[Newsmaker] S. Korean PM arrives in Iran: report

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun arrived in Iran on Sunday, a report said, as Seoul seeks to improve relations with Tehran amid lingering tension over Iranian funds frozen in Korea under US sanctions. Chung's three-day trip to Tehran came days after Tehran released a Korean oil tanker and its captain three months after its seizure over alleged oil pollution, paving the way for better bilateral relations. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Chung is slated to meet wi

PoliticsApril 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Govt. pushes for wider use of encrypted personal numbers on entry logs to protect privacy

The South Korean government has issued revised guidelines on handwritten entry logs required at small businesses like restaurants for contact tracing purposes, as part of efforts to boost the use of encrypted personal numbers. In February, the government rolled out the encrypted data service to better protect privacy, but it has been slow to take off, in part due to lack of public awareness campaigns. The revised guidelines, released earlier this week, strongly recommend that people use their

Social AffairsApril 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Suspect of murdering 3 women unmasked

A man who allegedly intruded into a home and killed three women after stalking one of them was unmasked in front of the press Friday morning, following a rare police decision to disclose his personal details. The Nowon police station in northeastern Seoul sent Kim Tae-hyeon, 24, to the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of murder, theft, housebreaking, consistent harassment and violation of information and communication network laws. Kim said he felt “guilty for

Social AffairsApril 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Samsung heir's return to jail postponed due to extended hospital stay

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Group convicted of bribery, will return to jail later than the scheduled date, industry sources said Friday, after doctors recommended longer hospital care following his appendicitis surgery. Lee was transferred from Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul on March 19 to receive the surgery after suffering a ruptured appendix. The 52-year-old tycoon was suppos

IndustryApril 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Innisfree forced to clarify ‘paper bottle’ packaging after customer discovers plastic bottle inside

Innisfree, a cosmetic brand under Amorepacific, has been forced to clarify its eco-friendly “paper bottle” packaging after a customer’s complaint about plastic usage and a “misleading” label went viral online. In a post on a Facebook group called “No Plastic Shopping,” a customer shared photos of what is inside the package for the brand’s face serum product after cutting the bottle in half. Despite the label reading “Hello, I‘m Paper

ConsumerApril 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police raid LH in probe into alleged business irregularities

Police raided the headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) and five other locations Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities involving business contracts. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said its officers searched the state housing developer in Jinju, about 435 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as well as the offices of its suppliers and the homes of three suspects in Gyeonggi Province near the capital. The company is suspected to have given favors to supplie

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] US law students ask Biden to engage in ‘comfort women’ issue

Asian students in 15 US law schools including Harvard asked the White House to engage in the “comfort women” issue ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s US visit. The Harvard Asian Pacific American Law Students Association said Tuesday that they sent a letter, co-signed by the Asian law student associations of 14 other universities such as Columbia, Stanford and Yale, requesting US President Joe Biden to raise the issue of Japan’s wartime sex slavery during h

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Govt. to expand free coronavirus testing to prevent new wave of infections: PM

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday the government will expand free coronavirus testing, with recent spikes in new cases spurring concerns of a fourth wave of infections. The country reported 668 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the most since Feb. 18, as sporadic cluster infections continued to increase across the country. "We will expand free testing so that anyone can get a free coronavirus diagnostic test regardless of the social distancing stage or symptoms," Chung sa

PoliticsApril 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Hybe, Ithaca Holdings ready for ‘quantum leap’

Amid the buzz caused by Hybe’s merger with Ithaca Holdings, key figures from the two companies expressed their excitement through a video released on YouTube Monday. Hybe, formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, announced Friday it would acquire Ithaca Holdings and its properties, including SB Projects and its management clients Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato. “Hybe has achieved continued growth by facing head-on new challenges that drive change such as the recent r

PerformanceApril 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] COVID-19 vaccination tops 1m in S. Korea

South Korea has inoculated over 1 million people in 40 days since the country launched its long-awaited COVID-19 vaccination campaign, health authorities here said Tuesday. An accumulated 1,014,019 people were administered with their first shots as of noon Tuesday, which account for around 1.95 percent of the country's 52 million population, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). On Feb. 26, the country began its inoculation program, with health care workers and p

