The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Sunday that it was looking into allegations that TV stars Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Joon-ho had bet on a game of golf.The police agency’s special crime squad has already secured the related text messages and is currently establishing facts, it added. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s announcement came after Cha and Kim said earlier Sunday that they would step down from all shows.Cha Tae-hyun (left) and Kim Joon-ho (right) (Herald DB)In a letter released

A police officer has been booked for investigation over his alleged involvement in the snowballing sex and corruption scandal centering on a former member of famous K-pop band BIGBANG, police said Sunday.The officer with Gangnam Police Station, which covers Seoul's Gangnam district, where the nightclub partly ran by Seungri of BIGBANG is located, was the first incumbent police officer facing an official charge in connection with the scandal.(Yonhap)The officer, facing a charge of dereliction of

Prosecutors raided South Korea’s main bourse on Friday, as part of a probe concerning the accounting fraud by Samsung BioLogics.Officials of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office were sent to search the Korea Exchange in western Seoul, officials said. The raid, which reportedly started late Thursday, was part of a probe into Samsung BioLogics, which allegedly violated accounting rules by deliberately overstating the value of affiliate Samsung Bioepis ahead of its initia

An executive of SK Chemicals Co. has been arrested on the charge of destroying evidence on the toxicity of raw materials for humidifier sterilizers supplied to other local companies, court officials said Friday.The Seoul Central District Court reviewed arrested warrants requested for three executives and one employee of the SK Group affiliate amid prosecutors' expanding investigation into the humidifier sterilizer scandal and approved one, for Park Cheol, senior vice president of SK Chemicals.Ar

Authorities reinvestigate SK Chemicals, Aekyung

The head of a South Korean animal shelter underwent police questioning Thursday over allegations she put down some 250 abandoned pets while ostensibly advocating for animal rights and pocketing donations. Park So-yeon, chief executive of the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, appeared at the Jongno Police Station in central Seoul at around 10 a.m. (Yonhap)Police are questioning Park for the first time since they launched a probe into the allegations two months ago. She is accused of instruct

Facing full-throttle response from political parties over her highly controversial parliamentary speech Tuesday, main opposition Liberty Korea Party floor leader Na Kyung-won on Wednesday refused to apologize, heightening tensions at the National Assembly.In her speech, Na implied President Moon Jae-in was acting as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s spokesperson, referring to foreign media reports.Na’s strident criticism of the Moon administration has been seen as a strategic move to cement the

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday expressed strong regret after the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party called President Moon Jae-in a spokesman for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.In a parliamentary speech earlier in the day, Rep. Na Kyung-won condemned what she called the Moon government's endless defense of North Korea and called on the president not to work like a senior spokesman for Kim.Cheong Wa Dae immediately expressed strong regret over Na's speech an

K-pop star Seungri announced his retirement Monday via Instagram, adding that he will continue to cooperate with the current police investigation over allegations of sex bribery involving foreign investors.Earlier in the day, police investigating Gangnam nightclubs Burning Sun and Arena said they have arranged with the military to continue investigating the 29-year-old member of boy band BigBang even after he enlists for military service later this month.Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan

Police on Sunday accelerated their probe into sexual bribery allegations involving Seungri of South Korean boy band BigBang, as they booked him as a suspect and raided a Seoul nightclub associated with the performer to gather evidence.Investigators are looking into the suspicion that Seungri used various nightclubs in Seoul’s Gangnam district for lobbying and even attempted to introduce escorts to foreigners to encourage them to invest in his business ventures. (Yonhap)On Sunday morning, the Seo

Big Bang’s Seungri will enlist in the Army as an active duty soldier at the end of this month, according to YG Entertainment on Friday.He will start his basic training at the Nonsan Army Training Center on March 25. The K-pop star had reportedly applied for a conscripted policeman service in January.  (Yonhap)“After checking with Seungri, (we found that) Seungri on Jan. 7 applied for a conscripted policeman position. However, he has decided to enlist as an active duty soldier, regardless of the

Prosecutors reinvestigating the sex scandal of a former vice justice minister have obtained a statement that Choi Sun-sil, the infamous confidante of former President Park Geun-hye, had played a role in getting the ex-vice minister appointed.Kim Hak-ui, who resigned over a sex-for-favors scandal six years ago, had faced multiple charges including rape, bribery and narcotics use, but was cleared of the charges in 2013. Video footage appearing to show intimate encounters between Kim and others at

Twenty-two people were sent to hospital for treatment after inhaling ammonia during a leak at a meat processing factory in central South Korea, local firefighters said Thursday.The gas leak happened at about 9:40 a.m. in a meat processing facility located in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, about 130 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the firefighters. Twenty workers in the factory and two others working at a nearby manufacturing plant were taken to hospital with nausea.They are all re

Former President Lee Myung-bak was released on bail Wednesday after almost one year of detention on corruption charges.Lee, president from 2008-2013, was sentenced by a lower court in October to 15 years in prison on conviction of bribery and embezzlement. He appealed the decision. The Seoul High Court approved the bail request that Lee made on Jan. 29 on the grounds of deteriorating health and other reasons.  (Yonhap)For the 1 billion won ($886,130) bail, the court ordered him to stay in his re

Amid the ongoing Burning Sun scandal, text messages exchanged between K-pop star Seungri and related officials implicating him in sex bribery and collusion with police have been reported to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, police said Tuesday.The messages were reportedly exchanged in a KakaoTalk chatroom with Seungri, the head of Yuri Holdings and a number of celebrities.The latest evidence, if confirmed to be true, would place Seungri in a highly contentious position. (Yonhap)Se