[Newsmaker] Kim Jong-un’s portrait start of own personality cult, message to US: experts

A giant portrait of Kim Jong-un has gone on display in public for the first time, in what analysts say could be a sign of a turning point in the current North Korean leader’s status within his country and a message to the international community. The portrait was spotted at events both welcoming and bidding farewell to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel at Pyongyang International Airport this week. It was hung next to Diaz-Canel’s portrait, painted in a similar style, according to photos released

North KoreaNov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] Minister apologizes for troops' sexual violence during Gwangju Uprising

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo apologized Wednesday over the sexual assaults by troops during their brutal crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.During a nationally televised press conference, Jeong pledged to spare no efforts to console the victims and make utmost efforts to restore their honor and prevent any recurrence, while stressing that the military is to exist to support citizens, not those in power.(Yonhap)"On behalf of the government and mili

Social AffairsNov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] NK leader sees off Cuban president after 3-day visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has seen off Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez after his three-day visit to Pyongyang, the communist state's state media reported Wednesday.The Cuban leader left Pyongyang by his personal plane Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, were at the airport to see off the president and his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza. (Yonhap)"After Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez and his wife got off a car, the supreme l

North KoreaNov. 7, 2018

[Newsmaker] NK leader talks with Cuban president in his office

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with his Cuban counterpart at his office in Pyongyang and discussed in-depth “ways to vitalize cooperation and exchange in various fields,” along with the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the North’s state-run news agency reported Tuesday. The meeting, which took place at the office building of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Monday, came during Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez’s state visit to North Korea. The office was the venue fo

North KoreaNov. 6, 2018

[Newsmaker] Koreans stressed out about group chats: surveys

A significant number of South Koreans are stressed out over group chats on platforms such as KakaoTalk, according to a number of surveys in recent years.In a survey conducted last year by the Korea Press Foundation, nearly 7 in 10 Korean adults said they had stayed in chatrooms despite wanting to leave, with nearly half saying they had stayed to avoid hurting other people’s feelings.The survey, which involved a sample of some 1,000 people aged between 20 and 50, also found that one of the most c

Social AffairsNov. 6, 2018

[Newsmaker] Ordinary North Koreans join elite in acquiring taste for coffee

North Koreans have developed a new taste for coffee as its consumption saw a rapid increase over the past few years with the introduction of market forces to the state-run economy, according to a report from Radio Free Asia on Thursday. In the past, drinking coffee was considered a luxury for most of the North Korean population and only the elite in Pyongyang could afford the leisure time. But, now, some North Koreans out in the provinces also reportedly enjoy a hot cup of coffee now and then. 

North KoreaNov. 5, 2018

[Newsmaker] Storms, floods in Sicily kill at least 12 people; 2 missing

ROME (AP) — Storm-related floods killed at least 12 people in Sicily, Italian authorities said Sunday, including nine members of two families who were spending a long weekend together when water and mud from a swollen river overran their rented villa.After surveying the stricken Mediterranean island by helicopter, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte identified two more of the victims as a German couple whose car was swept away by flood waters near Agrigento, a tourist town known for its ancient Greek

WorldNov. 5, 2018

[Newsmaker] Shin Sung-il dies of cancer at 81

Actor Shin Sung-il died of lung cancer Sunday. He was 81.Shin was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer in June 2017 and was undergoing chemotherapy when his condition recently deteriorated.Shin was born Kang Shin-yeong in Daegu in 1937. He attended Kyungbock High School, an elite school in Seoul, but gave up going to college due to his family’s financial circumstances. In 1957, he joined director Shin Sang-ok’s studio, where he adopted the stage name Shin Sung-il at the director’s suggestion. Shin

FilmNov. 4, 2018

[Newsmaker] Newest iPhones to hit Korea’s Apple Store on Nov. 2

The first and only Apple Store in Korea will introduce the latest Apple smartphones on Friday: Get ready for the iPhones XR, XS and XS Max. Presales through local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus closed Thursday, and -- despite hefty price tags starting at 1 million won ($880) -- the new phones have set a record that slightly surpasses the presales volume of previous iPhones 8 and X. iPhone XS (Yonhap)The Korea Herald will visit the store early Friday morning to see how the ultra-expensive n

TechnologyNov. 1, 2018

[Newsmaker] IT entrepreneur says will quit following abuse scandal

Yang Jin-ho, the chairman of file-sharing platform WeDisk and Hankook Mirae Technology, on Thursday delivered an “apology letter” via Facebook to the many victims that he “may have hurt,” adding on that he was willing to resign from his executive position at the company in light of abuse allegations. Korea’s police special crimes unit on Wednesday announced that it had taken over investigations into Yang, 47, after an independent media outlet revealed footage of Yang brutally beating and insulti

