[News brief] Actor sent to prosecution for alleged sexual assault

The police sent the case against a South Korean actor to the prosecution Thursday, seeking his indictment on charges of sexually assaulting two female staff members from a production company.  Kang Ji-hwan, 41, is suspected of raping a woman and sexually molesting another when they were sleeping in a room at his house in Gwangju, south of Seoul, after a drinking session July 9. Police also conducted a drug test to determine whether he used drugs to make the women fall unconscious.Kang initi

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2019

Designer dismayed at ‘sexy’ hanbok in beauty contest

Renowned hanbok designer Park Sul-nyeo expressed disappointment at the way the country’s traditional attire was reinterpreted for a recent beauty contest.In an interview with a KBS1 radio show on Wednesday, the hanbok designer did not hide her negative feelings about the revealing, even suggestive, variations on the traditional costume. “I’m not saying we should wear only the authentic versions displayed in the museum,” Park said. “But there could have been better w

Arts & DesignJuly 18, 2019

13 believed dead in Japan blaze: fire department

TOKYO (AFP) -- Thirteen people are believed to have died in a suspected arson attack at an animation company in the Japanese city of Kyoto on Thursday, a fire department official told AFP. "Twelve people were found in cardio-respiratory arrest in the ground and first floor," the official said, using a phrase commonly used in Japan to signify victims have died but their deaths have not yet been officially certified.The 12 victims were found after the fire department confirmed a first de

World NewsJuly 18, 2019

Preparations under way for Korea-US exercise this year: Seoul ministry

South Korea and the United States will conduct a joint military exercise as scheduled, the defense ministry said Thursday, though North Korea warned that the drill could scuttle ongoing efforts to resume its nuclear talks with the US.On Tuesday, North Korea warned that the planned "19-2 Dong Maeng" exercise between Seoul and Washington will affect the prospects for its working-level nuclear talks with the US. The planned joint exercise is meant to verify Seoul's capabilities for the en

DefenseJuly 18, 2019

Israeli president awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Thursday awarded Israeli President Reuven Rivlin honorary citizenship in recognition of his efforts to foster relations between the two countries.The Israeli leader has been making a five-day visit to South Korea at the invitation of South Korean President Moon Jae-in since Sunday.During a ceremony at Seoul City Hall to mark the granting of the honorary citizenship, Park said South Korea and Israel have one thing in common: They have grown into economic powerhouses b

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2019

Kia Motors begins sales of compact SUV Seltos

Kia Motors began selling its new compact sports utility vehicle Seltos on Thursday, which the automaker called it a “game changer” in the global small SUV market which has doubled in size over the last five years. The Seltos, which was unveiled in India last month, can be characterized by its spacious interior with 498 liters of trunk space and a relatively long car body at 4,375 millimeters -- the longest in the small SUV category, according to Kia. &ld

MobilityJuly 18, 2019

Home transactions down 28% in H1

Home sales in South Korea plunged more than 28 percent in the first half of the year compared to a year earlier, data showed Thursday, amid tightened regulations intended to curb rising housing prices. The number of housing transactions came to 314,108 in the first six months of the year, down 28.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure is 35.8 percent down on the five-year average of 489,373. In June alone, t

EconomyJuly 18, 2019

Govt. briefs entertainers on mandatory military service

The military manpower agency said Thursday it held a briefing session for entertainment agencies as part of efforts to help celebrities carry out their mandatory military service and create a fair draft culture. All able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for about two years.The Military Manpower Administration keeps a list of potential draftees considered at higher risk of draft dodging, including entertainers, athletes and the children of high-income earners and senior public o

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2019

Discussions on sanctions exemptions under way for Seoul's food aid for N. Korea

Discussions are currently under way with the United States to get sanctions exemptions for South Korea's plan to send food aid to North Korea, a government source here said Thursday.The Seoul government and the World Food Programme are trying to secure ships that will be used to transport 50,000 tons of rice to the impoverished state struggling with worsening food shortages, he added."Negotiations are under way between the WFP and the US on sanctions exemptions that are needed for ships and

North KoreaJuly 18, 2019

US-NK talks likely to resume only after allies' joint drills: ex-minister

Working-level nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea will likely resume only after the planned joint military exercises between South Korea and the US are over, a former unification minister has said.Jeong Se-hyun made the remark during a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, following Pyongyang's warning earlier this week that it will decide whether to open the working-level talks after "keeping watch over the US move," criticizing the allies' joint military exercises

