[Newsmaker] US envoy say it's his mustache; South Koreans say otherwise

SEOUL (AP) -- The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seou

Foreign AffairsJan. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] Opposition leader sends beef jerky to Buddhist monks

South Korea’s opposition leader accidentally sent beef jerky to the Jogye Order of Buddhism as a Lunar New Year’s gift, bewildering the country’s largest Buddhist group, which practices vegetarianism.Gift sets containing beef were delivered to several of the group’s senior officials earlier last week under the name of Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn. The main opposition party learned about the mistake Friday and retrieved the gift sets the same day. It sai

Social AffairsJan. 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Ulsan mayor questioned in election-meddling probe

SEOUL/ULSAN -- Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was questioned Monday over an ongoing probe into allegations that some presidential officials conspired to help him win the mayoral seat in a 2018 election.Song, 71, was being questioned at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office this morning for the first time regarding the election-meddling allegations, according to political and legal sources with knowledge of the matter.The mayor, who successfully ran as a ruling Democratic Party candidate for t

Social AffairsJan. 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Main opposition lawmaker found not guilty in daughter’s hiring scandal

A Seoul court on Friday cleared main opposition lawmaker Kim Sung-tae of bribery charges, clearing a hurdle for him to run in the upcoming April 15 general elections. The Seoul Southern District Court found Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the Liberty Korea Party not guilty of receiving bribes from Lee Suk-chae, former chief of telecom firm KT. Lee was also cleared of offering bribes to Kim. Based on testimony from former KT President Seo Yu-yeol, prosecutors indicted Lee for inappropriately asking Lee

Social AffairsJan. 17, 2020

[Newsmaker] Transgender sergeant seeks to continue serving in military

A South Korean transgender sergeant faces a possible discharge from the South Korean Army after undergoing sex reassignment surgery while enlisted, despite his wish to continue the service as a female officer. The trans person, a 20-something tank driver in a unit in Gyeonggi Province, underwent sex reassignment surgery in December in Thailand after gaining approval from his unit. The staff sergeant, while recovering at a national Army hospital, had applied for a legal gender change and expresse

Social AffairsJan. 16, 2020

[Newsmaker] Active-duty soldier undergoes sex reassignment surgery, voices hope for continuing service

An Army non-commissioned officer underwent gender reassignment surgery last year and has expressed a desire to continue to serve in the military as a female solider, officers said Thursday.The serviceperson, whose identity was withheld, visited a foreign country while on furlough last year for the surgery. After an examination, a military medical team declared her "a handicapped person," which requires the authorities' evaluation to decide whether to discharge her or not. The officer r

DefenseJan. 16, 2020

[Newsmaker] Of kids bullied at school, 1 in 3 targeted ‘as a joke’: survey

One in 3 victims of school violence in South Korea has been bullied “as a joke,” a report from the Education Ministry showed Wednesday. 　　Some 0.6 percent of students enrolled at Korea’s elementary, middle and high schools admitted that they had bullied fellow students, according to a survey conducted in September involving some 130,000 students.　The most common reason behind the bullying was “just as a joke” (29.4 percent). Some 19.2 percent of the bullying took pl

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2020

[Newsmaker] Another class-action suit filed against Japanese firms over forced labor

Victims of wartime forced labor and their descendants based in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province filed a class-action lawsuit against Japanese firms on Tuesday, seeking financial restitution amid soured Seoul-Tokyo relations over the colonial-era issue. Two surviving victims forced to work at Japanese steel mills during Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of Korea and 31 bereaved family members of late victims participated in the suit against six Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mit

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2020

[Newsmaker] Court denies arrest warrant for ex-Big Bang member Seungri

A Seoul court on Monday again denied an arrest warrant for Seungri, the disgraced former Big Bang member accused of overseas gambling and procuring prostitutes for investors.The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the prosecution's request to detain Seungri, who was at the center of a major sex and drug scandal that roiled the K-pop industry last year. It is the second time the court has turned down law enforcement authorities' bid to detain the 29-year-old. A similar attempt by police i

Social AffairsJan. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Court to decide on Seungri’s arrest

Former boyband Big Bang member Seungri appeared at court on Monday morning for a hearing on an arrest warrant filed by prosecutors.The 29-year-old arrived at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho, southern Seoul, at around 10:05 a.m. He did not respond to questions from reporters.On Dec. 8, prosecutors sought the arrest warrant for Seungri regarding several counts of pimping and gambling charges, among others.The court’s decision over the arrest warrant’s issuance is expec