Social AffairsNov. 1, 2018

[Newsmaker] Minister under fire as opposition chokes on NK’s naengmyeon remark

Taking issue with inaction against a remark by a high-ranking North Korea military negotiator, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted a proposal for the dismissal of Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Wednesday.It cited the pushing of the inter-Korean railway without ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration that calls for it, the banning of a defector from covering an inter-Korean meeting in Panmunjeom and an insulting remarks made to businessmen during September’s North-South

PoliticsOct. 31, 2018

[Newsmaker] 19 private kindergartens said they will shut down

Nineteen private kindergartens said they will close as of Monday, days after a lawmaker revealed thousands of accounting fraud cases involving private kindergartens.Six of the kindergartens have submitted papers to the education authorities, seeking to terminate their businesses, and another 12 have informed parents that they will shut down. One said it has stopped accepting enrollment applications.Rep. Park Yong-jin of the Democratic Party revealed early this month that 5,951 financial irregula

Social AffairsOct. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor grilled for power abuse, election law violations

The path seemed to be wide and smooth for lawyer-turned-politician Lee Jae-myung, a two-term mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and previously a prominent presidential primary candidate for the ruling party.Now, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee stands at the center of public scrutiny over a series of unsavory scandals related to family problems, an extramarital affair and organized crime.On Monday, Lee appeared at Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province for questioning over a series of allegati

Social AffairsOct. 29, 2018

[Newsmaker] Supreme Court reaffirms prison term for ex-Hanjin Shipping chairwoman for insider trading

The Supreme Court on Monday finalized an 18-month prison term for a former head of the now-defunct Hanjin Shipping Co. for selling off her family's stake in the firm using insider information. Choi Eun-young, 56, was convicted in December last year of unloading the stakes held by her and her two daughters after she learned that Hanjin's creditors decided against the additional liquidity support. She avoided about 1 billion won ($875,270) of possible losses. (Yonhap)She was imprisoned following t

IndustryOct. 29, 2018

[Newsmaker] Anxiety heightens on stock market depreciation

Market observers remained tense throughout the weekend amid burgeoning skepticism that the stock benchmark Kospi might dip below the psychologically significant threshold of 2,000 this week, reeling under the prolonged US-China trade tension and visible losses in recent corporate earnings.Foreseeing further depreciation, especially in the market top cap companies, officials responsible for the securities sector are to put their heads together to devise countermeasures this week in response to th

EconomyOct. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Me and my porn shadow: 'spycam' epidemic seizes South Korea

South Korea is in the grip of a ‘spycam’ epidemic, with covert footage of sex, nudity and urination posted online in what amounts to a “social death penalty” for thousands of women forced to live with a pornographic shadow. The footage may be taken surreptitiously by boyfriends or captured on covert devices as small as car keys. Daily camera checks are now part of life for cleaners in many public toilets. The spy camera phenomenon has reached such epidemic proportions in tech-savvy South Korea,

Social AffairsOct. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Former senior judge arrested in judiciary power abuse scandal

A former senior judge was arrested early Saturday for his alleged role in illicit lobbying and trial manipulation involving the previous Supreme Court chief justice. The Seoul Central District Court issued the writ for Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration (NCA), the top court's governing body, saying that his charges are acknowledged and that he presents the risk of destroying evidence. Lim Jong-hun(Yonhap)Lim, 59, is suspected of being the key man who helped for

Social AffairsOct. 27, 2018

[Newsmaker] Court holds hearing to decide on ex-judge's arrest

A Seoul court held a hearing Friday to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for a former senior judge accused of suspected illicit lobbying and trial manipulation that involved a former Supreme Court chief justice. Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration, the top court's governing body, arrived at the Seoul Central District Court at around 10:10 a.m. Prosecutors filed the writ request Tuesday.  (Yonhap)Lim, 59, is suspected of being the key man who helped forme

Social AffairsOct. 26, 2018

[Newsmaker] Governor’s purported ex-mistress up the creek as her lawyer is jailed

Actress Kim Bu-seon’s defamation suit against Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, who denies her claims that they had an extramarital affair, hit a snag Wednesday when her lawyer was jailed.Former lawmaker and lawyer Kang Yong-seok was sentenced to a year in prison for forging documents concerning an alleged extramarital affair between Kang and luxury products blogger Kim Mi-na. Kang immediately filed for appeal. Should his prison sentence be upheld in a higher court, Kang will not be able to practice

Social AffairsOct. 25, 2018

[Newsmaker] Seoul’s ‘hero’ campaign sparks gender debate

Seoul’s new campaign to encourage people to help strangers has generated controversy with an illustration that depicts a male figure as the symbol of heroism. Critics argue that the campaign’s visuals suggest it is a man’s job to help others.The Subway Hero Zone, currently installed next to a couple of stairways at City Hall Station, depicts a muscular man with a cape next to a suitcase and a baby stroller.(Seoul Design Governance)The idea was to make asking for help less awkward by creating a d

Social AffairsOct. 25, 2018