Prosecution requests $6,000-fine for Mongolian judge over sex offenses

The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that it asked the court to withhold trial and instead fine a Mongolian judge accused of groping a Korean flight attendant roughly $6,000. Prosecutors said Judge Dorj Odbayar was summarily indicted as he admitted to most of his charges during a flight from Ulaanbaatar to Incheon on Oct. 31. He was also accused of verbally abusing a Mongolian crew member but was cleared because the crew member did not press charges.  Prosecutors

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

Return of 1st-generation K-pop bands bring old fans back together

The origin of today's globally acclaimed K-pop's allure unquestionably dates back to the late 1990s, when the music scene witnessed the birth of the first batch of K-pop stars and their enthusiastic fans. First-generation bands like H.O.T., Sechs Kies, S.E.S. or Fin.K.L who laid the foundation for today's K-pop symbols such as BTS or BLACKPINK have returned to show business to enjoy a renaissance on the back of a widespread retro trend.  To mark the 30th anniversary of its launch next year,

K-popNov. 13, 2019

Food, housing, clothing fall in Korean consumers’ priorities

Koreans’ spending priorities are moving beyond the bare essentials, a survey showed Wednesday, with food, clothes and shelter all losing ground in the number of consumers who list them as their main concern.The basics had dominated South Korean consumers’ priorities, with the vast majority of consumers here listing their top concern as one of food, clothes or housing. Food still topped the most recent survey by the Korea Consumer Agency, with 21 percent of 8,000 respondents list

MobilityNov. 13, 2019

[Graphic News] Shenzhen, Beijing lose out to Chengdu as China’s best performing city

　Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern province Sichuan, overtook technology hub Shenzhen to top the Milken Institute’s 2019 index of the nation’s best-performing cities.　This is the third time that Chengdu, best known internationally for its pandas, has been ranked first since the list began in 2015. 　The index incorporated nine indicators for the period up to 2017, including employment and wage growth, the growth in gross regional product per-capita, and foreign direct

World NewsNov. 13, 2019

[Newsmaker] First hearing in ‘comfort women’ case held three years after lawsuit filed

The first hearing in a lawsuit brought against the Japanese government by former victims of Japanese military sexual slavery was held Wednesday, nearly three years after the suit was filed. The Japanese government, which had delayed court proceedings by refusing to accept South Korean court-issued documents demanding its presence in court, was absent from the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court. Eleven survivors and 10 bereaved family members representing six other victims file

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

1 killed, 5 injured in Daejeon lab explosion

At least one person was killed and five others were injured in an explosion at a state-run scientific lab in Daejeon on Wednesday, local fire authorities said.The explosion occurred at 4:24 p.m. at a lab at the Agency for Defense Development in the city 160 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the officials. The injured people were sent to a nearby hospital. The one casualty was reported to be a researcher in his 40s.Around 120 fire authorities have been dispatched to the site to handle the a

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

Hyundai Card bets on ‘super customization’

Hyundai Card, the credit card unit of Hyundai Motor Group, is preparing to level up its business with “super customized” marketing, officials said Wednesday.The new system, heavily based on the data of over 8 million customers accumulated by the company over the years, uses artificial intelligence to measure a customer’s real-time circumstances, such as location and weather, and uses that information to provide tailored marketing messages.The company explains that super customi

MarketNov. 13, 2019

[Contribution] ‘Seoul awakens your soul’

Once, someone asked me the reason I fell in love with South Korea. Well, falling in love is not something rational, but I do give it a thought. I came to the conclusion that it is both our differences and similarities that attract me to the country. When I first landed at Incheon International Airport, I had two contrasting feelings. While Korea mirrored my expectations I sensed like I was thrown into an alien world. Instantly, I also realized that I am too loud for Korea -- a mountain girl who

TravelNov. 13, 2019

1 killed, 5 injured in Daejeon lab explosion

At least one person was killed and five others were injured in an explosion at a state-run scientific lab in Daejeon on Wednesday, local fire authorities said.The explosion occurred at 4:24 p.m. at a lab at the Agency for Defense Development in the city 160 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the officials. The injured people were sent to a nearby hospital. The one casualty was reported to be a researcher in his forties.Around 120 fire authorities have been dispatched to the site to handle t

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

Sexual minorities, activists call for legalization of gay marriage

Some 40 gay couples and rights activitists held a press conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Seoul on Wednesday, calling for legalization of same-sex marriage and filed a petition with more than 1,000 signatures with the human rights panelThe coalition of civic groups filing the petition shed light on intolerance toward same-sex relationships.“The basic rights to marriage and family life guaranteed by the Constitution are not protected for gay couples in

