[Newsmaker] Chung Yoo-ra returns home to face questioning

Chung Yoo-ra, who has enjoyed a wide range of privileges on the back of her once-influential mother Choi Soon-sil, returned to South Korea on Wednesday to face questioning about the corruption scandal involving her mother and ex-President Park Geun-hye.Eight months after she went into hiding in Europe to avoid the prosecution’s summons, Chung finally returned home in handcuffs and shifted all responsibility to her mother.Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye's

Social AffairsMay 31, 2017

[Newsmaker] Poet, teacher-activist tapped to head Culture Ministry

President Moon Jae-in’s pick for the first culture minister of his administration, Rep. Do Jong-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has had a diverse career. By training, Do is a Korean language teacher with a doctorate in Korean literature from Chungnam National University. Do, whose name has been linked to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for sometime, began his career as a teacher in the 1980s.Rep. Do Jong-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (Yonhap)However, his

PoliticsMay 30, 2017

[Newsmaker] Intelligence chief nominee hints at reform

Suh Hoon, the National Intelligence Service chief nominee, is promising a spy agency dramatically different from past administrations. Speaking at the first day of his two-day parliamentary hearing Monday, Suh gave an outline of the NIS he envisions, which would require some major changes. While the main role of the agency concerns national security, the NIS has been implicated in a series of political scandals over the years. Such alleged wrongdoings have damaged the agency’s reputation and fed

PoliticsMay 29, 2017

[Newsmaker] Russia probe pierces Trump’s inner circle

The probe into Russia’s role in the US election pierced the innermost circle of the White House Saturday, with reports that Donald Trump’s son-in-law sought a secret communications line with Moscow -- the most damning allegation yet from the scandal.　The latest furor was stirred up after the Washington Post reported late Friday that Jared Kushner -- arguably Trump’s closest White House aide, and husband to the president’s eldest daughter Ivanka -- made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian

World NewsMay 28, 2017

[Newsmaker] Moon expresses wish to meet Zuckerberg

President Moon Jae-in on Saturday expressed his wish to meet Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, soon to discuss how to more effectively communicate with people online, his office said.The president posted a message on his Facebook account in response to an email that Zuckerberg sent him last Sunday to congratulate him on his victory in the May 9 election.   Facebook founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (right) waves as he makes a commencement address at Harvard University in Cambridge,

PoliticsMay 27, 2017

[Newsmaker] Data traffic costs spat hits Facebook in Korea

Facebook Korea said Thursday that it would comply with South Korea’s regulations over local network usage costs if new rules take effect, following clashes with a local telecom provider over sharing the costs of maintaining the quality and speed of its data traffic-heavy services.“Facebook’s fundamental policy and philosophy is to sincerely comply with the local regulations of all of the countries that we operate in,” a Facebook Korea official told The Korea Herald. “Should the Korean government

TechnologyMay 25, 2017

[Newsmaker] Troops deployed as Britain goes on top terror alert

Britain ordered soldiers to key sites Wednesday and raised the terror alert to maximum after the Manchester concert suicide bombing by a local man of Libyan origin who may have been radicalized in Syria.Security services believe the suspected bomber, Salman Abedi, was likely to have had help from others in staging the massacre that killed 22 people including one girl aged just 8.　Interior Minister Amber Rudd said the 22-year-old had been on the radar of the intelligence community before the atta

World NewsMay 24, 2017

[Newsmaker] Kospi cruises past 2,300, despite foreign selling

South Korea‘s main bourse extended record-setting rallies for the second consecutive day Tuesday on robust institutional buying that offset foreign selling.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,311.74, up 0.33 percent compared to Monday, when it reached a previous all-time high at 2,304.03.The Kospi showed significant surge in the late morning trade. At around 11 a.m., the market index began to shoot up to around 2,320. The index hit intraday high of 2,326.57 in the a

MarketMay 23, 2017

[Newsmaker] NK’s ICBM quest gains momentum

Since the beginning of this year, North Korea has launched a total of eight ballistic missiles, two of them after President Moon Jae-in was sworn in as South Korea’s commander in chief on May 10. Through the tests, Pyongyang has demonstrated capability using solid fuel to avoid detection and surgical strikes, and inched closer to acquiring re-entry technology for liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles.A new intermediate-range ballistic missile, called the Pukguksong-2, is launched fro

North KoreaMay 22, 2017

[Newsmaker] Kang Kyung-wha: Seoul's first-ever female FM nominee

President Moon Jae-in’s pick for foreign minister is a female diplomat with a career in the United Nations and who started off as a language expert. Kang Kyung-wha, who was nominated Sunday to lead the Foreign Ministry, has been serving as a special policy adviser to the UN secretary-general since December. The position was newly created by UN chief Antonio Guterres for Kang, who headed his transition team. “She is a diplomatic expert holding titles of the first and the best,” Moon told reporter

