[Newsmaker] At least 2 killed in Gwangju motel fire, death toll expected to rise

At least wo people were killed and 31 others injured in an early morning fire at a motel in Gwangju, Sunday.　Authorities said the fire, which broke out at 5:45 a.m. at the motel in the northern part of the city, was extinguished within 22 minutes at 6:07 a.m.The death toll could rise, as 13 people sustained serious injuries, including smoke inhalation and burns, according to authorities. Most of the 32 rooms of the five-story accommodation were occupied at the time of the fire.Police arrest

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2019

[Newsmaker] Young parents sentenced for murder over death of infant

A teenage mother and a father in his 20s were sentenced to prison for the neglect of their newborn baby for five days and leaving it to starve to death. Incheon District Court on Thursday ordered 20 years of imprisonment to the 21-year-old father on charges of murder, abandonment of a body and negligence of a child. The 18-year-old mother faces a minimum of seven years to a maximum of 15 years of prison on the same charges. In Korea, where the age of adulthood is 19, juvenile law states tha

Social AffairsDec. 20, 2019

[Newsmaker] Detained PDs of scandal-ridden audition show admit charges

A lawyer for two producers of a high-profile K-pop audition show admitted most of their charges involving vote-rigging during a preparatory hearing on Friday. Ahn Joon-young, a director of Mnet cable TV's "Produce X 101," and the program's chief producer, Kim Yong-beom, were detained early last month after they were accused of having tampered with mobile text message-based voting results of the high-profile show in favor of certain contenders.In July, a vote-rigging scandal hit hard th

Social AffairsDec. 20, 2019

[Newsmaker] Dispute continues over military exemption for K-pop stars

Debate heated up over whether successful K-pop stars should be exempted from Korea’s mandatory military service during a public hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday.Chaired by Rep. Ahn Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the hearing saw a panel of lawmakers and culture critics call for reform of the country’s military exemption rules in order to give international K-pop stars like BTS military service exemption.Pop culture critic Ha Jae-geun said exempti

K-popDec. 19, 2019

[Newsmaker] Govt. discloses personal info of 261 draft dodgers online

The state manpower agency on Thursday publicly disclosed the personal information of 261 citizens who failed to comply with state orders to fulfill mandatory military service last year without due reasons. The disclosure is in accordance with the 2015 revision of the Military Service Act as part of efforts to ensure fairness in the implementation of the compulsory system, according to the Military Manpower Administration. The list of dodgers has been disclosed once a year on its website since 20

Social AffairsDec. 19, 2019

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors, police at odds over possible 1980s wrongful murder conviction

Police and prosecutors have issued conflicting views on a controversial forensics report that was used as key evidence in convicting a 53-year-old man surnamed Yun of the eighth of the notorious Hwaseong serial killings.Police on Wednesday disputed prosecutors’ suggestion that the 1989 forensic report that led to the suspected wrongful conviction had been a “fabrication,” saying the tested samples had not been manipulated.This follows a statement from the prosecutors Tuesd

Social AffairsDec. 18, 2019

[Newsmaker] Police investigating ‘illegal’ rally by conservatives

The police said Tuesday that they have opened a probe into possible law violations and violence during a rally the previous day by conservative activists in front of the National Assembly building.Some 500 people belonging to right-wing organizations and supporting the main opposition Liberty Korea Party held a rally in protest against a set of reform bills. Following the rally, the protesters remained there for nearly nine hours, tried to break into the National Assembly building and some of th

Social AffairsDec. 17, 2019

[Newsmaker] US Forces Korea ends night curfew for troops after 9 years

US Forces Korea said Tuesday it lifted a curfew for all of its troops, effective immediately. The curfew, set for between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., was imposed in 2011 amid public outcry over allegations of sexual violence and other crimes by USFK troops. Before making the termination decision, USKF temporarily suspended the curfew until Tuesday, and looked into the results for assessment.  "After assessing the curfew data and consulting with USFK leaders including component commanders, I dec

DefenseDec. 17, 2019

[Newsmaker] Cho Kuk appears for questioning

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk appeared at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning Monday. Cho is accused of wrongly suspending an internal investigation of former Busan Vice Mayor Yoo Jae-soo in 2017, then a senior official at the Financial Services Commission. Yoo, who is detained, was indicted Friday. Yoon Do-han, senior secretary to the president for public communication, denied that the Blue House stopped the inspection. He said Cho’s office ran the ins

PoliticsDec. 16, 2019

[Newsmaker] Ex-Ulsan mayor questioned over Cheong Wa Dae’s alleged election meddling

Former Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon, who raised allegations about Cheong Wa Dae’s suspected meddling in regional elections last year, appeared before the prosecution Sunday to be questioned as a witness. Kim, who is affiliated with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, says that the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency deliberately investigated suspicions surrounding his brother and close aide a few months ahead of the elections last year, to sway the vote in favor of the ruling Democratic

