[Newsmaker] Surge in embezzlement fuels calls for tougher oversight

A recent report that three employees had stolen 3 billion won ($2.3 million) from South Korea’s biggest cosmetics maker Amorepacific in the wake of other huge embezzlements at the country’s major banks is fueling calls for tougher oversight. The employees at the cosmetics maker had allegedly used the money to buy stocks, cryptocurrencies and gamble by falsifying company documents such as tax records, a local report said Tuesday. Amorepacific said the employees were facing disciplina

May 17, 2022

[Newsmaker] Creator of Korean-made cryptos under siege after $37b wiped out

South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon was a rising star of the global digital asset market when his company Terraform Labs launched the cryptocurrencies UST and luna with the goal of achieving a decentralized economy three years ago. His stardom reached its peak as the price of luna skyrocketed to over $119 early last month, becoming the first Korean-developed cryptocurrency to crack the top 10 list of cryptocurrencies with the highest market capitalization in the world. Some investors and i

May 16, 2022

[Newsmaker] Seoul to soon propose talks with Pyongyang on COVID-19

South Korea is preparing to propose holding talks with North Korea on providing COVID-19 assistance, as Pyongyang recently acknowledged that it is undergoing a virus outbreak and is believed to be struggling with a lack of test kits and medical supplies. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday morning 15 new COVID-19 deaths and 296,180 additional people with fever symptoms after the country for the first time acknowledged undergoing a virus outbreak three days

May 15, 2022

[Newsmaker] S. Korea co-sponsors UN Human Rights Council resolution on Ukraine

South Korea has co-sponsored a recently adopted UN Human Rights Council resolution on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine stemming from Russia's aggression, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. During a special session in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday (local time), the council adopted the resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities against Ukraine and requesting a team of investigators look into alleged abuses in parts of the war-torn country. "Our gov

May 13, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘Fake geniuses’ highlight S. Korean elite’s obsession with top schools

How many high school students have their papers published in academic journals? The question has prompted headlines in the South Korean media in recent days, following a political scandal. At the center of the controversy is the daughter of Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon who published five academic papers and four e-books within the space of two months as a high school student. Reminiscent of a case years ago involving the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and the family&

May 12, 2022

[Newsmaker] Musk says he would reverse Twitter's ban of Donald Trump

LONDON -- Elon Musk said Twitter would reverse its ban of former President Donald Trump if his purchase of the social media company goes through, signaling just how permissive the platform could become toward free speech under his ownership. Speaking virtually at an auto conference, the Tesla CEO said Tuesday that Twitter's ban of Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol was a "morally bad decision'' and "foolish in the extreme.'' "I think that was a mistake

May 11, 2022

[Newsmaker] Five things about S. Korea’s new president

Yoon Suk-yeol was officially sworn in as the 20th president of South Korea on Tuesday, kicking off his five-year term with the inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m. at the National Assembly in the nation’s capital. He has some distinct features that make him a unique leader in a number of ways. Here are five facts about the country’s new leader. 1) The first president since the 50s to work outside Cheong Wa Dae Yoon’s presidency has brought about a noticeable change to South K

May 10, 2022

[Newsmaker] Kim Ji-ha, poet, beacon of democracy and controversy

Famed poet Kim Ji-ha, who died on Sunday at the age of 81, left behind a legacy of decades-long battles against the military dictatorship, followed by disputes later in life. Kim died at 4 p.m. at his home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, after suffering from an unspecified illness for the past year, the Toji Cultural Foundation said on behalf of the bereaved family. He passed away “peacefully, after holding each of their hands and smiling,” it added. The foundation, which supports K

May 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] Iconic Korean movie star Kang Soo-youn dies at 55

Kang Soo-youn, the iconic Korean movie star who brought home the nation’s first acting award from the Venice film festival, died on Saturday at the age of 55. The tragic news came two days after she was taken to hospital on Thursday for a cardiac arrest. Kang died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 3 p.m. at a hospital in southern Seoul, her family said. Kang’s funeral committee is led by Kim Dong-ho, founder of the Busan International Film Festival and the current Gangneung Internatio

May 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] Fans and film industry send prayers to actor Kang Soo-youn

Korean movie stars, directors and fans are praying for Kang Soo-youn’s recovery after the veteran actor was taken to a hospital with cardiac arrest on Thursday. According to a Gangnam Severance Hospital official, the actor remains unconscious while detailed information is yet to be announced. Director Yeon Sang-ho, who is scheduled to make his Netflix return with Kang in an upcoming sci-fi film “Jung_E,” was shocked to hear about the actor. “I was really surprised when

