JEONJU -- An appeals court has raised the prison sentence to 12 years for a former civil servant convicted of raping a coworker and using a video of the crime to blackmail her into having sex with him against her will for 20 months, officials said Tuesday. The 27-year-old had been sentenced to nine years in prison, but the Gwangju High Court upped the sentence by three years, saying he "maliciously made the victim suffer to fulfill his sadistic and perverted sexual desires." Accordin

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2021

Kasa Korea Co., operator of a digital property investment platform, said Tuesday that it has attracted 19 billion won ($16 million) from six investors to enhance security for trading and other necessary infrastructure. The investment, from investors including PGS Partners, WeMade, Arche Investment and Yuanta Investment, raised the total funds Kasa Korea has received to about 40 billion won, according to Kasa Korea. The fintech startup said it will use 19 billion won to enhance the security sys

Industry Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the global spread of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. In the advisory, the ministry recommended citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Jan. 13, while asking those overseas to take measures to prevent exposure to the virus, such as refraining from going to large-scale events. The travel advisory was first issued in March and has been exte

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2021

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for inconveniences caused by an outage of the government's digital COVID-19 vaccine pass system after authorities began enforcing the system in restaurants and other multiuse facilities across the country. In a Cabinet meeting held at the government office complex in Seoul, Kim said he "sincerely apologized for causing inconvenience to the public" with the vaccine pass system outage on Monday. "Yesterday was the launch day in enforc

Politics Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products touched a new monthly high in November on brisk global demand for chips and displays, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products reached $21.49 billion last month, up 30 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The November tally represents the largest-ever monthly amount and the 18th consecutive month of on-year gains since June last year. ICT

Economy Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 40 additional COVID-19 cases, including 35 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,777. Of the new cases, 15 people are from the Army, 13 from the Air Force, four from the Navy, and seven from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. An officer from the ministry was also infected. Currently, 308 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,016 are breakthr

Defense Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but critical cases and deaths hit record highs amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. The country added 5,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,525 local cases, raising the total caseload to 528,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea's sensational survival drama "Squid Game" has been nominated in three categories, including the best TV drama series, at the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) on Monday (US time), the Netflix original was listed in the categories -- Best TV Series-Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on TV. "Squid Game"

Television Dec. 14, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 13.8 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,987.86 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI dropped below the 3,000-point level as investors weighed the possibility of the Fed quickening its stimulus withdrawal and making hawkish signals about adjusting its key interest rate. Overnigh

Market Dec. 14, 2021

WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to be aiming to counter or cripple US missile defense programs deployed in the Northeast Asian region, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released Monday. The report follows a series of short and medium-range missile tests conducted by the North this year. "The recent advances in North Korea's ballistic missile test program appear to be directed at developing capabilities to defeat or degrade the effectiveness of missile defenses

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2021

South Korea's import prices dropped for the first time in seven months in November as prices of oil and other raw materials declined, central bank data showed Tuesday. The import price index inched down 0.6 percent last month from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first on-month decline in seven months The decline is blamed on a fall in international crude oil prices and other raw materials, including mining products. The central bank

Economy Dec. 14, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The United States has no hostile policy toward North Korea while it continues to wait for a positive response from the reclusive state to its outreach, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, also reiterated the US remains ready to meet with North Korea any time without any preconditions. "We remain committed to achieving a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with the

Foreign Affairs Dec. 14, 2021

Cafe and restaurant owners and customers alike voiced complaints Monday as the government began enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine pass system in earnest in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Following a one-week trial period, the country officially began its vaccine pass system Monday, requiring all visitors to cafes and restaurants to present a certificate proving they have completed their COVID-19 vaccination or tested negative. Businesses can be fined 1.5 million won (US$1,270) or susp

Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticized Japan's excessive reactions to the South Korean police chief's recent trip to Dokdo for "meddling in another country's policy." The comment came during a telephone call with officers from Dokdo Security Police as part of his nationwide election campaign. Last month, National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kim Chang-yong visited Dokdo to encourage officials working on the country's easternmost

Politics Dec. 13, 2021

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, South Korea's 15th largest conglomerate by assets, said Monday its refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank Co. filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with local bourse operator Korea Exchange. Hyundai Oilbank aims to trade its shares on South Korea's main KOSPI market in the first half of 2022, the group said. The proposed initial public offering is the third of its kind after the refiner failed to go public in 2012 and 2019. In 2012, a tumble in oil prices t

Industry Dec. 13, 2021