Dec 8, 2019   Social affairs

[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 T...

Dec 6, 2019   Politics

[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 b...

Dec 6, 2019   Industry

[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 pas...

Dec 5, 2019   Defense

[Newsmaker] 2 military intelligence officers investigated for alleged rape of N. Korean defector

Two Defense Intelligence Command officers are being investigated by the military prosecution for allegedly raping a North Korean defector multiple times, the Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday. The...

Dec 5, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Actor Kang Ji-hwan gets suspended prison sentence in rape case

Actor Kang Ji-hwan, who was indicted in July on charges of raping a woman and molesting another at his home, was given a suspended prison sentence by a local court on Thursday. The Seongnam branch o...

Dec 4, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Verdicts vary for Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing conscription

Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing mandatory military service have regularly been found guilty or not guilty of evading conscription based on whether they had “true faith.” A 24-year-old Jehovah’s Witness...

Dec 3, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Eight people indicted in audition show vote-rigging scandal

Eight people were indicted on Tuesday in connection with a widening vote-rigging scandal involving the high-profile audition show “Produce X 101,” prosecutors said Tuesday. The Seoul Central Distric...

Dec 3, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Welfare minister apologizes for controversial comment on child-on-child sexual abuse

The Ministry of Health and Welfare apologized Tuesday for a comment from the minister regarding a child-on-child sexual abuse case that has drawn public outrage. Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said...

Dec 3, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Former President Park to return to detention center from hospital

Former President Park Geun-hye is expected to be sent back to a detention center as early as Tuesday, after 2 1/2 months in a hospital for shoulder treatment, sources said. The 67-year-old, jailed i...

Dec 2, 2019   Automode

[Newsmaker] Tada claims legitimacy by adding mobile tech to existing service

Top executives of van-hailing service Tada, which is owned by car-sharing company SoCar, argued in court on Monday that their operations are fully within the ambit of current laws. They claimed duri...

Dec 1, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Investigator believed to be involved in election-meddling row found dead

An investigator who worked at the presidential office was found dead Sunday, police said, amid a prosecution probe into alleged attempts by Cheong Wa Dae officials to influence last year's local elec...

Dec 1, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] Police to beef up traffic safety in school zones

The National Police Agency on Sunday announced measures to step up traffic safety near schools, effective Monday. According to police, around 620 traffic police officers will be relocated to school ...

Nov 29, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] K-pop star Jung Joon-young sentenced to 6 years

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced K-pop star Jung Joon-young to six years and his friend K-pop singer Choi Jong-hoon to five years in prison Friday for sex offenses. The trial court found J...

Nov 28, 2019   Social affairs

[Newsmaker] College admissions reforms coming amid controversy

Seoul-based universities will select more freshmen through a state-administered college entrance exam to be held once a year starting in 2023 as part of college admissions reform measures unveiled by...