[Newsmaker] Men's volleyball league suspended for 2 weeks after player tests positive for COVID-19

The South Korean professional volleyball league announced Tuesday the ongoing men's season will be suspended for two weeks, effective immediately, after a player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), which operates the V-League, reached the decision a few hours after Park Jin-u of the KB Insurance Stars tested positive for COVID-19 late Monday. The suspension will wipe out Tuesday evening's match between the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers and the Kepco

Social AffairsFeb. 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Lawmakers condemn Myanmar military coup, call for democracy

South Korean lawmakers on Monday called for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar and raised concerns about atrocities against ethnic minorities, after the military junta took control in a coup. 　 Myanmar’s military on Feb. 1 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A state of emergency was declared, rolling back efforts to end more than 50 years of military dictatorship and establish a democratic government through the

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] US coronavirus death toll approaches milestone of 500,000

The US stood Sunday at the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus. A year into the pandemic, the running total of lives lost was about 498,000 -- roughly the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and just shy of the size of Atlanta. The figure compiled by Johns Hopkins University surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, flu and pneumonia combined. “It’s nothing like we ha

World NewsFeb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Blazes tear through forests in southeastern cities of Andong, Yecheon

Wildfires have reduced huge swaths of forests in the southeastern cities of Andong and Yecheon to ash, fire authorities said Monday. The fires that broke out Sunday engulfed the mountain areas of Andong and Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and burned around 255 hectares of land, equivalent to 357 football fields. The cities' governments resumed containment operations early Monday, deploying around 2,000 public servants and scores of fire equipment, and put out the remaining flames by around

Social AffairsFeb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] NK defectors accuse unification minister of defamation

Four North Korean defectors in South Korea are filing a criminal defamation complaint against Unification Minister Lee In-young over remarks he made earlier this month questioning the reliability of defectors’ statements about human rights issues in the North. Mulmangcho, a Seoul-based nongovernmental group that supports North Korean defectors, said Sunday that four defectors would file a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday afternoon over comments

North KoreaFeb. 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] 2 Myanmar protesters killed by police fire, reports say

MANDALAY (AP) -- Two anti-coup protesters were shot dead by riot police who fired live rounds Saturday in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, local media reported. One of the victims was shot in the head and died at the scene, according to Frontier Myanmar, a news and business magazine based in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Another was shot in the chest and died en route to the hospital. Several other serious injuries were also reported. The shootings occurred near

World NewsFeb. 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] SmartStudy CFO shares knowhows behind Baby Shark’s global success

Korean startup SmartStudy co-founder and CFO Lee Seung-gyu on Thursday shared the secrets behind its character Baby Shark’s global success during an event held by Corea Image Communication Institute at the residence of the New Zealand ambassador. SmartStudy is known for its popular animated characters Pinkfong and Baby Shark. Its YouTube channel has more than 8.92 million subscribers. On Nov 2 last year, the Korean startup’s English version of the “Baby Shark Dance” vi

CultureFeb. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Funeral of activist Paek Ki-wan draws thousands of mourners

A funeral ceremony took place early Friday for activist Paek Ki-wan, who devoted his life to the reunification of the two Koreas and many labor and social issues. Paek died at Seoul National University Hospital on Monday at age 88. He had battled complications of pneumonia for a year. Hundreds of mourners had been waiting outside the hospital, holding signs with the lyrics of "March for the Beloved," a famous pro-democracy movement anthem Paek wrote. They watched the vehicle carryin

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] US charges 3 North Koreans over cyberattacks costing $1.3b

The US Justice Department indicted three North Koreans in December on charges related to cyberattacks to steal over $1.3 billion in crypto and traditional currencies from banks and companies. The indictment, filed in December and disclosed Wednesday, alleges that the three -- Jon Chang Hyok, 31; Kim Il, 27; and Park Jin Hyok, 36 -- were members of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean military intelligence agency that engages in criminal hacking. Wednesday’s indictment builds

North KoreaFeb. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Independence fighter grandson ends archive donation talks with Harvard over professor's comfort women claim

A grandson of a renowned Korean independence fighter said Thursday that he had sent a letter to Harvard University's president to end any discussions about donating his historical archives due to a professor's article depicting Japan's wartime sexual slavery as voluntary prostitution. In an email and phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Philip Ahn Cuddy, the grandson of Ahn Chang-ho who fiercely fought against Japan's 1910-45 colonization, revealed that he wrote the letter to President Lawr

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Another North Korean makes it to South unnoticed

A North Korean who was taken into custody Tuesday is believed to have swum across the eastern maritime border, the military said Wednesday. The military failed to capture him until it spotted him walking along the road on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. The man, who was captured after a six-hour chase on Tuesday morning, reportedly wore a wet suit and flippers, which the military found on the eastern shore in the northernmost region of Gangwon Province.

