Local celebrities lost on Wednesday in a lawsuit that they collectively filed against major portals to seek compensation for their names being used for commercial purposes, according to the Suwon District Court.Fifty-nine celebrities filed the lawsuit against South Korea’s biggest online portal Naver and its affiliate company in May last year, claiming the right of publicity. They asked for damages worth 1.2 billion won ($1.1 million) in the high-profile suit joined by Jang Dong-gun, Bae Yong-jo

The police on Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly beating his teenage girlfriend to death and keeping the corpse in his room for over a week. The 20-year-old suspect, surnamed Han, is believed to have killed his girlfriend, aged 17, after an argument at his house in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, the local police said, adding a formal arrest warrant would be sought for the suspect. The body was found on Han’s bed covered in a blanket, and the police confirmed that he had been living with the c

A Seoul court on Thursday dismissed a compensation suit filed by the country’s second-largest television network, MBC, against its union for losses allegedly incurred from a 2012 strike.About 500 journalists and producers of MBC went on strike in January 2012, demanding the resignation of a former company chief for biased coverage of politically sensitive issues and the normalization of the company’s role as a major public broadcaster.After the 170-day-long walkout, the management launched the s

Korea’s financial authorities suggested Wednesday 10 tips to safeguard personal information in response to the recent card leak. The tips are as follows:1. You can continue to use the original cards, as the leaked information has been fully retrieved, blocking the possibility of additional abuse.2. Request the free mobile text messaging service that notifies customers immediately about every payment made with the card. 3. If you suspect your card has been used illegally, contact the card company

A prosecutor was indicted Wednesday for allegedly playing favors on his girlfriend’s behalf, raising concerns over the prosecution service’s integrity amid a series of recent scandals involving law enforcement officials.The charged prosecutor, only identified by his surname Jeon, is accused of threatening a plastic surgeon to exact medical and financial favors for his girlfriend actress Lee Yoon-ji, more famously known by her stage name Amy. Indicting an incumbent prosecutor is uncommon in Korea

A 29-year-old American accused of having sex with a teenage girl and posting a video of it online was extradited from Armenia to South Korea on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said.The ministry has been tracking down the suspect’s whereabouts since 2010, when he fled to China as the video stirred a firestorm of criticism in the Korean online community.“The urgency of each case decides how fast the extradition will take place. In this case, it only took three months, whereas it could take up t

Seoul City’s public tourism organization set up a compensation scheme for overcharged foreign tourists as part of efforts to improve the city’s sightseeing conditions, officials said Wednesday. Seoul Tourism Association has started to reimburse up to 300,000 won ($280) to foreign travelers who are ripped off in seven special tourism districts starting this month. These include Myeongdong, Namdaemun, Jongno, Dongdaemun and Itaewon. Once overcharged, tourists must report to the Seoul tourist infor

Education level seems to affect men and women in markedly different fashions when it comes to marriage. Higher education is a big plus for men looking to wed; however, it’s a minus for women seeking Mr. Right, a study said on Wednesday.The Korea Institute for Health and Social Science analyzed several variables that affected marriage between 2001 and 2008, which included educational background, career, work hours and ages. According to the study, men with better educational backgrounds had highe

The network of the financial IT solution provider Koscom was found to have been penetrated amid escalating concerns over the recent credit card leak.“Considering that Koscom boasts a relatively stable system, it is worrying for the overall security business’ data management and security,” said an official who declined to be named. Koscom manages customer information for 35 of the 62 domestic security companies, including details of customers’ account numbers, transaction records and accounting.

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a former intelligence chief to two years behind bars for accepting kickbacks from a businessman while in office.Won Sei-hoon, who headed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) under former President Lee Myung-bak, was found guilty of taking some 160 million won (US$150,000) in bribes from the former head of now-bankrupt Hwangbo Construction in exchange for influence peddling between 2009 and 2010.The Seoul Central District Court also ordered the disgraced fo

The government will "strictly" hold accountable those involved in the recent massive leak of personal information from financial institutions, the finance minister said Wednesday."I feel very regretful that this kind of massive personal information leak has occurred, and I am also sorry for the people," finance minister Hyun Oh-seok said at a meeting with other economy-related policymakers."We will get to the bottom of this to figure out who is responsible and strictly hold accountable anyone in