[Newsmaker] Violent clashes engulf Paris in new anti-Macron protests

Anti-government protesters torched dozens of cars and set fire to storefronts during daylong clashes with riot police across central Paris on Saturday, as thousands took part in fresh "yellow vest" protests against high fuel taxes.Officers responded with tear gas after being targeted by protesters hurling rocks and other projectiles on the third weekend of demonstrations which have morphed into a broader rebuke of French President Emmanuel Macron.Smoke engulfed several shopping districts as the

World NewsDec. 2, 2018

[Newsmaker] Samsung BioLogics CEO apologizes, pledges to minimize fallout from accounting fraud ruling

Samsung BioLogics CEO Kim Tae-han on Friday apologized to the shareholders for inconveniences caused by the recent accounting fraud ruling issued by South Korea’s Securities and Futures Commission, pledging to do his best to minimize damage to the firm’s valuation and business activities. “We apologize for any inconvenience that you have suffered in exercising property rights as a result of the suspension of trading of shares due to the SFC’s unwillingness to recognize the Company’s transparency

IndustryNov. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Top court orders ex-President Chun to be tried in Gwangju in defamation case

The Supreme Court has upheld lower courts' rejection of former President Chun Doo-hwan's request to be tried in Seoul, instead of Gwangju, in a defamation case involving his memoir, court officials said Friday.The top court made the ruling on Thursday after lower courts had refused to accept Chun's demand that the jurisdiction of his case be changed from Gwangju to Seoul because he cannot travel to the southwestern city, about 330 kilometers away, due to old age, according to the officials.(Yonh

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] Top court upholds life sentence for ‘Molar Daddy’ over murder of daughter’s friend

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the lower court’s life sentence ruling for Lee Young-hak, 36, who was found guilty of murdering his 14-year-old daughter’s friend. The court also denied Lee’s claims that he was mentally unstable at the time of the crime. Lee Young-hak, 36, who was found guilty of murdering his 14-year-old daughter’s friend, heads to court, Nov. 17, 2017 (Yonhap)In September 2017, Lee was charged with homicide of a minor, indecent acts using force and abandonment of the body.

Social AffairsNov. 29, 2018

[Newsmaker] Arrest warrant sought for man over firebomb attack against top court chief's car

Police sought an arrest warrant for a 74-year-old man on Wednesday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a vehicle carrying the head of the country's top court earlier this week, they said.The move came a day after police apprehended the man, identified only by the surname Nam, on-site for hurling the firebomb at the car carrying Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Meong-su as it was entering the court building in Seoul. '(Yonhap)One of the front tires caught fire, but it was immediately put out by sec

Social AffairsNov. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Feminist book ‘Kim Ji-young, Born 1982’ becomes million seller

Though she’s a fictional character, Kim Ji-young is a symbolic figure in Korea. It seems her status will be even more elevated as novel “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” recently became a million seller. The novel, written by Cho Nam-joo in 2016, has sold more than 1 million copies, publisher Minumsa announced Tuesday. It is now the first million-selling Korean novel since Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom” in 2009. Writer Cho Nam-joo (Minumsa)Since its publication, “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” has

BooksNov. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] ‘SpongeBob’ creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Hillenburg, who used his dual loves of drawing and marine biology to spawn the absurd undersea world of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” has died, Nickelodeon announced Tuesday.Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, the cable network said in a statement. He was 57.He had announced he had the disease in March 2017. His death comes just weeks after the passing of another cartoon hero in Marvel creator Stan Lee. In this Jan. 31, 2015 file photo, Sponge

World NewsNov. 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] Man throws Molotov cocktail at Supreme Court chief's car

An elderly man hurled a Molotov cocktail at a vehicle carrying Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su on Tuesday, police said. The attack happened at 9:10 a.m. when the 74-year-old suspect, only identified by his surname Nam, threw the firebomb at the car as it was entering the top court building in southern Seoul, police said. (Yonhap)One of the front tires caught fire, but it was immediately put out by security guards with a fire extinguisher. Kim suffered no injuries. Police arrested Nam o

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2018

[Newsmaker] GM to lay off up to 14K workers, close as many as 5 plants

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors will cut up to 14,000 workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure as it abandons many of its car models and restructures to focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles, the automaker announced Monday.The reductions could amount to as much as 8 percent of GM’s global workforce of 180,000 employees.The restructuring reflects changing North American auto markets as manufacturers continue to shift away from cars toward SUVs and trucks. In Oct

World BusinessNov. 27, 2018

[Newsmaker] Starbucks Korea starts using paper straws nationwide

Starbucks Korea said Monday that its stores are now using paper straws after a test run.In September, Starbucks began a two-month trial period to test the feasibility of using paper straws at some 100 stores in Seoul, Busan and Jeju in an effort to reduce waste and protect the environment. (Yonhap)During the test run, the paper straws were available in both green and white. Starbucks has decided to use white straws in consideration of customer feedback suggesting that white straws appeared more

