[Newsmaker] Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong indicted in merger probe

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was on Tuesday indicted without detention along with 10 other former and current Samsung Group officials in the probe into alleged wrongdoings in merger of group affiliates and account fraud. Lee faces a number of charges including violation of financial investment and audit regulations, and dereliction of duty in the probe into allegations surrounding Samsung C&T’s merger with Cheil Industries, and account fraud revolving around Samsung

Social AffairsSept. 1, 2020

[Newsmaker] Samsung heir Lee charged without detention in high-profile succession case

Prosecutors indicted Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong without physical detention Tuesday for his role in a controversial merger and alleged accounting fraud, in the latest development of the tumultuous legal saga that has dogged him for years. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was charged with unfair trading, stock manipulation, breach of trust in relation to the 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates seen as a key step toward his succession, and alleged accounting fraud at th

Social AffairsSept. 1, 2020

[Newsmaker] Typhoon Maysak to intensify into ‘very strong’ category

Typhoon Maysak, expected to hit southern parts of Korea on Wednesday and Thursday, is forecast to intensify into a “very strong” storm late Monday, the weather agency said. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, as of 9 a.m. Monday, the ninth typhoon of the year was 470 kilometers south of the island of Okinawa, Japan, advancing northeast at a speed of 31 kilometers per hour toward the peninsula, as of 9 a.m. on Monday. With a maximum wind speed of 43 meters per seco

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2020

[Newsmaker] Police look into Travelholic after porn found on Instagram account

Seoul Gangnam Police Station said it has started an internal investigation into popular social media page Travelholic on Sunday, a day after its CEO Jo Jun-ki allegedly uploaded illegal porn to its Instagram account. Travelholic, a company that introduces travel destinations and tourist attractions via social media platforms, uploaded a post introducing a sheep farm in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, to its Instagram account with over 1.2 million followers at around 6 p.m. Saturday. However, on

CultureAug. 30, 2020

[Newsmaker] Public art troupe member’s private lesson in spotlight after infection

A member of an art troupe under the National Gugak Center will be questioned for conducting a private lesson, after having contact with a high school student who was tested positive for COVID-19. On Aug. 19, the member gave a private lesson to a Gugak National High School student at a private studio in southern Seoul. Few hours later, the student’s mother was confirmed positive of the virus. The student was tested positive of the virus on Aug. 19. The troupe member was tested negative

PerformanceAug. 28, 2020

[Newsmaker] National Assembly shuts down after reporter tested positive

The National Assembly shut down its facilities and canceled all meetings scheduled for Thursday following a positive COVID-19 test by a beat reporter. According to the National Assembly Secretariat, a photo reporter who covered a meeting of the Supreme Council of the ruling Democratic Party Korea on Wednesday morning received a positive test result later in the day. Some 50 people including lawmakers, key party officials and journalists attended the meeting. Leaders of the Democratic pa

PoliticsAug. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] Seoul to provide coronavirus cash relief for foreign residents

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it will provide emergency cash assistance to foreigners residing in the city who were excluded from its coronavirus relief program in March. Under the plan, the city will pay up to 500,000 won ($421) to households whose income is below the median income -- for a single household it is 1.75 million won and around 3 million won and 4.7 million won for two-person and four-person households. “We hope that this emergency support for foreig

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2020

[Newsmaker] Wonju sees surge in COVID-19 cases

Wonju in Gangwon Province on Tuesday reported 16 new cases of COVID-19, pushing up the tally over the past 10 days to 65. In comparison, Gangwon Province’s accumulated total stood at 149 as of Monday midnight. Gangwon Province, which had been relatively less affected by the pandemic, has seen numbers spike in recent days with cases linked to a gymnastics class in Wonju causing a cascade of infections. In response, the city plans to disclose routes taken by confirmed patients as much a

Social AffairsAug. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] Operation of Seoul city buses temporarily halted as drivers tested positive

Service on two Seoul city bus routes was temporarily halted Sunday afternoon after three drivers tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Two bus drivers were confirmed to have the virus on Sunday after having come into close contact with a co-worker who tested positive Friday, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. All three people work for Boseong Transportation. Of some 192 Boseong employees and their family members who underwent testing, 189 tested negative. Service was sus

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2020

[Newsmaker] Trainee doctors at all levels on strike during pandemic; medical association proposes talks

Trainee doctors across all levels have begun an indefinite strike amid the COVID-19 pandemic, protesting the government's medical workforce reform plan, while their interest group proposed a meeting with political leaders. The Korean Intern and Resident Association said Sunday that the first- and second-year residents became the last group of trainee doctors to join the protest earlier in the day. Since Friday, interns and third- and fourth-year residents walked out of hospitals. They are opp

