The conflict between the country‘s justice minister and the chief prosecutor intensified Wednesday, with the minister accusing the prosecution of “deceiving the public” in its probe of a high-profile fund scam scandal. 　 Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae said that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl should have apologized over prosecutors’ unfair investigative practice into a key suspect of the Lime Asset Management fund scam who last week made a bombshell revelation that he bri

Over 130 leaders of civic, religious and health groups on Wednesday demanded the creation of a new deliberative body to tackle the issues that have led to the deaths of nearly a dozen couriers. The leaders, representing various groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant organizations, as well as healthcare workers, laid out their demands in a joint declaration that also called attention to the ha

Shin Yu-yeol, the only son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, joined Lotte Japan earlier this year, the group confirmed on Wednesday. His educational and career path resembles his father’s corporate journey. Shin went to Keio University, got a management degree from Columbia University and previously worked at Nomura Singapore. His father also began his career at Nomura London when he was 25 and moved to Lotte International in Japan when he was 32. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin

South Korean telecommunications firm KT announced Wednesday that the company has teamed up with Posco and Mystech to develop smart urban street furniture. Under the partnership signed Wednesday, the three Korean firms plan to introduce its smart street furniture system to smart cities that the local governments will introduce down the road. In the development phase, KT will provide its Internet of Things technologies. Posco will offer its steel materials, while local street furniture maker M

GM introduced Wednesday the brand‘s first super truck, Hummer EV, developed to forge new paths with zero emissions. It will be the first fully electric addition to GMC’s lineup, GM said, adding that it would be driven by next-generation propulsion technology that enables advanced off-road capability, on-road performance and an immersive driving experience. GMC is a division of GM that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. “This innovative truck comes to the mar

South Korea’s biggest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, has forged a partnership with Dutch retirement fund operator APG Asset Management to invest in European and Asian markets, according to the Korean fund operator. APG, which managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($637.4 billion) as of the end of 2019, invests in the private education, construction and energy sectors on behalf of Dutch state-run fund ABP. Before forging the partnership, APG and the NPS jointly in

The prices of small to midsized apartments have increased precipitously in recent years, according to data from the office of Rep. Kim Sang-hoon. The lawmaker’s office received the data from the Korea Appraisal Board. Small to midsized apartments, measuring 40 to 62.8 square meters, have increased in price 65.9 percent, posting 245.2 million won on average, from May 2017 to July this year, the data showed. The lawmaker’s office classified apartments into four categories: Small apa

A Seoul taxi driver who caused public outrage by blocking an ambulance transferring an emergency patient was handed a two-year prison term by a local court on Wednesday. The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced the 31-year-old taxi driver to two years in prison on charges of assault, fraud and others. The man, surnamed Choi, was accused of intentionally colliding with an ambulance on a road in southeastern Seoul and delaying its departure for about 10 minutes, telling the ambulance driver t

South Korean government is mulling to slap fines on its citizens who fish in the waters off West Africa, in response to repeated maritime abductions in the region, local reports said Wednesday.  The ministries of foreign affairs and fisheries, and other related agencies have been discussing the matter as a way to dissuade Korean sailors from working in the perilous waters, primarily in the Gulf of Guinea, the report said, citing unnamed sources. The fines could amount to millions of won, i

South Korea is investigating a series of deaths following flu vaccinations for possible association with vaccines affected by heat fluctuations or syringes found to induce contamination. The latest reported casualties following flu vaccinations Wednesday afternoon involved two people in Gyeonggi Province. Separately, a Daegu man in his 70s was admitted to the emergency room about an hour and a half after getting a flu shot at a clinic near his home Tuesday and died Wednesday. Other cases in

Samsung Biologics Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net profit of 56.1 billion won ($49.5 million), up 27 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the July-September period rose 139.5 percent on-year to 56.5 billion won. Sales increased 48.6 percent to 274.6 billion won. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks extended gains for a third consecutive session Wednesday, as investors held out optimism for progress in the US stimulus talks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.45 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 2,370.86. Trading volume was moderate at 802 million shares worth some 9.7 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 675 to 183. Foreigners bought a net 6.4 billion won, while retai

South Koreans who rent their homes are less likely to get married and have children than those who own their own homes, a private think tank said Wednesday. When people who paid monthly rent were compared with homeowners, the former were 65 percent less likely to tie the knot than the latter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute, which is under the country’s top business lobby, the Federation of Korean Industries. For people who have “jeonse” apartment leases, t

SPC Group said Wednesday it will open a Shake Shack location in Galleria Timeworld in Daejeon in November. The Shake Shack store planned to launch in Daejeon is the third outlet for the burger chain to be opened outside the Greater Seoul area that includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, SPC said. A fence installed around the Shake Shack store at Galleria Timeworld department store is decorated with colorful graffiti art depicting people dining in the burger house by Junk House, SPC said. The

You may feel poignant loneliness in the paintings. The man who walks with a cane facing strong wind or a typhoon may look so lonely that it brings tears to your eyes. But at the same time, you will feel solace. What made his life so arduous? The question will linger in your mind as you view the works of Korean modern artist Byun Shi-ji at the Gana Art Center exhibition that features 40 paintings from his final years on Jeju Island, where he died in 2013. Born in 1926 on Jeju Island, the ar