[Newsmaker] CJ slush fund probe zeroes in on chairman

CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun and his siblings are at the heart of the prosecution’s ongoing investigation into slush fund allegations against the food and entertainment conglomerate.The nation’s 14th-largest business group is suspected of amassing tens of billions of won in offshore slush funds by evading taxes through transactions with overseas affiliates, adding to a series of similar allegations raised over the past few years. The prosecution on Tuesday searched CJ offices and the residence

IndustryMay 22, 2013

[Newsmaker] FTC expands probe into NHN’s dominance

NHN, Korea’s biggest search engine operator, is coming under mounting pressure by state regulators as the country’s antitrust agency has further expanded its probe into not only the company but also its subsidiary.The Fair Trade Commission has reportedly launched an additional investigation into NHN Business Platform, a wholly-owned search advertising operator of NHN.NHN has increasingly been in the spotlight lately following the FTC’s full-scale probe into the company to find out whether it abu

May 21, 2013

[Newsmaker] Bae third Korean golfer to win on PGA tour

Bae Sang-moon cemented his status as one of South Korea’s rising golf stars by nabbing his first U.S. PGA Tour title two years after his debut on the tour. The 26-year-old won the HP Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA Tour in Texas on Sunday. He finished 13-under 267 to hold off 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley in second with 269, and 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel in third with 270.Bae is the third Korean golfer to win on the PGA Tour, which is the most prestigious men’s golf

GolfMay 20, 2013

[Newsmaker] Former Prime Minister Nam dies at 89

Nam Duck-woo, a former prime minister and finance minister who led the country’s economic modernization in the 1970s, died on Saturday night.The 89-year-old former official had suffered complications from prostate cancer, which had worsened due to old age, his family said.Dubbed “Korea’s economic president,” Nam is widely recognized for his key role in the country’s remarkable economic development, especially under the rule of former President Park Chung-hee, the father of President Park Geun-hy

May 19, 2013

[Newsmaker] Ministry halts Janssen’s Tylenol production

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Thursday that it would order Janssen Korea to halt production of five drugs including Children’s Tylenol syrup and file a criminal complaint against the company.The measures were drawn up as a result of an audit conducted after it was revealed the company delayed recalling Children’s Tylenol syrup last month despite being aware that the product may contain unsafe levels of acetaminophen, its main active ingredient, violating the Pharmaceutical Affai

Social AffairsMay 16, 2013

[Newsmaker] Choi, Jun elected floor leaders

The new floor leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties took office on Wednesday with the shared goal of highlighting the presence and role of their respective parties. The Democratic Party’s new floor leader Rep. Jun Byung-hun is a hard-liner who aims to step up pressure on the government, while his Saenuri Party counterpart is Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan, a key ally of President Park Geun-hye. Along with Choi, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon was elected to lead the party’s policy committee. Jun began his c

PoliticsMay 15, 2013

[Newsmaker] New Samsung body eyes Nobel laureates

Choi Yang-hee, head of Samsung Group’s ambitious new technological research foundation, is determined to produce Nobel Prize winners through advancing basic sciences.Fostering Nobel laureates is actually one of the three main programs of the Samsung Research Foundation, which will support research and development in basic science, materials engineering, and information and communication technology in line with the Park Geun-hye administration’s “creative economy” drive. The other two are nurturi

IndustryMay 14, 2013

[Newsmaker] Once-jailed Pakistani P.M. returns to power

Nawaz Sharif became the first man to earn a third stint as Pakistan’s prime minister after his Pakistan Muslim League-N won the largest share of seats in Saturday’s general election.The election as a whole can be seen as progress for Pakistani democracy and a chance for Sharif to start over.It was the first set of elections in the country after a full five-year term, and while voters’ verdict on the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party was damning, the completion of a term and democratic transition

InternationalMay 13, 2013

[Newsmaker] Yoon Chang-jung, a veteran of controversy

Even before his dismissal amid allegations of sexual assault last week, former Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Chang-jung was a controversial figure for his unreserved and often vulgar political comments. Yoon was a veteran journalist before being picked by President Park Geun-hye last year as the spokesman of her presidential transition committee. Yoon began his career as a reporter at the Korea Times in 1981, and spent much of the 1980s and the 1990s covering politics at a number of local vernacu

PoliticsMay 12, 2013

[Newsmaker] Ferguson leaves behind record career

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football history, announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season, ending a trophy-filled career of more than 26 years at the club.He became well-known to Koreans after he signed Park Ji-sung as a midfielder in 2005, making him the first-ever Korean footballer in the English Premier League. Park played for seven years under Ferguson, who sold him in 2012 to fellow Premier League team Queens Park Rang

