[Newsmaker] Family, business community mourns KCC honorary chairman

Local business leaders paid tribute on Sunday to KCC’s Honorary Chairman Chung Sang-young, who died Saturday at the age of 84. The youngest brother of the late Hyundai Group Honorary Chairman Chung Ju-young, the KCC chief suffered from a chronic illness and had been hospitalized recently after his health deteriorated. He was the only surviving member of his generation within the legendary Chung family that built South Korea’s big companies, including Hyundai, in postwar Korea. M

IndustryJan. 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul steps back on plan to raise tobacco price

South Korean health authorities have backtracked on a plan to raise tobacco prices to match the average levels of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, denying reports that it would hike up cigarette prices to 8,000 won a pack. In a set of plans unveiled on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said it would increase its health promotion levy on tobacco over the next 10 years to raise its price to the average level of OECD countries. The average retail price of a pack of

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Another suspected bird flu case reported, total now at 79

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday it is investigating another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu, with the total confirmed caseload reaching 79. The latest suspected case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm was raising 790,000 chickens. The number of cases from wild birds also piled up to reach 117. Authorities have so far destroy

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ikea labor conflict deepens over ‘discriminatory’ treatment of local staff

Ikea Korea, the local subsidiary of the Swedish furniture brand, is facing an escalating internal conflict as its labor union has gone on another round of strikes, accusing the company of discriminatory treatment. The Ikea Korea’s labor union started Tuesday a sit-in protest in front of its Gwangmyeong outlet in Gyeonggi Province for an indefinite period, claiming that the company has failed to deliver its promises to improve the working conditions and avoided answering their main reque

ConsumerJan. 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] Heavy snow advisory issued for Seoul, northern Gyeonggi

A heavy snow advisory was issued for Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province on Thursday, the state weather agency said, predicting up to two hours of snowfall in the morning. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the advisory took effect in northwestern Gyeonggi at 8:30 a.m. and in Seoul and northeastern Gyeonggi at 9 a.m. The warning is issued when the expected snowfall is 5 centimeters or more within 24 hours. Incheon, the western coast of Gyeonggi and northwestern Gyeonggi will likely

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Korea touts nicotine replacement supplements

For many smokers, quitting smoking might be on top of their list of new year’s resolutions, and it appears that North Korea is also no exception. An article titled, “Anti-smoking and our lives” was published on Meari, one of North Korea’s propaganda media websites, on Monday, promoting the nation’s anti-smoking activities, campaigns and research centers specializing in treatments to stop smoking. Since the enactment of an anti-smoking law on Nov. 4. last year that

North KoreaJan. 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] NK paper stresses importance of admitting flaws along path to economic progress

North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday stressed the importance of admitting flaws and fixing them at the right time as the country steps up efforts to carry out key policy goals unveiled in a rare party meeting earlier this month. "Revolutionaries must strictly stay away from praising one's own accomplishments and drifting into indolence, which is equal to giving up their struggle for the revolution," the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, said i

North KoreaJan. 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] Belligerence of pro-Moon extremists

A cohort of President Moon Jae-in’s unwavering loyalists who are most active on the internet has long been criticized or even abhorred for going to extreme lengths to attack anyone they think is berating Moon or his administration. For years, members of the pro-Moon legion have threatened to lynch reporters or anyone who appears “disrespectful” of the administration, going after their personal information and hurling verbal abuse on internet forums. Most recently, a pro-Moon

PoliticsJan. 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] Govt. to expand in-person classes for younger students this year

Younger students and disabled children will get more in-person instruction this year, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday, to fill their academic and social needs exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Announcing its work plan and goal for this year, the ministry said it will continue to ensure a safe learning environment at school despite the threat of the virus, and aim to bring more children back to school. "The ministry will prioritize to have preschoolers, lower graders of eleme

Social AffairsJan. 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] Justice Party head resigns over sexual harassment

The head of a minor progressive opposition party was removed from his post on Monday over sexual harassment, marking the first time the leader of a political party in South Korea has stepped down due to sexual misconduct. The Justice Party -- which has been a strong advocate on gender equality issues -- has pledged to deal with this issue according to the principle of zero tolerance. On Monday Bae Bok-joo, head of the Justice Party’s gender human rights division, officially disclosed le

