[Newsmaker] Chun, ruthless ex-military strongman

Former President Chun Doo-hwan’s rule in the 1980s arguably marked some of the darkest days of Korea’s modern political history. The Army general overthrew the government, ordered a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests, destroyed democratic institutions and took hundreds of billions of won in bribes. He took power through a military coup in 1979 and held that power until 1988. Chun removed opposing forces using any means necessary, even ordering the military to use lethal force against civ

PoliticsJuly 17, 2013

[Newsmaker] Suh named BOK's first female exec

The Bank of Korea appointed a woman as deputy governor for the first time since its foundation in June 1950.Suh Young-kyung, who has worked for the BOK for 25 years, embarked on her three-year term as one of the seven executives at the central bank on Tuesday.There are five deputy governors at the bank, who share the No. 3 rank following Governor Kim Choong-soo and Senior Deputy Governor Park Won-shik. Each may be reappointed for a second three-year term.Born in Seoul in 1963, Suh joined the BOK

July 16, 2013

[Newsmaker] Park ties record for all-time low in LPGA

Park Hee-young showed winning for her was par for the course on Sunday, scoring her second LPGA Tour win and tying for an all-time low in shot count.She captured the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday, beating American Angela Stanford with a birdie on the third playoff hole.Park and Stanford tied for an LPGA Tour all-time low with 258 shots over 72 holes. The record was first set by Karen Stupples of England at the Welch’s-Fry’s Champ

PeopleJuly 15, 2013

[Newsmaker] Public outcry fazes state pension service

The number of taxpayers signing up in an online campaign to abolish the state-run pension system is nearing 100,000, signaling a growing opposition against the mandatory program for all employees in the country.The Alliance for Taxpayers Korea said on Saturday that the number of people who think the current pension scheme is unfair and disagree with a plan to raise subscribers’ contribution rate, is fast growing. The civic group claimed that the government should enact a dramatic reform to impro

Social AffairsJuly 14, 2013

[Newsmaker] Governor refuses to budge on closed hospital

Lawmakers are set to file a complaint with the prosecution against South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo after he refused to attend a parliamentary hearing on his closure of a provincial public hospital. The Assembly’s special committee on the inquiry into the current status of public medical institutions, which is looking into the shutdown of Jinju Medical Center, will determine whether to take legal action against the political bigwig on Friday.After Hong refused to stand before the

DefenseJuly 11, 2013

[Newsmaker] Sohn leaves KCCI to rescue CJ Group

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, who is also co-chairman of CJ Group, officially resigned from his KCCI post on Tuesday, explaining that he could no longer carry on have chairmanship duties due to his extensive involvement in CJ Group’s crisis-management committee. Since CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun’s arrest on July 1 for allegations of embezzlement and tax evasion, Sohn ― who is Lee’s uncle on his mother’s side ― has led Korea’s largest food and entertainment c

IndustryJuly 10, 2013

[Newsmaker] Jangju alleges monks made gambling trips

Secret video footage showing a group of monks playing poker while drinking and smoking in a hotel room shocked the nation last year as the news of a handful of local Buddhist monk leaders from the Jogye Order, the country’s largest Buddhist order, caught gambling made headlines.At a press conference held in the Pohang City Hall Briefing Room on Monday, Ven. Jangju further revealed the severity of the gambling addiction among some monks, who even went abroad to gamble with the order’s donation mo

CultureJuly 9, 2013

[Newsmaker] Corruption ruins Korea’s nuclear industry

Kim Jong-shin led Korea’s nuclear industry when it began to flex its muscles in the world market, culminating a $40 billion contract to build plants in the United Arab Emirates in 2009.It is becoming increasingly clear that the former president of the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power was also at the center of a corruption scandal and safety blunders that tarnished the atomic power sector. The Busan District Prosecutor’s Office arrested him Sunday over an allegation that he took more than

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2013

[Newsmaker] Asiana apologizes over deadly jet crash

Asiana Airlines on Sunday apologized over the deadly jet crash that killed at least two people and injured more than 180 others in San Francisco over the weekend. The Boeing 777 passenger jet traveling from Seoul crashed while landing Saturday at San Francisco International Airport, smashed into pieces and caught fire. “I sincerely apologize to the public for the crash landing,” Asiana Airlines CEO Yoon Young-doo said Sunday during a press conference at the company’s headquarters in western Seou

IndustryJuly 7, 2013

[Newsmaker] Egypt's military ejects elected leader

The ejection of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will likely divide the country into those who call it the toppling of a democratic government, and those who say there is more to democracy than elections.Morsi was elected to power in June 2012 after mass protests prompted the military to eject longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. The armed forces repeated their trick Wednesday, after four days of protests against Morsi that were even bigger than those against his predecessor.Estimates put the numbe

