[Newsmaker] Expat community displeased with mandatory COVID-19 testing for foreign workers

　Local expat communities are expressing anger and disappointment over the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province government mandates for all foreign workers to submit themselves to be tested for COVID-19. The Seoul city government said Tuesday that all foreign workers will be required to take COVID-19 tests by the end of this month. The measure follows Gyeonggi Province’s order made days earlier to have all foreigners in the province undergo COVID-19 testing by March 22. The measures drew mixed res

Social AffairsMarch 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] DP apologizes again to victim of alleged sexual harassment by ex-Seoul mayor

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday once again apologized to the victim of alleged sexual harassment by late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, pledging its full support to help her return to normal life. "On behalf of the DP, I once again give my sincere apology to the victim," floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, who is acting as the party chairman, said during a party meeting. "(The DP) will take full responsibility in helping the victim return normally to her everyday

PoliticsMarch 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Soccer star Ki continues to face sexual assault allegations

Former national soccer team captain Ki Sung-yueng continues to face allegations that he sexually assaulted two of his elementary school teammates 21 years ago, as a television program aired interviews of the purported victims on Tuesday. The two, who were themselves punished for school violence four years later in 2004, said they now realize that they should have sincerely apologized to their victims. The two told MBC’s “PD Notebook” that Ki and another teammate, who were six

Social AffairsMarch 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police raid land ministry over mounting LH scandal

Police conducted raids on Wednesday into multiple places, including the land ministry, in a widening investigation into alleged land speculation by employees of a state housing developer. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency has sent investigators, 33 in total, to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the administrative capital of Sejong, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul. The raid is said to be aimed at corroborating allegations that employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH)

Social AffairsMarch 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] AstraZeneca vaccine rollout to continue in S. Korea: authorities

South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that the rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will continue despite major European countries' decision to pause vaccinations to investigate reported side effects. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a press release that there is no evidence suggesting correlation between vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University and reports of blood clots in some recipients. A

Social AffairsMarch 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Oscar nomination caps Youn’s five-decade career

On Monday night, Youn Yuh-jung became the first South Korean actor to be nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress. She is being recognized at the 93rd Academy Awards for her performance in the US film “Minari,” directed by Lee Isaac Chung. “I am actually honored just to be nominated,” Yoon said in a statement released through her management agency after the announcement on Monday. “I am not a big fan of competition. I cannot even watch TV programs that r

FilmMarch 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Kakao founder pledges to donate half of assets

The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that he will donate half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "Through this pledge today, we commit to give more than half of our wealth back to society during our lifetime," Kim Beom-su said in a message posted on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the world's we

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police seek another missing child in case of toddler’s death

A police investigation looking into who had left a 2-year-old girl alone in an empty house for months continues, after her death reported last week ignited a public uproar. The toddler named Boram was found dead on Feb. 10 in the southeastern city of Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province. Police arrested a 22-year-old woman surnamed Kim on charges of homicide and child neglect as they suspected she had left the child alone as she remarried. Recent DNA test results showed, however, that Kim’s

Social AffairsMarch 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police conduct raids against local lawmaker, public servants amid LH scandal

Police on Monday raided the homes and offices of local public servants and a council member in a widening investigation into land speculation nationwide. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the home and office of a ruling Democratic Party council member of Siheung and the home and office of a Gwangmyeong municipal government employee. Siheung and Gwangmyeong, both south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, are at the center of a massive scandal sparked by allegations of land speculati

Social AffairsMarch 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Investors flock to unicorns after Coupang's IPO jackpot

The race to bid for unlisted companies‘ next initial public offering bonanza among South Korean investors is intensifying, data showed Sunday, as the recent high-profile deals including Coupang’s $4.6 billion US IPO whet investor appetite. Krafton, which develops and publishes battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, saw its trading price spike on over-the-counter platforms here. The game developer is the country’s largest unicorn -- a term used to describe a

MarketMarch 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Egg prices expected to soar 68% in March-May: think tank