PoliticsJan. 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] Chief of progressive minor party steps down over sexual harassment of party lawmaker

Kim Jong-cheol, the chief of the progressive minor Justice Party, stepped down Monday over what the party called "obvious sexual harassment" of a female lawmaker of the same party. It is the first time that the head of an established political party has resigned due to sexual misconduct. The unprecedented case is expected to deal a crushing blow to the party which has championed gender equality on top of the rights of social minorities. "I came here to announce very humiliating,

PoliticsJan. 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] Opposition lays siege to new justice minister nominee

Opposition lawmakers were geared up to use Monday’s confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Park Beom-kye to their fullest advantage by bashing him over numerous issues, including his failure to declare some of his assets. The opposition’s offensive in the series of hearings for ministerial nominees since last week has mainly focused on Park, who himself rose to confirmation hearing stardom in 2014. As a first-time lawmaker at the time, Park raised allegations that the aut

PoliticsJan. 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] 3 missing as fishing boat capsizes near Geoje Island

GEOJE -- Search operations were under way off the southern island of Geoje after three crew members of a capsized fishing boat went missing on Saturday, authorities said. The 339-ton vessel capsized at around 4 p.m. in waters 1.11 kilometers southeast of the island, located some 400 km south of Seoul, with 10 crew members aboard -- nine South Koreans and one Indonesian -- according to the Coast Guard. Seven of them, including the Indonesian, have been rescued, but search operations were still

Social AffairsJan. 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Rocker Jeon In-kwon faces police investigation over neighbor dispute

Korean rock icon Jeon In-kwon is facing a police investigation over a dispute with his neighbor, multiple media reported Friday. Seoul’s Jongno Police Station called in the legendary rocker on Wednesday over property damage allegations, according to reports. Jeon allegedly threw a roof tile at his neighbor’s front door in September. The rocker had gotten into a dispute with his neighbor, claiming that the neighbor re-constructed their house to raise the height of the roof by one

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Japan privately concludes Tokyo Olympics should be cancelled due to coronavirus: The Times

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times reported, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition. The government's focus is now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032, the newspaper said. Japan has been hit less severely by the pandemic than many other advanced economies, but a recent surge in cases has spurred it to close its borders to non-reside

World NewsJan. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] School violence halved, but cyberbullying rises in pandemic

School violence in South Korea nearly halved from a year earlier in 2020 but cyberbullying gained greater presence among students as the COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of in-school interactions, a government data showed Thursday. According to an online Ministry of Education survey of 3.57 million students between 4th grade and 11th grade conducted from September 2019 to October 2020, 0.9 percent of respondents said they experienced school violence, down 0.7 percentage points from the same

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] Vice President Harris: A new chapter opens in US politics

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath Wednesday to hold the nation’s second-highest office. Harris was sworn in as the first female US vice president -- and the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the position -- in front of the US Capitol by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Later, she presided as Senate president

World NewsJan. 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] Naver expands storytelling business with Wattpad M&A

Internet platform giant Naver announced its acquisition of web novel platform Wattpad on Wednesday, more than doubling the size of its social storytelling operations. Naver will acquire 100 percent of Wattpad shares for approximately $600 million in the first half of this year. Wattpad is an online platform that allows anyone to read and write stories. With over 90 million monthly users who spend a total of 23 billion minutes each month, Wattpad is the largest social storytelling platform in

CartoonJan. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-President Park tests negative for COVID-19 after being exposed to patient

Former President Park Geun-hye, now serving a 22-year prison term on corruption convictions, tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday after coming into contact with an infected person, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, Park came into close contact with a prison officer diagnosed later with COVID-19 while traveling by bus to a medical facility on Monday outside the Seoul Detention Center, where she has been imprisoned since March 2017. The prison officer tested positive

PoliticsJan. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon in hot water over adoption comments

Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday was busy correcting President Moon Jae-in’s recent comments about adoption as civic groups and opposition lawmakers called for an official apology. On Monday, the president was hosting a New Year’s press conference when a reporter asked him what the government was doing to prevent child abuse, in light of the recent death of a 16-month-old toddler who allegedly suffered months of abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents. After unveiling a new set of gui

PoliticsJan. 19, 2021