IndustryNov. 26, 2018

[Newsmaker] Transformation underway inside no-man’s land

In a mountainous region where the two Koreas engaged in one of the fiercest battles during the 1950-53 Korean War, the two sides’ soldiers met in an unusual encounter earlier this month, decades after the war ended without an official peace treaty. While uniformed soldiers carried rifles on their way to Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone, taking control of the stronghold was not their mission. South Korean soldiers walk at Arrowhead Ridge as they build a tactical road across the Milit

DefenseNov. 25, 2018

[Newsmaker] Size of Samsung equity funds nose-dive on pharmaceutical crisis

The size of equity funds operated by South Korean brokerage houses that invest in affiliates of Samsung Group nose-dived throughout this year, apparently as its pharmaceutical arm faced a crisis for its alleged accounting fraud, data showed Sunday.(Yonhap)According to the data compiled by market tracker FnGuide Inc., the market capitalization of the country's top 25 Samsung equity funds came to 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) as of Thursday, down 523 billion won from the start of the year.Samsun

IndustryNov. 25, 2018

[Newsmaker] SK Group chief gifts 3.29 million SK Corp. shares to kin

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has given his kin a total of 3.29 million shares of SK Corp., a holding company that controls the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, the company said in a statement Friday. The chairman has given half of the 3.29 million shares, or 1.66 million shares, to his younger brother Chey Jae-won, who currently serves as executive vice chairman, and a quarter of the total shares, or 830,000 shares, to his cousin SK Networks Chairman Choi Shin-won and his family members.

IndustryNov. 23, 2018

[Newsmaker] How much trouble is Samsung BioLogics in?

[KH Explains]: Answers to some of the most frequently raised questions regarding Samsung BioLogics caseOn Nov. 14, the market was thrown into commotion, and heated debates arose, as the South Korean financial regulator Financial Services Commission ruled Samsung BioLogics had intentionally violated accounting rules in 2015. It ordered a halt in stock trading of the biopharmaceutical company, which will go through an examination that could lead to delisting, in theory, in the worst-case scenario.

EconomyNov. 22, 2018

[Newsmaker] Assaults on Korean students in Britain set to spark candlelight vigil

A group of South Koreans living in Britain said Thursday that they plan to hold a candlelight vigil in London on Sunday to call for a thorough investigation into recent assaults on South Korean students.One of the Koreans involved in the preparations for the candlelight gathering said that the protest rally will be held in front of Marks & Spencer in London's Oxford Circus. (Yonhap)The person said that the Korean community in Britain has been shocked by a recent instance of mob violence against

InternationalNov. 22, 2018

[Newsmaker] Dolce&Gabbana accused of insulting China; blames hackers

BEIJING (AP) - The Italian luxury fashion house Dolce&Gabbana apologized Wednesday for insulting remarks about China it allegedly made in exchanges on Instagram but claimed its accounts had been hacked. Chinese celebrities reacted angrily after screenshots of the conversations were posted on social media and several said they would boycott a Dolce&Gabbana show scheduled for Wednesday night. The company later said the show, an extravaganza meant as a tribute to China with Asian stars invited to t

World NewsNov. 22, 2018

[Newsmaker] South Korean named Interpol president in blow to Russia

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang has been elected as Interpol’s next president, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia’s security services who was strongly opposed by the US, Britain and other European nations.The White House and its European partners had lobbied against Alexander Prokopchuk’s attempts to be named the next president of the policing organization, saying his election would lead to further Russian abuses of Interpol’s red notice system to go after pol

InternationalNov. 21, 2018

[Newsmaker] Police send internet cafe murder suspect to prosecution

Police on Wednesday transferred to the prosecution a man suspected of having killed an internet cafe employee in Seoul, with the recommendation of indicting the man for murder. They also recommended that the suspect’s brother, an alleged accomplice, be charged with joint assault. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency concluded that the 29-year-old suspect Kim Seong-soo stabbed the worker to death while his younger brother used force on the victim.Kim Sung-soo speaks in front of reporters Wednesda

Social AffairsNov. 21, 2018

[Newsmaker] South Korean tourist dies in train accident in Switzerland

GENEVA -- A South Korean tourist died after being hit by a mountain train in Switzerland earlier this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.  The tragic accident occurred on Monday afternoon (Switzerland time) when the man in his 60s was on a group tour program in Mount Rigi in the central area of the European country, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)Reports said that he had already died by the time a rescue team arrived on the scene."The South Korean embassy in Switzerland sent a con

InternationalNov. 21, 2018

[Newsmaker] S. Korean pastor arrested for setting fire on MacArthur statue

A court issued a warrant on Tuesday to arrest an anti-US South Korean pastor for lighting a fire on a statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the US-led UN troops during 1950-53 Korean War.The Incheon District Court approved the arrest of the 61-year old pastor, citing concerns that the individual may try to flee. The suspect is in police custody. A group of soldiers pays tribute to the late US Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Jayu Park in Incheon, west of Seoul, after laying wreaths at his

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2018