DefenseFeb. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] 5-star Jeju hotel under fire for transparent sauna windows

A new five-star hotel on Jeju Island is under fire for saying its sauna windows were mirror coated when they weren’t. Naked guests in the shower booths and bathrooms in the sauna on the second floor could be seen from the first floor at Grand Josun Jeju, which opened last month in Seogwipo. According to a complaint posted on a portal site Tuesday, a man who stayed at the hotel on his honeymoon said his wife had used the sauna several times because she was told the windows were mirror c

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Captured N. Korean man crossed sea border in diving suit: JCS

A North Korean man, who was captured after crossing into South Korea, appears to have crossed the border via the sea while wearing a hard-hat diving suit and a set of fins, the military said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the man was spotted moving south in the early hours inside a restricted area north of the Civilian Control Line in the eastern border town of Goseong before being captured following a three-hour manhunt. Defense Minister Suh Wook apologized for the security failure and vowed to take

NationalFeb. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Attacks on Moon’s son continue

An opposition lawmaker refuses to let up on President Moon Jae-in’s son, artist Moon Joon-yong, demanding that a Seoul City foundation disclose why it decided to fund him as part of its program to support artists suffering due to COVID-19. In a Facebook post on Monday, Rep. Kwak Sang-do of the People Power Party called on the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture to explain in detail how it selected the artists it sponsored under the program. In response to news reports in favor of Kwak

PoliticsFeb. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Korean man captured after crossing inter-Korean border: JCS

A North Korean man was caught after crossing into South Korea via the eastern border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday, amid a possibility that he could have sought to defect to the South. South Korean troops detected the man at around 4:20 a.m. through a CCTV surveillance camera as he was moving south near a military checkpoint located inside a restricted area north of the Civilian Control Line in the east coast border town of Goseong, according to the JCS. After a three-hour ma

North KoreaFeb. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] In Korean sports, medals cover a multitude of sins

South Korean sports’ “medals-only” meritocracy is revealing its dark side after patterns of violent behavior were laid bare, shocking sports fans and the public. On Monday the Incheon Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, a women’s professional volleyball team, announced the indefinite suspension of twin sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young over assaults they had perpetrated on classmates in middle school. It was only the latest scandal related to violence and bully

Social AffairsFeb. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Pro volleyball league rocked by bullying scandal involving star players

Professional volleyball's growing popularity in South Korea came crashing down over the Lunar New Year long weekend, as the league's star players got embroiled in a scandal over their checkered pasts as bullies. The V-League, run by the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), saw cable TV ratings for some big matches rival or even surpass those of baseball, the nation's No. 1 sport, in recent years. It is now reeling from allegations, since acknowledged by the implicated individuals, that some of

More SportsFeb. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korean celebrities divided on Clubhouse

With the rise of US social media app Clubhouse, Korean celebrities also quickly hopped on the trend to socialize with their celebrity acquaintances as well as fans. Developed by California-based startup Alpha Exploration, the buzzy app is a new type of social network based on voice. The platform allows users to start and join its unique group chat room. Creators of the room and few others that are chosen by the creators can talk freely in this conversation room, while others listen. These li

CultureFeb. 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Trump acquitted, denounced in historic impeachment trial

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump was acquitted Saturday of inciting the horrific attack on the US Capitol, concluding a historic impeachment trial that spared him the first-ever conviction of a current or former US president but exposed the fragility of America's democratic traditions and left a divided nation to come to terms with the violence sparked by his defeated presidency. Barely a month since the deadly Jan. 6 riot that stunned the world, the Senate convened for a rare weekend session to

World NewsFeb. 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Korean nuclear issue a top priority for Biden administration: State Dept.

The North Korean nuclear issue remains a top priority for the US government despite the recent lack of direct engagement with the country, a State Department official said Friday.    Ned Price, department press secretary, also said continued advancement in the North's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities made it an "urgent" priority.    "I hope you don't confuse a lack of direct engagement with North Korea as an indication that the challenge of North Ko

North KoreaFeb. 13, 2021