North KoreaJuly 18, 2019

Lotte Duty Free, Shilla Duty Free among global top 5: report

Two South Korean duty-free operators have cemented their positions in the world's top five travel retailers in 2018, an industry report showed Thursday.Lotte Duty Free maintained its second spot with 6.09 billion euros ($6.84 billion) in sales last year, due largely to the Chinese resellers who buy products in large quantities and sell them back home, according to the Moodie Davitt report. Shilla Duty Free, the operator of the duty-free shop owned by South Korea's Hotel Shilla Co., leaped f

IndustryJuly 18, 2019

China supplies 1,536 tons of refined oil to N. Korea in May: report

China exported 1,536 tons of refined oil to North Korea in May, according to its monthly report to a UN sanctions committee Thursday. The May figure brought China's cumulative supply of refined oil products to the North to 5,730 tons this year, the report posted on the website of the sanctions committee on North Korea showed. The cumulative figure is almost on a par with the 5,920 tons that China supplied to the North during the same period a year earlier.The amount represents about one-fourth o

North KoreaJuly 18, 2019

BOK cuts key rate to 1.5% amid uncertainties

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday cut the nation’s policy rate to 1.5 percent, amid mounting external uncertainties, officials have announced.It also decided to sharply slash the country's growth pace this year by 0.3 percentage point to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent.The Bank of Korea held its rate-setting Monetary Policy Board and decided to cut the base interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent.The rate cut decision came a step earlier than the US Fed’s largely anti

EconomyJuly 18, 2019

37 S. Koreans extradited from Malaysia over illegal gambling websites

Police have arrested 37 South Koreans on suspicion of running illegal gambling websites, with stakes of hundreds of billion won, in Malaysia after they were extradited from the Southeast Asian country, the National Police Agency said Thursday.The 37 people from two illegal gambling rings -- one with nine members and the other with 28 members -- were extradited through Incheon airport, west of Seoul, from July 9 through Wednesday.It marked the largest number of South Koreans ever arrested oversea

Social AffairsJuly 18, 2019

Financial regulator launches squad with investigative power

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it launched a squad with investigative power to effectively crack down on unfair practices in the financial market. So far, financial authorities have audited financial firms and referred unfair trading cases to police or prosecutors because they have no investigative power. The launch of a "special judicial police" at the Financial Supervisory Service came after the National Assembly passed a revised law in 2015 that gives investigative

MarketJuly 18, 2019

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman sentenced to life in prison

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mexican drug kingpin and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo'' Guzman was sentenced Wednesday to life behind bars in a US prison, expressing no remorse over his conviction for a massive drug conspiracy that spread murder and mayhem for more than two decades.Instead, a defiant Guzman took a parting shot at a judge in federal court in Brooklyn by accusing him of making a mockery of the US justice system in refusing to order a new trial based on unsubstantiated allegations of juro

World NewsJuly 18, 2019

BOK slashes policy rate to 1.50%

The Bank of Korea slashed its policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.50 percent Thursday in a surprise move to help spur growth amid prolonged trade tensions.The rate cut is the first since November when the central bank raised the rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent.The unexpected rate cut follows seven consecutive months of decline in the country's exports, which could face further downward momentum in the future due to Japan's export curbs on key materials for the production of se

EconomyJuly 18, 2019

US suspect in NK Embassy raid released on bail

SEOUL/LOS ANGELES -- A US citizen accused of involvement in a raid on the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in Feb. has been released on bail as he awaits a court trial on possible extradition to Spain. Christopher Ahn, a 38-year-old Korean-American and former Marine, was released Tuesday for a $1.3 million bail under the condition of home confinement. He was arrested in April following an extradition request from Spain, which has accused him and his anti-North Korea group of raiding and stealing c

North KoreaJuly 18, 2019

Former YG Entertainment chief booked for suspected arrangement of sex services

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO and chief producer of YG Entertainment, has been booked on suspicions that he arranged sex services for foreign investors, police said Wednesday.Investigators have been looking into allegations that Yang treated potential foreign investors at a posh restaurant in Seoul and arranged sex services for them in 2014. Yang was summoned for the probe but was initially not a suspect. Yang, 49, has flatly denied the allegations.The probe into Yang came as big-name artists from Y

Social AffairsJuly 17, 2019

S. Korea paired with N. Korea in World Cup qualification

KUALA LUMPUR -- South Korea will face North Korea in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.In a draw held at the Asian Football Confederation House in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, South Korea and North Korea were paired in Group H, along with Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.Coached by Paulo Bento, South Korea are the top-ranked team in the group at No. 37, followed by Lebanon (86th), North Korea (122nd), Turkmenistan (135th) and Sri Lanka (201st).The second round will go on

SoccerJuly 17, 2019