[Newsmaker] Cyworld comes alive again

Cyworld, the dominant social networking site here before the era of Facebook throughout the 2000s, was set to reopen Monday evening, with many in their 30s and 40s ripe with anticipation to revisit their past. Cyworld Z, the company that bought Cyworld in January this year, said it has recovered some 17 billion photos and over 100 million videos stored in the old servers. With nearly 32 million members at one point, Cyworld was the uncontested champion of social media here, as the country&rsqu

TechnologyJuly 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] How Minecraft became R-rated game in S. Korea

Minecraft is a 3D computer game where players can build anything. Often described as “online Legos,” the bestselling video game of all time involves building blocks and creating structures across different environments and terrains. Rated as suitable for ages 7 and up, some schools have started to incorporate Minecraft into the classroom, as kids can naturally learn teamwork, problem-solving skills and basic programming while playing the game with friends and helping each other bu

IndustryJuly 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Koreans overtake S. Koreans in TOEFL score in 2020: report

North Koreans surpassed South Koreans in the Test of English as a Foreign Language, one of the leading English language proficiency tests, last year, a report showed Saturday. According to a report from the U.S.-based Education Testing Service, the administrator of TOEFL, the average score in the internet-based TOEFL by North Korean nationals was 87 out of 120 in 2020. North Koreans' average TOEFL score, up four points from 2019, was the same as the global average and one point higher than S

North KoreaJuly 3, 2021

[Newsmaker] Poll shows former prosecution chief Yoon slightly ahead of Gyeonggi Gov. Lee

A new poll on prospective presidential contenders released Friday showed former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl with a slight edge over his ruling party rival, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung. In the survey by Gallup Korea, Yoon received 25 percent of support, up 4 percentage points from a month before. He overtook Lee, whose rating stayed put at 24 percent. The survey conducted from Tuesday to Thursday was the first opinion poll after Yoon, with no party allegiance, announced his inte

PoliticsJuly 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors seek 5-yr prison term for disgraced K-pop star Seungri in sex, gambling scandal

YONGIN -- Military prosecutors have demanded five-year imprisonment for Seungri, the disgraced former member of K-pop boy band BIGBANG, on charges including prostitution mediation and overseas gambling. The prosecutors on Thursday asked the general military court in Yongin, south of Seoul, to sentence the scandal-ridden celebrity, whose legal name is Lee Seung-hyun, to five years in prison and a fine of 20 million won ($17,600). The singer is under trial at the military court because he enlis

Social AffairsJuly 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul education chief admits 'naeronambul'

Seoul’s Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon admitted hypocrisy in pushing to get rid of elite private high schools while having sent his own kids to such schools. “(I) admit it was ‘naeronambul’ to have sent my children to foreign language high schools while calling for the abolishment of autonomous private high schools,” Cho told the city council on Wednesday, referring to a popular term that translates into “If I do it, it’s romance. If you do it, i

Social AffairsJuly 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Jailed ex-president worries about nation in letter

Jailed former President Lee Myung-bak said it was a shame that the country has come to its current state in a letter to a fellow university alumnus, which was disclosed on an alumni website. On the online community of Korea University students and graduates called Kopas, a person who introduced himself as a plastic surgeon and graduate of the university’s medical school said in a post on Tuesday that he wrote to Lee, and Lee wrote back. “It is such a shame that the country has come

PoliticsJune 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Choo slammed for saying she ‘opposes feminism’

Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae got herself in trouble by saying she opposes feminism in an interview on YouTube. Among those who criticized her remarks was Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor Justice Party. Choo, who has vowed to run for president next year on the ruling Democratic Party ticket, said in an interview with an online media outlet Friday that she opposed feminism and that “if one wants to be treated like a flower because she’s a woman, women will always be ornamental.&

PoliticsJune 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-Busan mayor gets 3 yrs for workplace sexual assault

BUSAN -- A court sentenced former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don to three years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting female employees at work, broadening the interpretation of injury to include psychological trauma. The Busan District Court convicted him of sexually assaulting two female employees using his power and injuring one of them. He was arrested in court. "This is a workplace sexual assault case in which the accused used his superior position" for his crime, Judge Ryu Seung-woo

Social AffairsJune 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] High school senior found dead after 6-day search

A high school student was found dead on a hill in Bundang in Gyeonggi Province, Monday morning, six days after he went missing on June 22. Police suspect that Kim Hwi-seong, 18, took his own life. He was found lying down with a plastic bag over his head, and there were no signs of external injuries. Police suspect that he suffocated to death, but said they will determine the exact cause of death after an autopsy by the National Forensic Service, upon the agreement of his family. Kim, a senior

