[Newsmaker] Wemix delisting sends shockwaves through crypto market

A Seoul court’s denial of an injunction against the delisting of Wemade's cryptocurrency wemix on Wednesday sent shock waves through the local virtual asset market. During this delisting process, wemix's market capitalization plunged by more than 380 billion won ($287.52 million). Wemix tokens were removed from the four crypto exchange platforms -- Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit -- on Thursday at 3 p.m. The court's ruling came as Wemade filed a petition for a preliminary

Dec. 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘Long live the bill’ in cashless society

Banknotes with higher face value have a longer life span, with highest denomination here of 50,000 won ($38) presumed to be used for more than 15 years, a central bank report showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea announced the results of a study on the average life span of Korean banknotes, making a presumption based on a sample survey of the notes in circulation in 2022. The results showed 10,000-won and 50,000-won bills have much longer lifetimes than bills of a smaller face value. The lifetime

Dec. 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] [From the Scene] World Cup fever in S. Korea ends on a bittersweet note

Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, with still an hour to go for the kickoff, Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul was already packed with soccer fans. Across the square were flashes of red, emitted from the LED headbands that symbolize the Red Devils, the official supporters club for the South Korean national soccer team. Many said they wouldn't miss watching South Korea take on the top-ranked Brazil in the country’s third Round of 16 match ever on World Cup stages. “I’ll be there once my shift e

Dec. 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] Marketing specialist named Samsung’s first female president outside founding family

Samsung Electronics on Monday appointed a female president, its first who is not a member of the founding family, in a year-end reshuffle that put emphasis on elevating young leaders based on their performances. Lee Young-hee, now president and head of global marketing, is a veteran marketer who joined Samsung in 2007 after serving in various roles at global companies, including Unilever and L’Oreal. The 58-year-old is known for playing a leading role in elevating the awareness of Samsung&

Dec. 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] [World Cup] Strong against the strong? S. Korea’s history of upsetting contenders

The results by the South Korean national team in Group H of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 have followed a peculiar pattern: It defeated the group-winner Portugal in the finale, tied with the next highest-ranked Uruguay 0-0, and was beaten by the lowest-ranked Ghana 3-2. Would the pattern continue when the Taegeuk Warriors play against the five-time World Cup champion Brazil at 10 p.m. Monday, or 4 a.m. Tuesday in Korea? The Korean team has indeed shown in the past -- mostly during the Koreans�

Dec. 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Interview] Diversification of K-culture gains traction in Spain

  MADRID -- A decade ago, the Korean wave in Spain was almost solely about K-pop, but now it is virtually K-everything, the chief of a state-run cultural institution in Madrid said. “Because of the growing interest in Korean culture here, the Korean Cultural Center in Spain is making efforts to introduce new genres of Korean culture, such as games, magic, children's plays and fashion to the Spanish people,” said Oh Ji-hoon, director of the Korean Cultural Center of Madrid in a r

Dec. 2, 2022

[Newsmaker] Kim Jong-un’s daughter, 10, leads fashion wave in North Korea

Since weeks ago when Kim Jong-un revealed his 10-year-old daughter Kim Ju-ae to the world openly for the first time, her fashion style has proven to be an instant hit in North Korea, and her styling seems to be sending young North Koreans abuzz. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, published pictures of North Korean women in white and pink padding jackets similar to that previously worn by Kim’s daughter when they inspected the launch of an intercontinen

Dec. 1, 2022

[Newsmaker] [World Cup] Will Cho Gue-sung get a big World Cup transfer?

Despite the eventual loss, Monday’s match against Ghana has produced some bright spots for struggling South Korea in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. One of them is the rediscovery of Cho Gue-sung. He scored two goals against the Black Stars during his team’s 2-3 loss, marking the first time a Korean has ever scored more than once in a single World Cup match. The 24-year-old K-League player’s stellar performance in his first World Cup start appears to be drawing the attention of te

Nov. 30, 2022

[Newsmaker] [World Cup] Outlook bleak, but not completely dark for S. Korea after loss to Ghana

After falling to Ghana 3-2, South Korea now faces a narrow path to survive the group stage and enter the last 16 at the World Cup in Qatar. To advance, the team must defeat Portugal, the strongest team in the group, to stand any sort of chance. Even if it does, it could still lose out, depending on the results of the match between Uruguay and Ghana. With all four teams in Group H having finished their second matches, Korea has just a single point and barely leads last place Uruguay on goal diffe

Nov. 29, 2022

[Newsmaker] [World Cup] From Crusaders to Rising Sun, politically sensitive items banned at World Cup

FIFA has been barring supporters from donning outfits or flags that could be offensive to other nations at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. It was recently reported that the international governing body of soccer has told English fans not to wear medieval Crusader costumes at the World Cup. “Crusader costumes in the Arab context can be offensive against Muslims. That is why anti-discrimination colleagues asked fans to wear things inside out or change dress,” the Times of Lon

