[Newsmaker] Gilbert Houngbo to be first African to head UN labour agency

GENEVA (AFP) -- Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo, was on Friday elected the next head of the International Labour Organization, and will become the first African to lead the UN agency. After two rounds of voting, the ILO's governing body elected the 61-year-old to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who steps down at the end of September, after 10 years in the job. "You have made history," Houngbo told the governing body after the election. "I am deeply

March 27, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Reporter's Notebook] Did presidential vote worsen gender conflict in Korea?

In the aftermath of Yoon Suk-yeol winning the closest presidential race in history, disdain from the female population toward him has left many suspecting that his victory has exacerbated the country’s gender conflict, particularly among the younger population. The National Police Agency on Monday ordered the Seoul cyber police to investigate a series of postings at an online community, discussing possible assassination of the president-elect. The websites in questions include female-domi

March 25, 2022

[Newsmaker] S. Korea reports all-time high daily COVID-19 deaths

South Korea reported the highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths during the 24 hours of Wednesday, the country’s health authorities said Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 470 deaths in a single day, breaking the previous record of 429 reported a week ago. The total deaths from COVID-19 reached 13,902. Of the total, 7,130 deaths were reported between February and March, along with the rapid spread of the omicron variant here. The

March 24, 2022

[Newsmaker] Cheong Wa Dae raises concern over Yoon’s office relocation causing ‘security vacuum’

Incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s office on Monday raised concerns over the plans to relocate the presidential office, adding to the controversy surrounding the plans. “President Moon Jae-in pledged to open the Gwanghwamun era in the past presidential election, and we do agree on the idea of returning Cheong Wa Dae to the public,” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication for Moon, said after the government’s National Security Council meetin

March 21, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hana Financial Group joins $2.6b bid to buy Chelsea FC

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has recently submitted a bid of $2.6 billion to buy Premier football club Chelsea, in a consortium led by UK property magnate Nick Candy. Local reports on Saturday said that the consortium of Candy, Hana Financial Group and Korean sports management firm C&P Sports -- dubbed “The Blue Football Consortium” -- have become one of several bidders who expressed their interest in buying Chelsea from its current Russian owner Roman Abramovich by

March 20, 2022

[Newsmaker] Russian strikes hit outskirts of Ukrainian capital and Lviv

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russian forces pressed their assault on Ukrainian cities Friday, with new missile strikes and shelling on the edges of the capital Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, as world leaders pushed for an investigation of the Kremlin's repeated attacks on civilian targets, including schools, hospitals and residential areas. Outside Lviv, black smoke billowed for hours after the early morning strike by several missiles, which the mayor said hit a facility for repairing military airc

March 18, 2022

[Newsmaker] Violence against Asians decried in Atlanta

ATLANTA -- A year after the fatal shootings at three Georgia massage businesses, crowds gathered at rallies across the country Wednesday to remember the victims and denounce anti-Asian violence that has risen sharply in recent years. Six women of Asian descent were among the eight people killed in and near Atlanta on March 16, 2021. The slayings contributed to fear and anger among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and motivated many to join the fight against the rising hostility. At the Atla

March 17, 2022

[Newsmaker] Biden to visit Europe for Ukraine talks as refugees surpass 3m

US President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Europe since the invasion of Ukraine to discuss the crisis with NATO allies next week, the White House said on Tuesday as the refugee tally hit 3 million amid more Russian air strikes. Moscow has not captured any of the 10 biggest cities in the country following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945. Local authorities said Tuesday's bombardments on Kyiv killed at least five people as buildings w

March 16, 2022

[Newsmaker] For kids with COVID-19, everyday life can be a struggle

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles fidgets on the hospital bed as she waits for the nurse at Children's National Hospital. The white paper beneath her crinkles as she shifts to look at the medical objects in the room. She's had the coronavirus three times, and no one can figure out why. Brooklynn's lucky, sort of. Each time she has tested positive, she has suffered no obvious symptoms. But her dad, Rodney, caught the virus when she was positive back in September, and he died from

March 15, 2022

[Newsmaker] Naver's new CEO all-in on going global

Naver will become an incubator that creates innovative technology penetrating the global market and seek to go beyond providing services that are popular today, the company’s new CEO said Monday. “Not only all businesses owned by Naver began with the thought of going global from the start, but all of the objectives also point to going global,” Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said at a meeting with shareholders and board of directors where she was appointed as the new chief. The IT g