Social AffairsJune 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] 2 DP presidential candidates to merge campaigns by next week

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Monday they will merge their campaigns by next week in a bid to boost their party's chances of winning the 2022 presidential election. Chung Sye-kyun, former prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae announced the decision to unify their presidential candidacies by next Monday, during their visits to the headquarters of the bourse operator in western Seoul. "With a visio

PoliticsJune 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] Presidential anti-corruption aide offers to resign over property speculation allegations

The presidential secretary for anti-corruption, Kim Gi-pyo, has offered to resign, the presidential office said Sunday, following allegations of real estate speculation involving multimillion dollar loans. President Moon Jae-in also immediately accepted his resignation, according to Park Soo-hyun, Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public communication. "Presidential secretary Kim Gi-pyo has expressed his views that, although he did not acquire the real estate for purposes of speculatio

PoliticsJune 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] ‘Thanks for saving me’: Suspected child molester’s words could be play for leniency, experts say

Choi Chan-wook, 26, who is accused of using boys aged between 11 and 13 to produce videos of sexual exploitation, and in some cases molesting them himself, said he was “grateful that adults saved” him before his actions got worse, stoking public outrage online. Choi, who stood in front of press cameras Thursday before police turned him over to the prosecution, said, “(I) got here after starting out of curiosity. … I’m grateful that adults saved me before it got wo

Social AffairsJune 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] LG’s iPhone plan faces controversy

LG Electronics’ plan to start selling Apple’s iPhones at its stores is facing backlash from local phone distributors and a private consensus-based panel on shared growth on Thursday threw weight behind opponents, saying LG would be breaking its word if it pushes ahead with the plan. The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership cited the firm’s pact with the commission signed in 2018 in which LG pledged to strive for co-prosperity with small players in the industry. LG,

TechnologyJune 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Air Force police under probe for leaving sexual abuse case out of report on soldier's death

Military prosecutors have launched an investigation into why the Air Force police left out a sexual abuse case suffered by a female noncommissioned officer when reporting her suicide to the defense ministry, officials said Thursday. The female master sergeant was found dead in May, around three months after being sexually abused by a colleague of the same rank. Her death sparked a public uproar after her family alleged that military authorities attempted to cover up the sexual abuse case rather

DefenseJune 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police to remove gendered requirement for physical test

Starting in 2026, all police hopefuls will have to take the same physical test regardless of gender. The National Police Committee on Monday passed a plan to introduce a physical examination that requires the same standard for both men and women, the National Police Agency said. The new physical exam is a timed event involving five stations -- running an obstacle course, skipping hurdles, pushing and pulling a 32-kilogram object, carrying a 72-kilogram human-like doll for 10 meters and pullin

Social AffairsJune 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Regulator offers record rewards to person reporting steelmakers' price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has provided a record 1.75 billion won ($1.5 million) in rewards to a person who reported seven steelmakers' alleged price fixing. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided in January to fine the country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers a combined 300 billion won for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The commission said it was able to take stern ac

EconomyJune 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Pollution from Coupang fire kills fish, harms locals’ health

Dust, fire-flakes and contaminated water from the massive fire at a Coupang warehouse in Icheon last week have been killing fish, damaging farms and causing health problems among local residents. More than 1,800 dead fish were found in three reservoirs about 1 kilometer away from the Coupang warehouse in the three days to Monday, according to Icheon city officials. A city official said a natural surface active agent used in the firefighting water could have killed the fish as it blocks the air

Social AffairsJune 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Culture minister implies no boycott of Tokyo Olympics amid Dokdo spat

South Korea's culture minister said sports should be separated from politics regarding calls for a boycott of the Tokyo Olympics amid a renewed territorial spat over the East Sea islets of Dokdo between the two countries. Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee made the remark during a parliamentary committee's general meeting held Monday evening, implying that the ministry is not considering boycotting the upcoming Olympics, only a month away. Calls for such a measure emerged among th

PoliticsJune 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Most victims of military sexual violence are low-ranking personnel

Most female victims of sexual violence in the military were soldiers and civilian workers of less than five years in service, government data showed. A majority of the perpetrators were non-commissioned officers senior to their victims, and field officers, showing how sexual violence that involves taking advantage of one’s superior status at work was prevalent. A total of 771 sexual offenses, ranging from harassment to rape, were committed against women in the military last year, accordi

DefenseJune 21, 2021