Social AffairsDec. 15, 2019

[Newsmaker] Singer Kim Gun-mo sues woman who filed rape suit

Singer Kim Gun-mo, 51, on Friday countersued a woman who accused the singer of sexual assault, denying all allegations made against him. On the same day, Kim’s agency Guneum announced the cancellation of the singer’s nationwide concert tour that was to take place Dec. 24 to Feb. 29, 2020.On Monday, the woman, surnamed Kim, sued the singer, claiming he had sexually assaulted her in August 2016 at a bar in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where she worked. “Kim Gun-mo does not know the woman a

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019

[Newsmaker] Korean Air recognizes same-sex Korean couple as family

A same-sex couple of Korean nationality were recognized as family members by Korean Air’s membership rewards program, South Korea’s flag carrier said Thursday, a step hailed by sexual minorities’ rights advocates. The female couple, who are in their 40s, completed registering as family members in Korean Air’s SkyPass program on Monday after the country’s largest airline accepted their marriage certificate, which had been issued in Canada. The couple, who have b

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019

[Newsmaker] Male rapper convicted of sexually insulting female singer in lyrics

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower courts' conviction of a male rapper indicted for sexually insulting a female rapper in his songs and concerts.Black Nut, the defendant rapper whose real name is Kim Dae-woong, was sentenced by the top court to an imprisonment of six months, suspended for two years, and ordered to conduct 160 hours of social service.Lower courts had previously handed out the same guilty verdict and sentences to Black Nut, who was accused of inserting controversial words

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019

[Newsmaker] Singer Kim Gun-mo to be investigated on sexual assault allegation

A sexual assault allegation against singer Kim Gun-mo will be investigated by the Gangnam Police Station, according to the prosecutors’ office Tuesday.Lawyer Kang Yong-seok filed a case Monday at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on behalf of a woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the singer. In the complaint, Kang accused Kim of raping his client. Kim’s agency denied the sexual assault allegation and said it would take legal action for defamati

Social AffairsDec. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Big Hit denies rumored disputes with BTS

Big Hit Entertainment has denied a recent report that the agency and BTS have been in dispute over profit distribution and the renewal of a contract. On Monday, broadcast station JTBC’s “News Room” aired a report that said the band and its members’ parents have been looking into taking legal action against the agency. A few hours after the news was broadcast, the agency released a statement saying, “The report is groundless.” “BTS and the members&rs

PerformanceDec. 10, 2019

[Newsmaker] Third body retrieved 20 days after Jeju boat capsizes

Two of the 11 bodies missing after a Jeju boat capsized last month were discovered Sunday afternoon.The Jeju Regional Coast Guard on Monday confirmed the bodies had been located by a remotely operated vehicle of the Navy’s submarine rescue ship Cheonghaejin.While one body assumed to be that of a Vietnamese national was recovered Sunday, another body was lifted from the water Monday afternoon. Around 7 a.m. on Nov. 19, a 29-ton fishing boat with 12 crewmen aboard -- six South Koreans a

Social AffairsDec. 9, 2019

[Newsmaker] Centrist third party on course to split

Minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, formed in February last year to challenge the bipartisan establishment, is on the verge of splitting.The party’s meeting for “nonpartisan initiative” has launched a committee to prepare for the formation of a new party with “a centrist reform agenda.”Heading the committee is Rep. Ha Tae-keung, a conservative politician who helped integrate factions supporting two former third-party presidential candidates, Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoo Se

PoliticsDec. 8, 2019

[Newsmaker] Leader of drug-trafficking ring gets 9-year prison term in appeals trial

The Seoul High Court on Sunday sentenced the leader of South Korea's largest drug-trafficking syndicate to nine years in prison for distributing about 730,000 doses of methamphetamine smuggled from Taiwan.The 63-year-old leader, identified by his surname, Yoon, and an accomplice, surnamed Woo, 53, were charged with distributing 22 kilograms of methamphetamine. That amount was part of a total of 112 kg of methamphetamine smuggled by a Taiwanese crime ring in July and August last year. Woo was sen

Social AffairsDec. 8, 2019

[Newsmaker] Political parties to withdraw filibuster, postpone fast-track bills

Major political parties on Friday reached a tentative agreement to normalize parliament through the withdrawal of the main opposition party's filibuster and the postponement of contested fast-track bills.The floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party, main opposition Liberty Korea Party and minor opposition Bareunmirae Party reached a consensus and are set to finalize and soon announce the details at a meeting led by the National Assembly speaker, according to party officials.Under the agreeme

PoliticsDec. 6, 2019

[Newsmaker] Revision bill on banning Tada's taxi business passed at parliamentary committee

A National Assembly committee on Friday passed a revision bill on effectively outlawing the controversial taxi business of Tada, a South Korean ride-hailing service operator.The revision to the passenger transport service act, approved by the parliamentary transportation panel, restricts the outsourcing of drivers for the use of rental vans with 11-15 seats to tour purposes only. Cars must be rented for at least six hours and users are required to possess boarding passes if vehicles are rented o

IndustryDec. 6, 2019