An IT entrepreneur recently indicted for abusing his employees is now under investigation for allegedly attempting contract killing.In September 2015, Yang Jin-ho, chief of several local online storage service firms and robot developer K-Technology, allegedly asked a Buddhist monk to murder the brother-in-law of his ex-wife who at the time was going through a divorce suit against him.Police found that Yang paid 30 million won to the monk, who told police that Yang asked him to stab the husband o

Sohn Suk-hee, the president of cable channel JTBC and a popular news anchor, offered company money to keep a freelance journalist from going public about an assault Sohn allegedly committed, a vernacular newspaper reported Monday.Freelance journalist Kim Woong, 48, filed a complaint with the police last week accusing Sohn, 63, of punching him in the face several times during a dinner meeting in Seoul on Jan. 10.Sohn Suk-hee (Yonhap)Kim reportedly submitted medical documentation to the police ind

Large-scale projects by Seoul City, such as the expansion of the Gwanghwamun Plaza and the redevelopment of Euljiro, have hit a snag, as the city government appears to have failed to sufficiently discuss them with relevant entities.The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a statement Wednesday that there has been no agreement between the ministry and Seoul City regarding the city government’s plan to include some buildings and plots of the central government complex in the restructuring o

A measles outbreak has struck at least 31 people in South Korea in the past month, and is likely to continue.The latest confirmed cases were in Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, Seoul and South Jeolla Province, with earlier cases confirmed in Daegu as well as North Gyeongsang and Gyeonggi provinces.Of the 31 people who have contracted measles, 16 are infants and children aged 4 or younger. The rest are medical workers or parents of children with measles and are in their 20s and 30s. (Yonhap)The highly

A ruling party lawmaker who sits on the National Assembly’s culture, sports and tourism committee is under fire for allegedly having her relatives and aides invest in properties in Mokpo before the area where they were located was designated as culturally significant.Network broadcaster SBS reported Tuesday that Rep. Sohn Hye-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea encouraged relatives, acquaintances and a foundation led by her husband to purchase nine buildings between March 2017 and Septem

Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Kuk said Thursday his office has come up with a manual on digital forensics data after a spat with an investigator under his supervision who leaked confidential information and is now under probe for alleged professional misconduct.Cho said in a press release that his office established operational rules of the inspection team and guidelines on collection, analysis and management of digital data. Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs

Prosecutors were expected to decide whether to issue a warrant to detain former Supreme Court chief justice Yang Sung-tae after their third interrogatory session with him Tuesday over his alleged involvement in a power abuse scandal.Yang was summoned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Tuesday morning for more questioning and to go over records of their cross examination. Former Supreme Court chief justice Yang Sung-tae (Yonhap)Prosecutors suspect that the National Court Administra

Prosecutors again summoned former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae for questioning on Monday over his alleged involvement in a power abuse scandal, as they plan to decide this week whether to request a warrant to detain him.The team handling the case at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office began interrogating the 71-year-old former top court chief Monday morning, three days after they grilled him for over 14 hours. (Yonhap)Prosecutors suspect that Yang sought to use politicall

Legislators of Korea and Vietnam will play soccer together in Hanoi on Jan. 18 in celebration of the two countries’ ties, after Korean head coach Park Hang-seo helped the Vietnamese soccer team become the strongest in Southeast Asia in 10 years.Twenty-five Korean lawmakers, including those in a group promoting friendship between members of the parliaments of the two countries, are set to visit Vietnam for four days from Jan. 17, in an effort to boost exchanges with their Vietnamese counterparts.

A North Korean-born refugee is facing deportation from Australia for drug-related crimes, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.The Australian Department of Immigration is set to deport the 52-year-old man despite recognizing he may be executed or sent to a forced labor camp upon arrival in North Korea. (AP)Choe arrived in Australia in 1993, aged about 26, by hiding in a shipping container bound for northern Queensland. After working long hours at a Sydney restaurant, he developed mental health pro

An estimated 4,000 tons of garbage are sitting in Songdo International City, Incheon, pending lawsuits, after a separate case in which a container full of plastic waste was found to have been illegally exported to the Philippines.  Garbage illegally exported to the Philippines (Greenpeace)According to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, the 4,000-ton heap of waste, including plastic and wood, has been left on an around 7,900-square-meter site owned by the Incheon Port Authority.A waste exp

Vietnam has delivered to both South and North Korea its wish to host the envisioned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Hanoi has told North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho during his official visit in late November that it wishes to host the summit. (Yonhap)Singapore enjoyed great publicity and financial gains as the host of the historic summit between Trump and Kim in June last year.Trump has repeatedly said he will meet with Kim again in the near fu

Opposition parties expressed anger over a junior Cheong Wa Dae official’s meeting with the Army chief of staff to discuss personnel matters, calling it “unconstitutional” and “an abuse of authority.”  (Yonhap)It has been revealed that an assistant secretary to the president, then 34, met with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Yong-woo at a cafe in September 2017 just before the Army announced promotions to the rank of general. The presidential aide, surnamed Jung, said he had lost a document that con

The nation’s human rights watchdog said a hospital’s choice to deny a medical checkup to an HIV-positive person at its health screening center was discriminatory, and it urged the hospital to take action to prevent similar incidents in the future.According to the National Human Rights Commission, an HIV-positive person booked a comprehensive medical checkup at the only university hospital in the region that was designated by the government to offer consultation services for HIV-positive people i

Prosecutors say they have evidence that a former Supreme Court chief justice expressed his opinion about a politically sensitive court ruling on wartime forced labor to a senior judge deliberating the case.Yang Sung-tae told Kim Yong-deok that a final verdict ordering Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to compensate the South Korean victims of forced labor at Mitsubishi during World War II could give rise to an international legal dispute, prosecutors said. Yang Sung-tae (Yonhap)Prosecutors see th