SoccerMay 9, 2013

[Newsmaker] New WTO head must sell free trade message

The World Trade Organization is to have its first leader from the BRICS group of nations in Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, following his election to the post.As a symbol of so-called emerging economies’ ascent in global affairs, the choice of Azevedo is not without significance. With Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa growing strongly in the face of anemic economic growth in much of the developed world, it is increasingly clear that the world order can no longer be directed by long-domina

PoliticsMay 8, 2013

[Newsmaker] Spying claims strain U.S.-China ties

The Pentagon’s release Monday of a report accusing the Chinese government of cyber espionage against the United States will do nothing to improve the uneasy relations between the world’s two most powerful nations. According to the report, the Chinese government and military made numerous hacking attempts on U.S. government computer networks last year, seemingly to gain knowledge of U.S. military and foreign policy plans.That China desires an intimate view of the world’s most powerful government

PoliticsMay 7, 2013

[Newsmaker] Rookie steals the show in DP leadership race

Rep. Shin Kyung-min, a former TV anchor renowned for his biting comments and staunch liberalism, became a political star Saturday by taking the No. 2 post in the main opposition Democratic Party just two years after entering politics.The first-term lawmaker earned the most votes in the party election to join the Supreme Council, the highest decision-making body. In 2008, the veteran TV journalist started to host MBC’s main news program and enjoyed wide popularity for his scathing closing comment

PoliticsMay 6, 2013

[Newsmaker] Party maverick takes helm of opposition

New opposition leader Rep. Kim Han-gil is said to be a moderate centrist, an astute strategist and a resilient fighter roaring from the wilderness to the helm of the Democratic Party.The four-term lawmaker was long sidelined as the party was dominated by loyalists to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. But Kim took advantage of grievances among rank-and-file members toward the mainstream faction to defeat its flag-bearer Lee Yong-sup.  The new leader is expected to push a more centrist agend

PoliticsMay 5, 2013

[Newsmaker] ‘Little Psy’ falls victim to racist attack

The police are set to launch an investigation into alleged racist online attacks aimed at Hwang Min-woo, a 7-year-old singer who shot to fame after appearing in the music video for Psy’s "Gangnam Style."Since appearing in the video, Hwang has gained fame as “Little Psy” and has appeared in numerous events and television shows and commercials. Buoyed by the popularity of Gangnam Style, Hwang has also launched his own career and released his first single in March. According to reports, the police

Social AffairsMay 2, 2013

[Newsmaker] Tokyo Gov. in hot water over Muslims gaffe

Promotional interviews seldom go so badly. Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose has been forced to apologize to the Muslim world over remarks made in an interview with the New York Times about his city’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. His comments alluding to rival bidder Istanbul, Turkey, were seen as Islamophobic and in breach of the International Olympic Committee rules.In trying to explain why being the first Muslim country to host the Olympics was not a good reason for winning, Inose

InternationalMay 1, 2013

[Newsmaker] Amsterdam hails new king

Amsterdam was decked in orange Tuesday as the Netherlands prepared to bid goodbye to Queen Beatrix and welcome its first king in more than a century. People dressed themselves in the color of the House of Orange for the event timed to coincide with the country’s Queens Day, while shops prepared to cash in on commemorative items.Support for the monarchy has been well established by the common touch of Queen Beatrix, whose abdication follows the example of her two predecessors.But marriage may hav

InternationalApril 30, 2013

[Newsmaker] Business success story close to bankruptcy

Kang Duck-soo, 63, chairman and founder of STX Group, the nation’s 13th-largest conglomerate by assets, is facing his biggest-ever crisis as some of the company’s major affiliates are suffering from financial crunches. Cornered by liquidity problems, Kang has handed over his controlling stakes in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, a core affiliate of STX Group, to creditors. “His decision came amid creditors’ due diligence on the group’s money-losing shipbuilding unit before the creditors decide wheth

IndustryApril 29, 2013

[Newsmaker] Expectations high for Italy’s new gov't

Italy’s new center-left prime minister Enrico Letta ended two months of political deadlock by naming his Cabinet on Saturday amid heightened hopes from financial investors and international observers. Letta pulled off a deal on the formation of a new government, a coalition that brings together Letta’s Democratic Party and the People of Freedom Party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Letta, who speaks fluent English, has built up solid relations on both sides of parliament and is also

World NewsApril 28, 2013

[Newsmaker] Veteran politician returns to Assembly

Upon his landslide win in the parliamentary by-election Wednesday, Saenuri Party veteran Kim Moo-sung is setting off ripples across the political arena.Kim received 65.7 percent of the vote in Busan’s Yeongdo constituency, beating his opposition party rival Kim Bi-oh who had 22.3 percent.Kim is a close ally of President Park Geun-hye and a seasoned politician now in his fifth parliamentary term. His return is considered by many to be a signal for a major shift in the balance of power within the

PoliticsApril 25, 2013