InternationalJuly 4, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hangeul advocates oppose Hanja classes

The government’s plan to enhance Hanja, or Chinese character, classes sparked backlash from civic groups and advocates for Hangeul, or the Korean writing system, who claim it would hamper efforts to defend the purity of the Korean language and further burden students. They launched a sit-in protest in front of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno demanding the authority cancel the plan which would “revive an old-fashioned and unnecessary” education program. The plan could impose acad

Social AffairsJuly 3, 2013

[Newsmaker] Beijing blames Syrians for Xinjiang carnage

Uneasy calm settled on the streets of the provincial capital city of Urumqi in the western Chinese territory of Xinjiang as paramilitary police and dozens of armored vehicles entered the region Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping ramped up rhetoric against separatists among Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighur minority and ordered tighter security, following at least two outbreaks of violence that claimed the lives of 35 people.Perpetrated by knife-wielding motorcycle gangs, several bloody incidents occu

PoliticsJuly 2, 2013

[Newsmaker] Seoul to lure companies back to Korea

In an aim to boost investment in the local economy, the government said it would offer benefits to companies that leave their overseas manufacturing sites to return to Korea.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday, such returning companies will be allowed access to special economic zones with various site rental and tax benefits.Under the current system, foreign-invested companies may lease industrial sites in six free economic z

July 1, 2013

[Newsmaker] FSS under fire for overpaying employees

The Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s financial regulator, is facing heat for paying excessively high annual salaries to its employees amid mounting worldwide criticism against overpaid executives in the financial sector.The controversy escalated as the FSS recently posted last year’s average annual salary of its employees. Payrolls of all state-controlled organizations are required to disclose their salaries.The financial regulator’s average annual salary in 2012 ― 92 million won ($81,000)

June 30, 2013

[Newsmaker] Rudd’s return underlines party problems

Kevin Rudd has taken dramatic revenge against Julia Gillard, regaining the Australian premiership that she took from him almost exactly three years ago to the day.But his return as prime minister may be short-lived, as he takes over just months ahead of a general election that polls suggest his party will lose badly.Rudd had come to power in 2007 in a landslide victory for his Labor Party, and his green agenda was popular. With a hard-working, businesslike manner, “24-7 Kevin” was less popular w

InternationalJune 27, 2013

[Newsmaker] World’s eyes on Mandela

Nelson Mandela, Africa’s most famous son, is coming to the end of his time on earth. And the world’s media are desperate ― some would say to the point of being disrespectful ― to cover every moment he has left.On Tuesday, the media quoted comments by a member of the Mandela family that were interpreted to mean preparations were underway for the death of the 94-year-old former anti-apartheid revolutionary. Mandela has been in a “critical” state in hospital since Sunday.Given the saint-like status

Foreign AffairsJune 26, 2013

[Newsmaker] NIS chief stirs the pot

National Intelligence Service chief Nam Jae-joon did not waste a moment when he authorized the disclosure on Monday of the controversial transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit.The spy chief’s decision came just days into a tug-of-war between the rival parties over a parliamentary investigation into the agency’s involvement in last year’s presidential election, and a full disclosure of the transcript containing former President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks on the Northern Limit Line, the de facto s

PoliticsJune 25, 2013

[Newsmaker] Park on way to golf milestone

Park In-bee is poised to write a new chapter in South Korean golf history on the LPGA Tour. On Sunday, she defeated fellow South Korean Ryu So-yeon in the first playoff hole at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. It was her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the season. With the victory, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer tied the record for most wins by a South Korean LPGA professional in a season. Of the 14 tournaments held so far this year, she has taken fi

GolfJune 24, 2013

[Newsmaker] Clinton hints at first U.S. woman presidency

American media is gushing at the possibility that Hillary Rodham Clinton is gearing up for another run to become the first woman president of the United States in 2016.The former U.S. secretary of state said last week she hoped to see a woman president in her life, though did not name herself specifically.“Hypothetically speaking, I really do hope that we have a woman president in my lifetime,” the Democrat said at a private women’s lecture series in Toronto on Friday, before being interrupted b

PoliticsJune 23, 2013

[Newsmaker] New Woori chief criticizes his predecessor

Lee Soon-woo, the new chairman of Woori Financial Group, has expressed discontent over the business policies of his predecessor Lee Pal-seung, who was a college classmate of former President Lee Myung-bak.The incumbent chairman, who stepped to the helm last week, was quoted by an online news provider as saying that Woori Financial tackled sale projects for the state-funded group led by financial authorities during the former chief’s term between June 2008 and June 2013.Lee stressed that it is in

June 20, 2013