Foreign AffairsMay 21, 2017

[Newsmaker] Iran's Rouhani: Moderate cleric open to world

President Hassan Rouhani, who won re-election on Saturday, has spent three decades at the heart of Iran’s revolutionary establishment but still faces opposition from hardliners for trying to rebuild ties with the West.　The 68-year-old cleric, almost always clad in his white turban, repeated his convincing 2013 victory by bringing together moderates and reformists with his pledges to end Iran’s isolation and improve civil rights at home.　Born in Semnan province on Nov. 12, 1948, Rouhani is marrie

World NewsMay 21, 2017

[Newsmaker] New veteran affairs chief breaks glass ceiling

The Patriots and Veteran Affairs Ministry was created in 1961 as a state body dedicated to war veterans and retired solders. But in reality, it looked more like an old guards’ network in which retired generals were handpicked from their own exclusive inner circles and devoted most of their tenure to promoting chauvinistic ideas.The decadeslong tradition may come to an end, with a new chief -- who is drastically different from predecessors -- taking office Thursday. Pi Woo-jin, who was sworn in a

PoliticsMay 18, 2017

[Newsmaker] Returning CJ chief vows W36tr investment

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun has made an official comeback to the nation’s food and entertainment giant, ending a four-year hiatus in management due to his ill health and jail term. The chairman, in a gray double-breasted suit, stood up from his wheelchair to plant a commemorative tree for a research and development center for food and biochemistry businesses in Gwanggyo, a commuter town south of Seoul on Wednesday.  (Yonhap)Standing in front of CJ staff and executives, Lee said he would inves

IndustryMay 17, 2017

[Newsmaker] Trump shared ‘secret info with Russian officials’

President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information about Islamic State militants to Russian officials during a meeting last week, The Washington Post reported Monday, prompting strong condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans.　Three White House officials who were in the May 10 meeting strongly denounced the story, saying no intelligence sources and methods were discussed -- but they didn’t deny that classified information was disclosed. 　Citing current and former US officials,

World NewsMay 16, 2017

[Newsmaker] Moon Jae-in names special envoys, adds Europe to list

President Moon Jae-in named his special envoys to major powers Monday, adding Germany and the European Union to the usual list of four -- China, Japan, Russia and the US.“The addition of the EU and Germany to the four major neighboring countries shows the new government’s will to expand the horizon of the country’s diplomatic (ties),” the presidential office said in a statement. For this new role, Moon chose Sogang University economist Cho Yoon-jae, and the chief delegates include a lawmaker and

PoliticsMay 15, 2017

[Newsmaker] China hosts Silk Road summit in shadow of N. Korea missile

　BEIJING  -- China touted on Sunday its new Silk Road as “a project of the century” at a summit highlighting its growing leadership on globalization, but a North Korean missile test intruded on the meeting.　President Xi Jinping greeted leaders from 29 nations for the two-day summit in Beijing after US and South Korean military officials confirmed that Pyongyang had launched a ballistic missile.　Delegations from North Korea and the United States attended the forum, though not their leaders. Few W

World NewsMay 14, 2017

[Newsmaker] Progressive professor tapped as corruption buster

A scholar who is neither a former prosecutor nor a veteran politician may be an odd choice as Cheong Wa Dae’s legal affairs chief, but for President Moon Jae-in, who is determined to mark a fresh start, Cho Kuk is the right man.The 53-year-old professor at Seoul National University’s law school was named senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Thursday.“Cho is a reformist who believes in the rule of law and is thus the right person to support the president’s determination to reform the p

PoliticsMay 11, 2017

[Newsmaker] Liberal governor to lead Moon’s Cabinet

A respected figure with ample experience in public communication, party politics and state administration, President Moon Jae-in’s pick for prime minister Lee Nak-yon also comes from the left-leaning southwestern region.Lee, the 64-year-old governor of South Jeolla Province, was tapped to lead the new president’s Cabinet on Wednesday. The announcement was made during Moon’s first press conference on the first day at work, held at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in the early afternoon. T

PoliticsMay 10, 2017

[Newsmaker] Moon Jae-in, a reluctant politician, rises to presidency

It was not a lust for power or a lofty political ideal that drove Moon Jae-in into politics at age 59. Rather, it was a solemn vow to succeed the political legacy of a dear late friend who committed suicide -- former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. Moon’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election marks the end of a 10-year conservative era in South Korea. On a more personal level, however, it marks the rise of a political latecomer taking on his nemesis: former conservative President Park Geun-

PoliticsMay 10, 2017

[Newsmaker] Daunting tasks await new president

From the controversial deployment of a US-led missile defense system to political reforms, the next administration is laden with many urgent tasks.However, the winner of Tuesday’s presidential election, which was still not clear as of press time, is likely to face an uphill battle in dealing with many of the issues, as potential foes outnumber friends in the political arena.This is why major candidates have all pledged unity and bipartisanship in state management, despite the seemingly vast gulf

PoliticsMay 9, 2017