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2020

[Newsmaker] Former aide to ex-president claims NK leader in coma

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in a coma, and his decision to delegate some of his power to his aides is proof, a former aide to the late President Kim Dae-jung claimed Friday.  Jang Sung-min, who served Kim Dae-jung as a political affairs secretary and as head of the state affairs monitoring office, insisted that Kim Jong-un is comatose but his sister Kim Yo-jong is not his successor despite the power restructuring. On Friday, Seoul’s spy agency briefed lawmakers in a cl

North KoreaAug. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] Church says it is being suppressed with forcible testing

The conservative pastor of a Seoul-based church that became a key source of mass infections of the novel coronavirus has alleged that the government manipulated virus-related data to blame his church for a second wave of the virus outbreak. Jun Kwang-hoon, who leads the 4,000-member Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul and is a vocal critic of President Moon Jae-in, criticized the government for forcibly conducting diagnostic tests and enforcing isolation on them in a full-page advertisement that ran

Social AffairsAug. 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Runaway COVID-19 patient caught at Seoul cafe

A COVID-19 patient who ran away from a hospital was apprehended in the early hours of Wednesday. The man, in his 50s, was confirmed to have the coronavirus after attending a service at the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul. He was apprehended at about 1:15 a.m. at a coffee shop in Sinchon, Seoul, after running away from the hospital in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, 25 hours earlier. It has been reported that there were about 40 people at the coffee shop when the man was taken into custody. His mot

Social AffairsAug. 19, 2020

[Newsmaker] Pastor Jun under fire for improper mask-wearing on way to hospital

Public anger toward Jun Kwang-hoon, the conservative pastor at the center of a sprawling COVID-19 outbreak, intensified Tuesday when he was seen improperly wearing a face mask even as he was taken to a hospital for treatment after testing positive for the coronavirus. In photos taken and revealed Monday, Jun is seen wearing a mask on his chin, with his mouth and nose uncovered, as he talks on his phone while walking toward the vehicle that would take him to the Seoul Medical Center for treatm

Social AffairsAug. 18, 2020

[Newsmaker] No free treatment for incoming foreigners with COVID-19 who violate rules

Foreigners who test positive for the new coronavirus upon entering South Korea will have to pay for their own treatment if they violate the country’s disease prevention guidelines. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that should foreigners who are diagnosed during quarantine or isolation violate the disease control guidelines, they will have to pay all their own medical fees. The new measure we

Social AffairsAug. 17, 2020

[Newsmaker] Doctors protest medical reform plans with nationwide strike

Thousands of doctors on Friday staged a nationwide walkout as talks with the government over medical reform plans fell through. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 24.7 percent of 33,836 medical clinics, hospitals and institutions announced Thursday that they would be closed on Friday. The ministry said the actual closure rate for Friday could be higher considering the ongoing vacation season. Under the lead of the Korea Medical Association, which represents 130,000 doctors, medi

Social AffairsAug. 14, 2020

[Newsmaker] Kian84 revises controversial webtoon, apologizes

Popular webtoon, or digital comic, writer Kian84 apologized and revised his latest work “Bokhakwang,” as controversy over the latest episode posted Tuesday sparked online protests. “Bokhakwang,” which means king of returning to school, is the most popular work by Kian84 that is uploaded at around 11 p.m. on Tuesdays on web portal Naver. “I am very sorry for causing concern with inappropriate depictions in my work,” Kian84 wrote on his webtoon page on Thursd

CultureAug. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Seoul City asks groups to cancel rallies on Liberation Day

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Wednesday that it has requested 14 organizations to cancel their plans for mass rallies on Aug. 15 Liberation Day in a bid to keep COVID-19 from spreading. Seoul City said that should the organizations go ahead with their rallies, it will use all means including an order that prohibits rallies to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. “Various organizations are planning to hold mass gatherings downtown. ... We have officially requested them yes

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Beirut explosion raises questions on Busan safety

The Port of Busan, where some 1,240 tons of ammonium nitrate are stored, is drawing criticism from worried local residents as there is no unified command center to manage the explosive material -- the cause of a deadly explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. According to local sources, the entry, exit, storage and monitoring of the material in question are conducted separately, leaving a loophole in proper management. Currently, when ships carrying ammonium nitrate enter or leave the port, the Busan P

IndustryAug. 11, 2020

[Newsmaker] Military police recommend airman be charged with AWOL in 'emperor-like military service' case

Military police wrapped up an investigation into allegations that an enlisted airman enjoyed preferential treatment due to his father's influence, recommending that the military prosecution charge him with going absent without leave, officials said Monday. The probe began in June after an online petition at the presidential office website claimed that the conscript enjoyed a variety of privileges, including having a noncommissioned officer do errands for him, thanks to his father's position as

DefenseAug. 10, 2020