Nov. 28, 2022

[Newsmaker] Poverty plaguing young generation in S. Korea

Earlier this month, a man in his 20s was arrested on charges of stealing 100,000 won ($74) worth of food over a span of four days from an unmanned store in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. When caught, he said he was hungry. The court is yet to decide on this 21st-century Jean Valjean's case, but poverty is a very real issue among South Korea’s young adults, a problem aggravated by the global COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing insecurity in the job market. Young and poor As of this August, 1 ou

Nov. 27, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Reporter’s Notebook] With boosted safety measures after Itaewon, World Cup screening proceeds without problems

After South Korea’s first match of the World Cup on Thursday, I overheard a policeman saying to his colleague over the radio that the public screening event at Gwanghwamun Plaza, central Seoul “wrapped up superbly.” There were no fights, no mess left by drunkards, and no fighting with the officials from the government, police and hosting group over being told what to do. There was some scattered trash in the streets, but most had been picked up by the roughly 23,000 people who

Nov. 25, 2022

[Newsmaker] Long-awaited insurance bill reignites debate on Samsung’s ownership structure

The long-awaited bill to revise the Insurance Business Act is reigniting debate over Samsung’s ownership structure, under which its insurance arm is the largest shareholder of Samsung Electronics. The National Assembly on Tuesday for the first time put forward the revision bills in the parliament's National Policy Committee. The bills, proposed in June 2020 respectively by main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers such as Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Lee Yong-woo, were the first bills to b

Nov. 24, 2022

[Newsmaker] Did you know? 3-month stay in UK could get you on 'no-donor’ list in Korea

Being one of the most beloved celebrities in the country, there are few places Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min would not feel welcomed in South Korea. One such rare place, however, may be the blood donation center, as the star soccer player is not eligible to be a blood donor. The reason? He works in England. According to the Korean Red Cross, the list of those ineligible for blood donation include those who have stayed in areas that have had outbreaks of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseas

Nov. 22, 2022

[Newsmaker] Self-understanding the best antidote to digital addiction: expert

  MADRID -- Self-understanding is the most critical part of treating children with video game addiction, which can be caused by various factors, a game addict-turned-psychiatrist and founder of a mental health coaching company said Thursday. “The best antidote to the digital addiction is self-understanding,” Alok Kanojia, president and co-founder of Healthy Gamer, said during the fifth edition of the enlightED 2022 conference hosted by Fundacion Telefonica together with IE Unive

Nov. 21, 2022

[Newsmaker] Twitter turmoil, staff exodus aggravate security concerns

WASHINGTON -- Twitter's owner Elon Musk has pledged the platform will not become a "hellscape," but experts fear a staff exodus following mass layoffs may have devastated its ability to combat misinformation, impersonation and data theft. Twitter devolved into what campaigners described as a cesspit of falsehoods and hate speech after recent layoffs cut half the company's 7,500 staff and fake accounts proliferated following its botched rollout of a paid verification system. Further thr

Nov. 20, 2022

[Newsmaker] Daejeon expands free subway use to foreign seniors

Foreign residents of Daejeon aged 65 or over will be able to ride the subway for free, according to the officials of the municipal government and the city transit authorities on Friday. Daejeon Metropolitan Government and the Daejeon Transportation Corporation have agreed to exempt subway fares for foreign seniors who live in Daejeon and have acquired permanent residency. The policy is expected to be implemented within this month.   South Korea currently has a policy of allowing senior citi

Nov. 18, 2022

[Newsmaker] Korea celebrates Kimchi Day on Nov. 22

Nov. 22 is Kimchi Day, a day dedicated to the savory Korean soul food that Koreans take great pride in. The South Korean government designated Kimchi Day to celebrate and promote the salted and fermented vegetable that is known for its various health benefits and is made in most Korean homes around this time of the year. Gimjang, the process of making large quantities of kimchi before winter, has long been a major annual event in Korean households and neighborhoods where family members, relative

Nov. 17, 2022

[Newsmaker] What porn? ‘Poverty porn’ reference to first lady sparks furor

  A South Korean opposition lawmaker is in the hot seat after he used the phrase “poverty porn” to describe first lady Kim Keon-hee who released photos of her philanthropic work while accompanying President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to Southeast Asia. Rep. Jang Kyung-tae of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea said Wednesday that he will “consider expressing regret” if the first lady was upset by his recent comment, while fending off the ruling People Power Party&

Nov. 16, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘It’s not stalking if you don’t pick up’

Recently, a local court cleared a 54-year-old man of stalking allegations, although the accused had apparently harassed his ex-girlfriend with repeated phone calls. The logic behind the verdict? She didn’t answer the phone. “While the (accused) called, the ex-girlfriend did not talk to him on the phone. The sound of the phone ringing cannot be regarded as the sound that was transmitted to the recipient through the information and communications system. ... Even if records of unanswer

Nov. 15, 2022