Social AffairsApril 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] Youn Yuh-jung wins SAG award for best female actor in supporting role

Even after winning more than 30 awards for her supporting role in “Minari,” 73-year-old South Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung looked shocked when she brought in another trophy -- this time at the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards. At the 2021 SAG Awards on Monday, Youn was honored for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role for playing Soon-ja, a Korean grandmother in the US-made film. “I don’t know how to describe my feelings, being recognized by West

FilmApril 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korean Youn Yuh-jung wins SAG Award for supporting role in 'Minari'

South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung won an award at the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for her supporting role in the drama film "Minari." At the televised ceremony of the 2021 SAG Awards on Sunday (US time), Youn was named the winner of Outstanding Performance By a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, beating Maria Bakalova for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," Glenn Close for "Hillbilly Elegy," Olivia Colman for "The Father" and Helena Zengel for "Ne

FilmApril 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Comedian Park Soo-hong to sue brother, sister-in-law

Comedian Park Soo-hong plans to take legal action against his brother and sister-in-law, following a financial dispute over his earnings. Park will file suit against his brother and sister-in-law for alleged embezzlement on Monday, Park’s lawyer Noh Jong-eon said Saturday. “Park and his brother established an entertainment company, agreeing to share the earnings 7 to 3. The agency’s earnings all came from Park,” the announcement read. “Park’s brother an

PeopleApril 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] Poll shows increase in conservatives among S. Koreans for 3rd straight year

A poll released by a state research body on Sunday showed an increase in conservatives among South Koreans for a third consecutive year. The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) also said the number of those who consider themselves liberals fell for the second straight year. KIPA polled 8,336 South Koreans, aged 19 and over, from September to October last year on their political leanings. The results showed that 25.7 percent of the polled said they are conservatives, up 1 percentage

PoliticsApril 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] After 2 years into 5G world, smartphone users still hungry for wider coverage, faster speeds

When 5G networks were first rolled out in South Korea in April 2019, telecom operators claimed that their ultrafast mobile speeds and low latency would usher in a new era for smartphone users and even power future technologies from autonomous vehicles to virtual reality (VR) content to cloud gaming. Fast forward to 2021, self-driving cars are still a way off and cloud games still work on previous 4G LTE networks. The next-generation networks have instead faced user disappointment due to slower

Social AffairsApril 3, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon's approval rating drops to another record low of 32%: Gallup

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has fallen for the third consecutive week, reaching an all-time low of 32 percent, due mainly to his government's unpopular housing policy, a poll showed Friday. In Gallup Korea's survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted from Tuesday through Thursday, only 32 percent gave a positive assessment of Moon's presidency, down 2 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest since his inauguration in 2017. But 58 percent negatively assessed Moon's p

PoliticsApril 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Shinhan Bank employee shot in Myanmar, sends jitters across Korea’s finance sector

A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at

MarketApril 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Rival parties try to drum up turnout as early voting for by-elections set to begin

With one day left before the start of the early voting for next week's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, rival parties on Thursday strived to encourage more of their supporters to go to the polls. The advance polling is set to begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations in Seoul, Busan and other regions ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Both sides believe turnout of their supporters for the early voting will be a prime determinant in the elections

PoliticsApril 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Minor Seoul mayoral candidates pledge to support women, LGBTQ people

As the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor approaches, a fierce battle is ongoing between the ruling and main opposition parties. At the same time, 10 minor parties and independent candidates are appealing to voters by talking about gender equality, LGBTQ rights, basic income and the environment. The 10 candidates, whose combined approval rating is less than 5 percent, are getting voters’ attention with issues that major candidates haven’t paid much attention to.

PoliticsMarch 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Poll shows opposition Seoul mayoral candidate has commanding lead over his ruling rival

The conservative main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon is leading his rival from the ruling Democratic Party Park Young-sun by an overwhelming margin of nearly 30 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, a week ahead of the election day. According to the survey conducted on 842 voters in Seoul from Sunday-Monday by Hangil Research, 60.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Oh in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. Only 32.5 percent

PoliticsMarch 31, 2021