Prices of eggs in South Korea may jump by up to 68 percent in the March-May period this year, as the spreading avian influenza is expected to further exacerbate the supply shortage, a state-funded think tank said Sunday. In the three-month period, the supply price of a large-size 10-egg carton is estimated at 1,600 won ($1.41) to 1,800 won, considerably higher than the 1,069 won-1,158 won per carton a year ago, according to the forecast by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). As of Frida

EconomyMarch 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Coupang’s stellar NYSE debut hoists related stocks in Korea

The landmark debut of Coupang Inc., the parent company of South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Corp., gave a boost to stocks that have business ties with the firm here on Friday. Following its strong first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, related firms enjoyed a ripple effect as their shares surged. KEC Holdings, a company that offers business management and consulting services, saw its shares spike by the daily permissible limit of 29.96 percent to reach 1,735 won

MarketMarch 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea's Christian community expresses concern about situation in Myanmar

South Korea's Christian community has expressed concerns about political instability in Myanmar in connection with the recent coup and vowed for solidarity with the pro-democracy movement there. "The Catholic Church in Korea expresses her deepest concern about the outbreak of violence and the subsequent bloodshed in our neighboring country, Myanmar," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said in a statement released Thursday. It said South Korea has gone through similar military

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] Hazing among nurses comes back to spotlight with online post

An online community post has once again shed light on the prevalence of hazing among nurses. In a post uploaded onto local community website Nate Pann on Friday, a user who claimed to be a nurse accused a nursing professor of verbally and physically harassing her over a 13-month period around nine years ago. The post alleged that the female professor, who was then a senior nurse, had bullied the younger staff member when both worked in an intensive care unit at the Chungbuk National Universit

Social AffairsMarch 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yun Jung-hee's siblings request guardianship over iconic actress in S. Korean court

Siblings of actress Yun Jung-hee, known to be long suffering from Alzheimer's disease in France, have requested guardianship for their older sister at a South Korean court, according to sources. Yun, 76, is best known outside the country for her lead role in South Korean director Lee Chang-dong's "Poetry," which won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. She has been long married to renowned pianist Paik Kun-woo. The development is the latest in a legal fight over her g

Social AffairsMarch 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon says land speculation scandal ‘unacceptable’

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday denounced the alleged speculative purchases of land by officials of the state-run housing developer, calling the snowballing insider trading scandal “unacceptable.”  “It is unacceptable that officials at public organizations or public servants make speculative land purchases based on related information. This is an act of undermining our society’s integrity and trust,” Moon said before a luncheon meeting with floor leaders o

PoliticsMarch 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-opposition leader Hwang Kyo-ahn signals return to politics

Hwang Kyo-ahn, a former leader of the main opposition party who has been out of the public eye since an election defeat last year, said Wednesday he will rise up against what he calls the Moon Jae-in government's "tyranny," practically declaring his return to politics. "I will be the first to rise up, however meager (my capacity is). I will muster my courage ... to go 'among the people' again to share their indignation against the Moon administration and safeguard the spark of ho

PoliticsMarch 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Game firms under increasing scrutiny over loot box odds

Calls to regulate the gaming industry are growing in South Korea after local game companies have come under fire for what users call a “deceptive” system of randomized, for-purchase game items. Yeo Myung-sook, the former head of the Game Rating and Administration Committee, threw her weight behind the pro-regulation argument, saying that games with a loot box feature, which offers randomized in-game items for sale, should be subject to the same tax imposed on casinos. “Ga

IndustryMarch 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police raid LH headquarters over land speculation scandal

Police on Tuesday launched a raid on the headquarters of the state housing corporation over allegations of land speculation by more than a dozen of its employees. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) headquarters in Jinju, 434 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to seize material on the transactions based allegedly on insider information. The police agency also dispatched investigators to LH offices in Gwacheon and Incheon, both located near S

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Polls show opposition only has chance if Seoul mayoral vote is two-horse race

Survey results released by two pollsters Monday showed that the opposition could win the Seoul mayoral election next month, but only if they unify their candidacies. The same day People Power Party’s Oh Se-hoon and minor opposition People’s Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo revealed they had begun talks on doing so. Oh and Ahn said in radio interviews Monday morning that they met Sunday night over beer and agreed that unifying the candidacy was a must, and that it should be done before o

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021