[Newsmaker] Divers risk lives to find, save missing passengers

Hundreds of civilian, Coast Guard and Navy divers are putting their lives on the line to search for the missing passengers of the capsized ferry Sewol.Late Saturday, divers successfully entered the wreckage after four days of efforts that were frustrated by dangerous conditions. The rescue divers are taking on the daunting task despite the potentially life-threatening circumstances, in the hopes of finding survivors inside the vessel.Many of the civilian divers view the matter as if the victims

Social AffairsApril 20, 2014

[Newsmaker] Heroes risked their lives to save others

 Amid screams and shouts for help and the fear of death, there were heroes who helped others escape first from the country’s worst maritime disaster since 1993.Park Ji-young, a 22-year-old crewmember of the Sewol, was among them. She lost her life while struggling to ensure that all passengers on the third and fourth floors of the vessel wore life jackets and found their way out.“I repeatedly asked her why she did not first wear a life jacket. Park just said that she would get out of the ship af

NationalApril 17, 2014

[Newsmaker] Dispute flares on why game addict killed son

The Daegu District Court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for a 22-year-old surnamed Jeong, a day after he confessed to police that he suffocated his 28-month-old son to death. As the nation was shocked with the brutality of the crime, experts are debating the underlying factors.Jeong, who was known as a serious game addict, told the police he committed the murder because he grew angry at the child for not going to sleep as he prepared to go to an Internet cafe to play video games. He then

Social AffairsApril 16, 2014

[Newsmaker] Opposition lawmaker touches off drone furor

A lawmaker of the main opposition party in South Korea has once again found himself at the center of a spiraling dispute ― this time over spy drones presumably from North Korea. Rep. Jung Cheong-rae of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, known as one of the party’s more prominent hard-liners, has taken a leading role in controversial issues such as the developments surrounding state agencies’ alleged meddling in elections. On Friday, Jung argued that there was a “high probability” that the

PoliticsApril 15, 2014

[Newsmaker] Health agency kicks off tobacco lawsuit

The state-run health agency launched a high-profile lawsuit against three tobacco makers on Monday, aiming to cover rising medical costs that it claims stem from smoking-related diseases. The National Health Insurance Agency kicked off its legal fight with KT&G, Philip Morris Korea and British American Tobacco Korea, marking the first case in which a South Korean public agency is seeking compensation from tobacco makers. Japanese tobacco maker Japan Tobacco International ― originally included on

Social AffairsApril 14, 2014

[Newsmaker] Samsung Financial arms face restructuring

It had long been obvious that the hard-pressed financial companies suffering from a continued fall in profits would drastically downsize at some point, and it was Samsung Group that triggered the restructuring tide in the financial sector. A rumor has been circulating that the nation’s top conglomerate is trying to slim down its financial sectors for the sake of heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, who is expected to take over the group’s financial affiliates, as well as the lucrative electronics busines

April 13, 2014

[Newsmaker] Ahn Cheol-soo’s leadership totters

The main opposition leader Ahn Cheol-soo and his vision of new politics face an uphill battle in and out of the party as his key proposal to abolish the existing candidate nomination system ran aground without making progress.The maverick lawmaker along with the party’s cochairman Rep. Kim Han-gil said Tuesday they will conduct a survey and a party vote to decide on the candidate nomination system for the June 4 local election. The decision was widely seen as an “exit strategy” to curb growing i

PoliticsApril 9, 2014

[Newsmaker] Animated character buses smash hit with kids

Buses covered in animated characters are growing so popular in Seoul City that policymakers are considering introducing additional character-covered public transportation. Marking the city’s public transportation day last month, Seoul Metropolitan Government released four buses covered in characters that appear in Korean animated series “Tayo, the Little Bus.” The program is a favorite among children, winning the best preschool education program award at the Asian Television Awards in 2012. Four

Social AffairsApril 8, 2014

[Newsmaker] Rhythmic gymnast Son wins 4 World Cup titles

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae earned four titles, including the individual all-around gold medal, at a World Cup stop in Portugal over the weekend.Son finished first in ball, clubs and ribbon events on Sunday at the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Lisbon, a day after claiming the all-around title. Son became the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win an individual all-around gold at a senior international event.In the ball competition, Son earned 17.500 points to beat out M

Olympic GamesApril 7, 2014

[Newsmaker] Korea suffers youth unemployment blues

Key economic indicators seem to point toward Korea making a solid recovery.The country’s output has been growing thanks to exports. Its consumer spending has picked up on the back of growing welfare financing by the government.Still, Asia’s fourth-largest economy is finding it hard to create jobs for college graduates, even while they pull all-nighters at libraries to pass conglomerates’ corporate entrance exams.Korea’s youth joblessness, which passed 10 percent in February, has become a bigger

