‘Kumrung’ draws attention as a Pyongyang-version of Starbucks

ROME (AP) — Storm-related floods killed at least 12 people in Sicily, Italian authorities said Sunday, including nine members of two families who were spending a long weekend together when water and mud from a swollen river overran their rented villa.After surveying the stricken Mediterranean island by helicopter, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte identified two more of the victims as a German couple whose car was swept away by flood waters near Agrigento, a tourist town known for its ancient Greek

Prolific actor, one-time legislator integral part of Korean cinema’s growth

The first and only Apple Store in Korea will introduce the latest Apple smartphones on Friday: Get ready for the iPhones XR, XS and XS Max. Presales through local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus closed Thursday, and -- despite hefty price tags starting at 1 million won ($880) -- the new phones have set a record that slightly surpasses the presales volume of previous iPhones 8 and X. iPhone XS (Yonhap)The Korea Herald will visit the store early Friday morning to see how the ultra-expensive n

Police expand probe into assault allegations against chairman Yang

Taking issue with inaction against a remark by a high-ranking North Korea military negotiator, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted a proposal for the dismissal of Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Wednesday.It cited the pushing of the inter-Korean railway without ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration that calls for it, the banning of a defector from covering an inter-Korean meeting in Panmunjeom and an insulting remarks made to businessmen during September’s North-South

Nineteen private kindergartens said they will close as of Monday, days after a lawmaker revealed thousands of accounting fraud cases involving private kindergartens.Six of the kindergartens have submitted papers to the education authorities, seeking to terminate their businesses, and another 12 have informed parents that they will shut down. One said it has stopped accepting enrollment applications.Rep. Park Yong-jin of the Democratic Party revealed early this month that 5,951 financial irregula

The path seemed to be wide and smooth for lawyer-turned-politician Lee Jae-myung, a two-term mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and previously a prominent presidential primary candidate for the ruling party.Now, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee stands at the center of public scrutiny over a series of unsavory scandals related to family problems, an extramarital affair and organized crime.On Monday, Lee appeared at Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province for questioning over a series of allegati

The Supreme Court on Monday finalized an 18-month prison term for a former head of the now-defunct Hanjin Shipping Co. for selling off her family's stake in the firm using insider information. Choi Eun-young, 56, was convicted in December last year of unloading the stakes held by her and her two daughters after she learned that Hanjin's creditors decided against the additional liquidity support. She avoided about 1 billion won ($875,270) of possible losses. (Yonhap)She was imprisoned following t

Observers fear a Kospi dip below 2,000 mark; securities sector calls for emergency meeting

South Korea is in the grip of a ‘spycam’ epidemic, with covert footage of sex, nudity and urination posted online in what amounts to a “social death penalty” for thousands of women forced to live with a pornographic shadow. The footage may be taken surreptitiously by boyfriends or captured on covert devices as small as car keys. Daily camera checks are now part of life for cleaners in many public toilets. The spy camera phenomenon has reached such epidemic proportions in tech-savvy South Korea,

A former senior judge was arrested early Saturday for his alleged role in illicit lobbying and trial manipulation involving the previous Supreme Court chief justice. The Seoul Central District Court issued the writ for Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration (NCA), the top court's governing body, saying that his charges are acknowledged and that he presents the risk of destroying evidence. Lim Jong-hun(Yonhap)Lim, 59, is suspected of being the key man who helped for

A Seoul court held a hearing Friday to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for a former senior judge accused of suspected illicit lobbying and trial manipulation that involved a former Supreme Court chief justice. Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration, the top court's governing body, arrived at the Seoul Central District Court at around 10:10 a.m. Prosecutors filed the writ request Tuesday.  (Yonhap)Lim, 59, is suspected of being the key man who helped forme

Actress Kim Bu-seon’s defamation suit against Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, who denies her claims that they had an extramarital affair, hit a snag Wednesday when her lawyer was jailed.Former lawmaker and lawyer Kang Yong-seok was sentenced to a year in prison for forging documents concerning an alleged extramarital affair between Kang and luxury products blogger Kim Mi-na. Kang immediately filed for appeal. Should his prison sentence be upheld in a higher court, Kang will not be able to practice

Good Samaritan campaign seen as ‘perpetuating gender stereotypes’