[Newsmaker] From Olympic champ to IOC president

An Olympic gold medalist has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee for the first time in its 119-year history. Thomas Bach, a 59-year-old vice president of the IOC, has ascended to the top post of Olympic leadership.He was elected the ninth president of the IOC in its 125th session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday. He will serve a four-year term and will be eligible to run for two more terms. He succeeds Jacques Rogge, a 71-year-old Belgian, who stepped down after lead

SportsSept. 11, 2013

[Newsmaker] Prosecution fulfills mission impossible

It has been mission impossible for 16 years: collecting 167.2 billion won in overdue fines from a former strongman who claimed to have only 290,000 won at hand and is notoriously at home with brinkmanship. So, many observers were skeptical when the prosecution began a whirlwind investigation into former President Chun Doo-hwan’s family nearly four months ago with an aim to force him to pay the bill stemming from his misdeeds while in office in the 1980s.Chun’s family finally announced Tuesday th

Social AffairsSept. 10, 2013

[Newsmaker] First gay marriage stirs controversy

The first gay marriage in Korea on Saturday sharply divided the country, putting to the test its legal system and public tolerance of sexual minorities. Film director Kim-Jho Gwang-soo and film distributor Kim Seung-hwan held a symbolic wedding in central Seoul. They have been partners for nine years.The two men made their vows in front of guests reported to number about 1,000, including Kim-Jho’s mother, movie director Byun Young-joo and civil activist Paik Ki-wan.Their marriage, however, will

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2013

[Newsmaker] Ex-president’s elder brother released

Lee Sang-deuk, 78, former six-term lawmaker and elder brother to ex-President Lee Myung-bak, will be released from prison Monday. He has been serving time since July last year for taking illegal funds from failing savings banks.The political bigwig was considered the most influential figure in the previous administration after the president.Lee was frequently described by pundits as the “Regent King” for exercising enormous political power through having his younger brother at the nation’s top p

PoliticsSept. 8, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hyosung head in trouble for tax dodge claims

S.R. Cho, chairman of Hyosung Group, is coming under increasing pressure over allegations of tax evasion as tax authorities step up their investigation into his financial history.With conglomerate heads known for purchasing airline tickets to get out of tight spots in the past, Cho was banned from traveling abroad, forcing him to cancel plans to go to Vietnam with President Park Geun-hye for her state-visit there.The National Tax Service and the prosecutors’ ramped-up investigations into both pu

Sept. 5, 2013

[Newsmaker] STX chairman's fate hanging by a thread

Kang Duk-soo, 63, chairman and founder of the faltering STX Group, is likely to step down within this month due to conflict with creditors. Representing creditor banks, Korea Development Bank issued a statement on Tuesday calling on him to resign to save the group. The request was made based on the earlier agreement of Kang in April, a pre-condition for capital injection to ailing STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, a core affiliate of the group.Under the agreement, Kang promised not to raise objection

IndustrySept. 4, 2013

[Newsmaker] Park headed to first G20

President Park Geun-hye leaves for Russia on Wednesday to attend the G20 summit, making her debut in multinational summit diplomacy. Park will also make a state visit to Vietnam later this week as the first leg of her “sales diplomacy.”The eighth G20 Summit will be held Sept. 5-6 in St. Petersburg under the theme, “The Growth of the Global Economy and the Creation of Quality Jobs.”In her lead speech at the first session, Park is expected to highlight the need for the major economies’ cooperation

PoliticsSept. 3, 2013

[Newsmaker] ‘Conspiracy to rebel’ charge rocks nation

The rebellion charge faced by leftist lawmaker Rep. Lee Seok-ki has rocked not only the political arena but the entire country, which is still ideologically divided in the midst of constant threats from North Korea.The best-known insurrection case was in 1980, albeit in vastly different circumstances. Then opposition leader Kim Dae-jung, who later became president, was sentenced to death by the military junta in its move to oppress the democratic movement. He was declared innocent in 2004.Anothe

PoliticsSept. 2, 2013

[Newsmaker] KORAIL rapped for tardy response to crash

KORAIL, the nation’s state-run railway operator, is facing public criticism over its response to a train collision on Saturday. Two passenger trains collided near Daegu Station at 7:14 a.m. on Saturday, disrupting rail traffic between Seoul and Busan. A third train later crashed into the two stationary vehicles. The cause of the accident had yet to be confirmed as of Sunday afternoon.  No one was seriously injured in the crash, but passengers on board the trains expressed outrage over what they

Sept. 1, 2013

[Newsmaker] Leftist's allegations put UPP in jeopardy

The spy agency’s ongoing investigation into leftist lawmaker Lee Seok-ki on charges of plotting a rebellion threatens to engulf the far left of Korean politics and push his Unified Progressive Party over the edge.The UPP, which represents the more extreme end of progressive politics in Korea, was founded in November 2011 when the Democratic Labor Party merged with other progressive factions. Although its formation was aimed at representing a united front in last year’s general and presidential e