April 6, 2014

[Newsmaker] Lotte Shopping chief faces kickbacks claims

It is a widely known fact that the retail sector is one of the least transparent segments in Korea.Kickbacks are ― or at least were ― rampant, mostly because there are simply too many vendors vying to get their products on the shelves. Lotte appears to have been no exception, as seen in the recent case involving Shin Heon, CEO of Lotte Shopping, who will soon be summoned for questioning over allegations he received cash kickbacks from a local subcontactor.  The Seoul Central District Prosecutors

IndustryApril 3, 2014

[Newsmaker] Drones emerging as core military assets

Unmanned aerial vehicles are emerging as core military assets for intelligence gathering, surveillance and combat missions with many countries pursuing low-risk and less costly weapons systems.The recent discovery of two crashed drones, presumably from North Korea, has drawn keen attention to the aircraft’s military capabilities and prompted calls for South Korea to strengthen its defense against Pyongyang’s drone-based military activities. In the development of combat drones, the U.S. is ahead

DefenseApril 2, 2014

[Newsmaker] Samsung-Apple battle enters second round

The second round of a raging patent war between the world’s top two technology companies, Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc., resumed in a U.S. court in California on Monday. This time, Google’s Android mobile operation system has come into the spotlight, with a celebrated former Google executive ― Andy Rubin, who oversaw the development of the Android operating system ― expected to step up as a witness for both Samsung and Apple.What a coincidence. Two battling companies calling in the same wit

IndustryApril 1, 2014

[Newsmaker] Attention turn to ‘new type’ of N.K. nukes

With Pyongyang having threatened to conduct a “new type” of nuclear test, attention is being drawn to what method it might employ for a fourth test and how far its military nuclear technology has come.Analysts argue that the communist state may carry out a more powerful nuclear experiment as it seeks to show off its “nuclear deterrence” capability and up the ante in future negotiations with the international community.For the fourth test, the North is most likely to carry out an experiment using

North KoreaMarch 31, 2014

[Newsmaker] New party takes on centrist approach

The New Politics Alliance for Democracy is moving along centrist lines in the hopes of drawing in nonpartisan voters and avoiding an ideological dispute.The March 26 launch ceremony carried a strong undercurrent of national security, an element of politics more closely linked to conservatives. Early in the ceremony, even before the pledge of allegiance, the participants paid their respects to the 46 sailors of the South Korean Navy ship Cheonan that was sunk by North Korea in 2010. The venue was

PoliticsMarch 30, 2014

[Newsmaker] FSS governor rings changes

According to its usual protocol, the Financial Supervisory Service should have made its regular personnel appointment in March. But this year, the troubled regulator was far too preoccupied. FSS Gov. Choi Soo-hyun, weighed down by an endless string of scandals in the financial industry, decided that the only way out was by changing everything, especially his staff.As such, the financial regulator has agreed to name Park Young-joon, assistant deputy director of financial investment, as new vice g

March 27, 2014

[Newsmaker] Diamond mine fraud probe reopens

Korean mine developer Oh Deok-gyun, a key figure in a multimillion-dollar stock manipulation scandal, was arrested Wednesday after two years of hiding in Cameroon. The 48-year-old entrepreneur was accused of allegedly acquiring about 90 billion won ($83.2 million) in profits by exaggerating the value of diamond reserves at a mine in Cameroon. “Criminal charges against Oh have been acknowledged and there is a possibility of the suspect fleeing or attempting to destroy evidence,” the Seoul Central

Social AffairsMarch 26, 2014

[Newsmaker] Prison labor worth W500m a day?

The top court said on Tuesday that it is reviewing plans to revise policies on labor penalties as online critics lambaste its light sentence for a former business tycoon. The court decision to take stern measures against wealthy chief executives attempting to exploit legal loopholes for tax evasion is seen as a belated step in the right direction.In December 2011, the Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s ruling to sentence former Daeju Group chairman Huh Jae-ho to 30 months in prison with a

Social AffairsMarch 25, 2014

[Newsmaker] Is rule of law finding its feet in Korea?

It had been common in Korea to see those with money and power, such as owners and executives of conglomerates or even their relatives, acting above the law.Whenever they found themselves in trouble, chaebol would use their status, political connections and wealth to find a way out of the mess they caused.For instance, chaebol and their affiliates would immediately announce plans to contribute to society by investing and hiring more people, and also step up charity efforts to offset public outcry

IndustryMarch 24, 2014

[Newsmaker] Online authentication reforms in the offing

What does it take for both domestic and foreign consumers to log in and buy items on Korean e-commerce sites?The answer is “patience.” There are about a dozen steps to go through to download security programs, set up personal authentication functions and enter personal information, and on some low-end computers this can take ages. Furthermore, they need to agree to a long list of conditions and hand over sensitive data such as resident registration numbers before typing in their credit card numb

TechnologyMarch 23, 2014