May 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] US Fed makes biggest rate increase since 2000 to fight inflation

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its biggest rate hike since 2000, with a half percentage point increase as it works to crush soaring US inflation. With inflation at the highest rate in four decades, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent a message directly to the American people, expressing concern for the pain caused by rising prices, and pledging to use all available tools to bring them down. But he told reporters he remains confident the economy is strong enough to

May 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] Nominee bows out amid snowballing accusations

Kim In-chul, the nominee for deputy prime minister and education minister, became the first Cabinet pick for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to step away from the confirmation process. After a series of allegations surrounding his term as president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and his family were raised, Kim said he will no longer seek the post. “I am to withdraw today,” Kim told the press in front of the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety in Yeouido, west

May 3, 2022

[Newsmaker] Evacuations under way in Mariupol; Pelosi visits Ukraine

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- A long-awaited evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was under way Sunday, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that she visited Ukraine's president to show unflinching American support for the country's defense against Russia's invasion. Video posted online by Ukrainian forces showed elderly women and mothers with small children bundled in winter clothing being helped as they climbed a steep pile of debris from the sp

May 2, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Reporter's notebook] What's all the fuss over the weak Korean won?

SEJONG -- Policymakers repeatedly sent alerts to the foreign exchange market last week as the Korean currency sharply lost its value against the US dollar. The greenback surpassed 1,250 won in the wake of investors’ preference in safe havens amid expanding global uncertainty, which include Russia’s Ukraine invasion, high raw materials prices and moves to raise the interest rate in major countries. This is not the first time that increased volatility in won-dollar rates have rung bel

April 29, 2022

[Newsmaker] UN head condemns attacks on civilians during Ukraine visit

KYIV -- The head of the United Nations said Ukraine has become ``an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain`` -- a description underscored a short time later by the first Russian strike on the capital since Moscow's forces retreated weeks ago. Russia pounded targets all over Ukraine on Thursday, including the attack on Kyiv that struck a residential high-rise and another building and wounded 10 people, including at least one who lost a leg, according to Ukraine's emergency services. The bomba

April 29, 2022

[Newsmaker] Gender Equality Ministry hid internal sexual harassment case, lawmaker claims

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family deliberately hid an internal sexual harassment case and went against the guidelines the ministry made for state-run agencies in preventing sexual crimes from being hidden or left unpunished, a lawmaker claimed Thursday. The revelation adds fuel to the voice demanding abolition of the Gender Equality Ministry amid growing gender divide as promised by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol during the presidential race. According to reports obtained by Rep. Ha Ta

April 28, 2022

[Newsmaker] Transition team denies report of first lady leading Cheong Wa Dae exhibition

The presidential transition team’s vice spokesperson on Wednesday denied a report that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, might lead an art exhibition at Cheong Wa Dae. It refuted a Yonhap report on Wednesday which quoted an aide to Kim saying that the incoming first lady could categorize artworks owned by Cheong Wa Dae and introduce them to the public. “It’s only a natural idea that Kim, who has expertise in art curation, helps open the art collection

April 27, 2022

[Newsmaker] More versions of BA.2 omicron gaining ground in Korea

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday new versions of omicron’s BA.2 subvariant were making up increasingly larger proportions of circulating variants in the country. According to the KDCA’s weekly analysis posted Tuesday, BA.2, which was first spotted here in late January, showed up in 94.2 percent of cases in the third week of April. In a further breakdown of variants, BA.2.3 represented most of cases at 63.5 percent. BA.2 had the second-largest shar

April 26, 2022

[Newsmaker] Macron: abrasive reformer with chance to leave mark on France

PARIS -- Young, pro-European and unfailingly ambitious, Emmanuel Macron is the first French president to serve a second term in 20 years, giving him a historic opportunity to leave his mark. The 44-year-old, who came to power as France's youngest ever president, secured victory promising more pro-business and welfare reforms but with a "new method" that is expected to be less top-down. He had billed Sunday's vote as a chance to "save the Republic" from the clutches of far-rig

April 25, 2022

[Newsmaker] Cleaner Earth: Healing ozone hole, less smog, more eagles

With climate change, plastic pollution and a potential sixth mass extinction, humanity has made some incredible messes in the world. But when people, political factions and nations have pulled together, they have also cleaned up some of those human-caused environmental problems, including healing the ozone hole, clearing perpetually smoggy air and saving many species from the brink of extinction. "We can be good at cleaning up our messes, it's whether or not we choose to be and what we prio

April 24, 2022