PoliticsAug. 29, 2013

[Newsmaker] Lee no stranger to legal run-ins

The minor Unified Progressive Party’s Rep. Lee Seok-ki has never been free from controversy having been accused of election fraud, illegal funding and leftist ideology.But the investigation of the progressive lawmaker unveiled Wednesday was stunning to the public: He faces the first charge of revolt in 30 years. The first-term lawmaker has been at the center of one of the largest scandals to engulf the left-wing party in the past year. Lee gained his parliamentary seat as a proportional represen

PoliticsAug. 28, 2013

[Newsmaker] Disgraced Bo turns China’s show trial into show stopper

China’s sensational trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai wound down Monday with the former Communist Party bigwig giving a performance reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan R. Jessup in “A Few Good Men,” railing against his accusers in self-righteous indignation. Bo hurled invective at the testimonies of major witnesses for the prosecution, calling one “insane” and another “a vile liar.” The 64-year-old could have played it cool and sought leniency, but chose instead to go out full of so

PoliticsAug. 27, 2013

[Newsmaker] Sohn remains key variable for progressives

Democratic Party adviser Sohn Hak-kyu continues to be a major factor for the progressive bloc despite his absence and apparent intention to “rest.” After losing the DP’s presidential primaries to Rep. Moon Jae-in last year, Sohn maintained a relatively low profile, and in January left for Germany to research welfare and labor issues. However, Sohn has been linked to Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo on a number of occasions, with speculations rising that the two may be planning an alliance. Although the rumors

PoliticsAug. 26, 2013

[Newsmaker] Army academy rocked by sexual misconduct

The Korea Military Academy, once touted as the birthplace of the country’s elite warriors, is losing public trust under growing criticism for a recent series of shameful cases of sexual misconduct.The Army said on Sunday that the military prosecution was investigating a senior cadet for allegedly having sex with a middle school girl and stealing her mobile phone in Seoul last month. The cadet, 22, met the 16-year-old girl through an online chat service and purportedly had sex with her on July 13

DefenseAug. 25, 2013

[Newsmaker] Better late than never: Roh agrees to pay up

Perhaps it was seeing the prosecutors zeroing in on his predecessor Chun Doo-hwan’s hidden assets, with himself next in line.Former President Roh Tae-woo, 81, made headlines Wednesday night by agreeing to pay up the unpaid 23 billion won ($20.5 million) in fines over the next several weeks.He said the debt will be paid in two batches: 15 billion won within next week, and the remaining 8 billion won by the beginning of next month. This will settle his outstanding fines after 16 years of delay. Ro

PoliticsAug. 22, 2013

[Newsmaker] Merkel’s Nazi camp visit a lesson for Japan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to former Nazi concentration camp Dachau received mixed reactions, but in doing so, she became the first-ever incumbent chancellor to take such a step.Merkel was immediately slammed for combining the obvious potent symbolism of a German head of state describing the shame she feels about an ugly chapter in her country’s history ― indeed, in world history ― with a planned Oom-pah-pah beer tent and campaign rally moments later. “We speak about the duty to rem

Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2013

[Newsmaker] Nation’s suicide scourge weighs on youth

South Korea’s infamously high suicide rate is taking a toll on the youth, with more than 100 of them taking their own lives every year.A total of 139 primary and secondary students committed suicide last year, according to education office data released by Rep. An Min-suk of the Democratic Party.High school students accounted for the greatest number of youth suicides, at 88 deaths.  The figure has, however, been on the decline since 2009 ― the number of student suicides stood at 150 in 2011 and

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2013

[Newsmaker] Tax becomes source of division in Korea

The government’s tax revision that was modified after drawing public backlash shows how desperate the Park Geun-hye administration is becoming to find funds for its welfare pledges.Spending 135 trillion won for equitable wealth distribution over the next four years would require a “big pot” of money that needs to be drawn from its reserve funds by maintaining a budget surplus, funds raised via government bonds, and the business community and the people by levying taxes.It simply ran out of optio

Aug. 19, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hong Sang-soo wins Best Director at Locarno

Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s latest film “Our Sunhi” has nabbed the filmmaker the Best Director award at this year’s Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. The award marks Hong’s first win at the annual film fest, which was held Aug. 7-17.“Our Sunhi” is Hong’s 15th film, starring actress Jeong Yoo-mi and actors Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Jae-young. It tells the story of a young film studies graduate student named Sun-hi, who is about to leave for the United States to continue her stud

FilmAug. 18, 2013

[Newsmaker] Gaeseong accord not entirely promising

By Shin Hyon-hee Despite the breakthrough in Gaeseong, the two Koreas faced a series of tough talks to sort out differences over the industrial park’s globalization, compensation for businesses and other thorny issues. At the core of the consultations will be an envisioned joint committee to run the factory zone based on consensus, designed to block the North from making unilateral decisions such as its April entry ban and pullout of workers. During the seventh meeting in Gaeseong on Wednesday,

North KoreaAug. 15, 2013