writer Sylvie Germain has been named the recipient of the 13th Pak Kyongni Prize, the award’s organizers announced Wednesday. The award, an annual international literary award established in 2011 to honor the legacy of novelist Pak Kyong-ni (1926-2008), recognizes novelists worldwide who have made a significant impact on the literary landscape while preserving its intrinsic value, according to the Toji Cultural Foundation. Pak is best known for her monumental "Toji (The Land),&

BooksSept. 25, 2024

Student violence on rise since pandemic

The number of elementary, middle and high school students reporting being bullied at school increased for the fourth straight year, pushing the corresponding rate to 2 percent for the first time in 11 years. With 1 out of 50 children having experienced school violence, the proportion of victim students was higher among younger students. The modality of violence became more insidious and adroit as the ratio of verbal and cyber violence took over physical bullying, according to the report by the M

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2024

Yoon, ruling party leadership take flak over ‘meaningless’ dinner

Tuesday's dinner between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party leadership, including Chair Han Dong-hoon, sparked criticism from both sides of the partisan divide on Wednesday, with critics pointing to the absence of meaningful discussions at the event. There was no fixed agenda for the dinner meeting, but they were widely expected to discuss issues such as the country's deepening medical crisis, caused by the monthslong walkout of thousands of junior doctors protesting the gove

PoliticsSept. 25, 2024

Rwanda seeks stronger ties with S. Korea to shift economy from aid to trade

Rwanda's top diplomat emphasized that building stronger partnerships with South Korea -- particularly in fostering human and technological capital and attracting more investment and Korean companies -- is key to accelerating the country's transition from aid dependency to a self-reliant, trade-driven economy focused on industrialization In an interview with The Korea Herald, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe shed light on the signifi

Foreign AffairsSept. 25, 2024

[Contribution] Ignore market noise, boost your investment returns

By Steve Brice August started off poorly for investors. Peak to trough, global equities fell 9.2 percent, with the losses accelerating in the first three days of August when they lost 6.4 percent. While equity markets have recouped almost all the early-August losses, the earlier sell-off is naturally leading to a lot of questions about how investors should respond to such weakness. Are such sell-offs short-term buying opportunities or are they signs of more sinister things to come? The mistake m

MarketSept. 25, 2024

'Gyeongseong Creature Season 2': faster and ready to confront past

The second season of "Gyeongseong Creature," one of Netflix Korea's largest projects, promises a faster pace as well as an exciting new plot and characters to address viewer comments about the slow pace of the first season, director Jung Dong-yoon said Wednesday. The first season of "Gyeongseong Creature" is set in 1945 Gyeongseong, where Chae-ok (Han So-hee) and Tae-sang (Park Seo-jun) uncover secret experiments intended to transform humans into monsters. The series dra

TelevisionSept. 25, 2024

Coway powers up savings with energy-efficient appliances

South Korean home appliance maker Coway is redefining the market with high-efficiency products designed to ease the burden on consumers amid rising electricity costs. The company has integrated advanced technologies across its product lines -- water purifiers, air purifiers and bidets -- to reduce energy consumption and lower electricity bills for consumers. Two flagship products, the Icon Ice Water Purifier and Prime Stand Water Purifier, have gained attention in the Korean market for their exc

CompaniesSept. 25, 2024

[Hello India] Hyundai Motor inches closer to IPO in India

Hyundai Motor is one step closer to making a successful debut on the Indian stock market, as the South Korean auto giant’s Indian subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Limited has obtained approval for its highly-anticipated initial public offering from Indian regulators. According to industry sources and local media outlets in India on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India recently cleared Hyundai Motor’s paperwork for the IPO. In June this year, Hyundai Motor India submitt

MobilitySept. 25, 2024

1,200 accidents at kids cafes since 2019 -- trampolines the biggest culprit

Accidents at kids' cafes are rising, with trampolines accounting for the largest proportion, prompting a government agency to issue a warning. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, 1,205 accidents occurred at kids' cafes -- indoor playing facilities for children -- from 2019 to 2023. The number of accidents went from 397 to 150 in 2020 and 97 in 2021, likely due to COVID-19 social distancing -- but the number rebounded to 225 in 2022 and 337 in 2023. The data showed that by equipme

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2024