March 14, 2022

[Newsmaker] Companies Leaving Russia Don’t Know If and When They’ll Return

(Bloomberg) -- When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, companies rushed behind the Iron Curtain to plant their flag in Russian soil. Icons of capitalism, from Apple Inc. to McDonald’s Corp. to Adidas AG, went on to build profitable businesses in the ensuing years as consumers clamored for a slice of Western lifestyle. In just a few short days, those longstanding ties have unraveled. After Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, a mass corporate exodus set in, starting wi

March 13, 2022

[Newsmaker] Giant Saudi wealth fund gobbles up stakes in Korean game makers

Saudi Arabia is pouring money into South Korean game makers NCSoft and Nexon, doubling down on its bet in the gaming industry. Public Investment Fund, the Middle Eastern country’s sovereign wealth fund, acquired an additional 563,566 shares of NCSoft for about 290 billion won ($240 million) through six transactions between Feb. 8 to 16., according to a regulatory filing submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday. With the latest investment, PIF has become NCSoft’s s

March 11, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Voters &] 18-year-olds cast historic first vote

Kim Ji-su, who turned 18 in January, cast her first ballot in a presidential election on Wednesday with a sense of excitement. “Adults think we are too young (to vote), but we are also citizens of this country. I am glad that I can vote to choose the president who will lead the country for the next five years,” Kim, a senior at Munjeong High School in Seoul, told The Korea Herald. This year’s presidential election marked a milestone in Korean politics, as the first time in

March 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] A modern Churchill? Zelenskyy praised as war communicator

To a watching world, his message is this, in both his words and his resolute, sometimes haggard appearance: He stands as a mirror to the suffering and spirit of his people. It appears to be getting through. Just days into the war engulfing his nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is drawing historical comparisons as an effective and stirring wartime communicator _ yet with a distinctly modern touch inflected by the sensibilities of live television and the personal feel of social media

March 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] Russian war in world's 'breadbasket' threatens food supply

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine also are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region -- known as the "breadbasket of the world." Ukrainian farmers have been forced to neglect their fields as millions flee, fight or try to stay alive. Ports are shut down that send wheat and other food staples worldwide to be made into bread, noodles and animal fe

March 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] Zelenskyy's 'desperate' plea to Congress: Send more planes

WASHINGTON -- Fighting for his country's survival, Ukraine's leader made a "desperate" plea Saturday to American lawmakers for the United States to help get more warplanes to his military and cut off Russian oil imports as Kyiv tries to stave off the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opened the private video call with US lawmakers by telling them this may be the last time they see him alive. He has remained in Kyiv, the capital, which has a vast Russian armored column thr

March 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] K-drama filming locations among most popular attractions in Seoul: report

Foreigners flocked to famous K-drama filming sites in Seoul last year, propelled by a rising global popularity for Korean TV series, a report showed Friday. Among some 80 tourist attractions visited by 1.6 million foreigners last year, 57.6 percent were filming locations of Netflix-aired Korean dramas, a LG Uplus report showed. Milal Fine Art Museum in Gangnam-gu, the filming site of “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” saw a 195 percent surge -- the highest figure -- in the num

March 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Leaving their instruments behind, Ukrainian musicians return home to take up arms

Seoul Pops Orchestra director and conductor Ha Sung-ho said that SPO will be performing a fundraising concert this month for Ukraine and the Ukrainian artists of the orchestra, who have left South Korea to join the fight against Russian troops. Seoul Pops Orchestra has four Ukrainian members, three of whom -- contrabassist Ziuzkin Dmytro, 47, violist Lev Keler, 51, and trumpet player Matviyenko Konstyantyn, 52 -- have left South Korea to fight for their country. Explaining that the orchestra&r

March 3, 2022

[Newsmaker] Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju, pioneer in Korea's gaming industry, dies at 54

Kim Jung-ju, the founder of South Korea’s biggest game maker Nexon and an engineer-turned-entrepreneur who led the country’s burgeoning game industry which also made him the richest man here, passed away on Monday. He was 54. According to Nexon’s holding company NXC, Kim died on Feb. 28 in Hawaii, the United States. He had been undergoing treatments for depression and it appeared that the symptoms had become worse as of late, the company said. Born in February 1968 in Seoul,

March 2, 2022

[Newsmaker] Korea suspends vaccine pass nationwide

South Korea is suspending the use of the COVID-19 vaccine pass nationwide from Tuesday, citing a high vaccination rate and continuing legal challenges. The move comes more than two months since vaccine passes were introduced extensively in early December. While the mandate is lifted, people are no longer required to present proof of being fully vaccinated or have negative test results to enter public places. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday said the passes were being scrapped for

Feb. 28, 2022