Social AffairsJan. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Ex-Supreme Court judge found not guilty in judiciary power abuse case

A former top court judge indicted for his suspected role in a judiciary power abuse scandal during the conservative Park Geun-hye administration was found not guilty on Monday.The Seoul Central District Court found former Supreme Court senior judge Yoo Hae-yong not guilty of colluding in the power abuse scandal to help report the proceedings of a certain case to the presidential office.The ruling is the first to be handed down in relation to the judiciary power abuse scandal that saw a Supreme C

Social AffairsJan. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Hacking of top celebrities prompts rumors, warnings

Several South Korean celebrities whose phones were recently hacked are struggling to prevent the spread of their photos and rumors on the internet and messenger apps. Some have issued warnings of legal action. Earlier on Thursday, the police said they had launched a probe into a case where about 10 celebrities, including famous actors and members of K-pop groups, allegedly had their phones hacked. The police said the hacker blackmailed the victims by threatening to leak their personal data.

FilmJan. 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Rallies held against government, prosecution

Two different groups of citizens took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday, one criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration and the other calling for the resignation of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, in a sign of the continued social conflict over reforming the state prosecution.Members of conservative groups, many holding the national flags of South Korea or the United States, began a rally on a large square in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, at around 2:30 p.m., demanding Moon's resignation.They

PoliticsJan. 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukrainian jetliner

Iran announced Saturday that its military  'unintentionally' shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard. The statement came Saturday morning  and blamed ``human error'' for the shootdown.The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at US forces. Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the US and Canada, ci

InternationalJan. 11, 2020

[Newsmaker] Arrest warrant sought for Seungri over procuring prostitutes, illegal gambling

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for K-pop star Serungri on Friday over suspected illegal overseas gambling and procuring prostitutes for his investors. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said it had filed an arrest warrant for the 30-year-old former Big Bang member, on seven charges including illegal overseas gambling, illegal currency transactions and procuring prostitutes. A hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, wil

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] Restricted military areas to be opened up

Restricted military areas in South Korea, concentrated in regions adjacent to Seoul, will be opened up to the public for business development, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Thursday. The areas to be affected are mostly near Seoul in surrounding Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, and cover 77 square kilometers -- roughly 27 times the size of Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido. The areas would include regions as far away as the Chungcheong and Gyeongsang provinces, the party sa

DefenseJan. 9, 2020

[Newsmaker] Top court orders review of ex-senior prosecutor's jail term in MeToo case

South Korea's top court on Thursday ordered a lower court to reconsider its jail sentence for a former senior prosecutor alleged to have sexually abused a junior colleague whose subsequent confession sparked the MeToo movement here.Ahn Tae-geun was sentenced to two years in prison in the first court ruling early last year for unfairly intervening in a reshuffle to send Seo Ji-hyun to a regional office in what was seen as revenge for her accusations. State prosecutors who investigated the case ch

Social AffairsJan. 9, 2020

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors seek 23-year prison term for ex-President Lee

Prosecutors have asked an appeal court to increase the jail term for former President Lee Myung-bak to 23 years on charges of bribery and embezzlement, and sought a fine of 32 billion won ($27.3 million). The Seoul High Court heard appeals from the disgraced president and prosecutors over a lower court’s October 2018 ruling that sentenced Lee to 15 years in prison on convictions of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, and ordered him to pay a fine of 13 billion won. Charges against Le

Social AffairsJan. 8, 2020

[Newsmaker] Former Blue House officials race to enter general elections

Individuals who served in President Moon Jae-in’s Cheong Wa Dae are entering the general elections in droves, fanning both criticism and expectations in the political arena. According to the ruling Democratic Party, about 60 individuals who have held Cheong Wa Dae posts at various levels have informed the party of their intentions to run in the April 15 general elections. Although not all of them will get party nominations, the number of Cheong Wa Dae-linked hopefuls amounts to a fifth of

PoliticsJan. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] Shin Dong-bin steps down as director of Lotte E&C

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin stepped down as an executive director of the group’s construction unit last month, according to the firm’s regulatory filing on Tuesday. Shin resigned from his post at Lotte Engineering & Construction after two years and nine months to take responsibility following the Supreme Court’s decision on his involvement in a bribery scandal and to strengthen responsible management, the group said. In October, the nation’s top court conf

IndustryJan. 7, 2020