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

[Aryeh Neier] Popular protests carry serious risks

People all over the world are resorting to mass demonstrations to express grievances and press unmet demands. While, in some ways, popular protests are a triumph of democratic principles and civic activism, they also carry serious risks, including violence by and against protesters. Their pervasiveness today points to a failure of governments, democratic and authoritarian alike, to hear, let alone meet, the needs of their people.The issues at stake are wide-ranging. In Catalonia, demonstrators a

ViewpointsNov. 13, 2019

[Trudy Rubin] University program teaches ‘rule of law’ amid Sino-US tensions

On every visit I’ve made to China, I’ve looked at issues connected with rule of law, a concept interpreted very differently here and in the US.On this trip, I decided to check out a joint program between Temple University and the law school at Tsinghua University, one of China’s finest, a program that is celebrating its 20th anniversary.Temple’s “Rule of Law” master’s degree program, taught on the sprawling, leafy Tsinghua campus, draws Chinese professio

ViewpointsNov. 13, 2019

[News Focus] Will K-pop singer Steve Yoo be allowed into South Korea?

Once a K-pop icon, Steve Seung Jun Yoo, also known as Yoo Seung-jun, is ever closer to entering South Korea again for the first time in more than 16 years. With the exception of a sojourn in 2003, the Korean American singer and actor has not been able to set foot in his motherland since he chose to become a US citizen, which immediately relieved him of his duty to serve in the military in Korea.  Korea’s Military Manpower Administration, or MMA, viewing his US naturalization in

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

GSOMIA to be discussed at top Korea-US commanders’ meeting

The top military commanders of South Korea and the US will meet in Seoul on Thursday to discuss the allies’ military readiness and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula at the 44th Military Committee MeetingThe agenda for the meeting is likely to include issues surrounding Seoul’s General Security of Military Information Agreement with Tokyo, and the ongoing defense cost-sharing negotiations. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrived in Seoul on

DefenseNov. 13, 2019

Employment indexes improve, but key age groups, sectors still suffer

South Korea’s key job indexes showed visible progress in October, with the employment rate hitting a 23-year high for any October and the jobless rate at its lowest in six years, government data showed Wednesday.But despite the general uptrend, the nation’s backbone manufacturing industry continued to shed jobs. The figures for those in their 30s and 40s also continued to disappoint, stirring up concerns that the apparent improvement is mostly driven by government spending in the pub

EconomyNov. 13, 2019

Nightclub rejects NHRCK’s recommendation on racism

A South Korean club accused of denying foreigners entry has rejected the recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea that the club not discriminate against customers based on race, the human rights watchdog said Wednesday.According to the NHRCK, a petition was filed by an Indian American in June last year after the person was refused entry into the club for being a foreigner. The petitioner’s Korean American friend was not denied entry.The NHRCK concluded that the club

Social AffairsNov. 13, 2019

YouTube spotlights Korean game content creators

YouTube held a mentoring program that focused on the development of Korean game-related content creators this week. Creator mentoring program YouTube NextUp was held for the first time in Korea in Seoul from Monday to Wednesday, inviting 12 game content creators, who shared videos of themselves playing mobile and PC games. According to YouTube, game content creators with 1,000 to 100,000 subscribers were invited to apply for the program. More than 120 creators signed up, and YouTube employe

TelevisionNov. 13, 2019

Ministry extends bidding for W120b public IT project

The South Korean government has extended the bidding deadline for a digital budget accounting system called “dBrain,” after LG CNS and its partner ITCEN decided Tuesday not to enter the race.Samsung SDS’s consortium with Daewoo Information System was the only participant in the bidding for the project worth 120 billion won ($102.7 million) to build the government’s digitalized budget accounting system. According to the Public Procurement Agency on Wednesday, the new deadl

TechnologyNov. 13, 2019

First-generation variety show emcees reach new career heights

Comedians Yoo Jae-suk and Kang Ho-dong were top hosts on local TV entertainment programs for more than a decade.In the 2010s, they led countless smash hit variety and reality shows including "Infinite Challenge," "Running Man," "Two Days, One Night" and "Golden Fishery" and swept year-end TV awards given to the brightest entertainers of the year.But their presence had diminished in the last few years as the media landscape expanded to cable TV channels and

TelevisionNov. 13, 2019