The prosecution will summon South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo for questioning this week as a probe into bribery allegations involving high-profile politicians picks up pace. Prosecutors said Tuesday they are currently looking through a schedule to call in Hong, who will become the first of the eight political heavyweights embroiled in the scandal to be questioned.Hong is suspected of receiving 100 million won ($93,000) from late business tycoon Sung Woan-jong in 2011 when the veteran

Yuri, a member of K-pop group Girls’ Generation, has been dating baseball player Oh Seung-hwan for six months, SM Entertainment confirmed Monday. “Yuri and Oh have developed romantic feelings for each other since they first met at a social gathering late last year,” the agency said through a press release. The confirmation came after a local weekly newspaper reported earlier in the day that Yuri, 24, and Oh, 32, had been romantically involved since November.  YuriAccording to the media outlet, t

South Korean hip-hop group Epik High nabbed one of the top honors at a Chinese music awards event Saturday. The trio scooped the Best Performance Artist of the Year at the third YINYUE V-Chart Awards held at the MasterCard Center in Beijing. “Thank you, Chinese fans. We love you. We will come to China more often,” Epik High said during its acceptance speech. Epik High performed two of its hit songs, “Happen Ending” and “Born Hater,” double lead tracks from its eighth studio album, after receivin

SINGAPORE ― More than 70 experts on corporate social responsibility gathered in Singapore on Tuesday to discuss the strategic necessity of CSR as a key tool to grow business. The three-day conference, which came as a follow-up meeting to the last year’s event in Vietnam, centered on the media’s role in promoting CSR in Asia. Guests participate in the CSR conference held in Singapore on Wednesday. (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung)“We are here to provide a platform to link media representatives and exper

K-pop girl group Miss A has held onto the No. 1 spot on Korea’s music charts with its latest track “Only You” for five straight days. As of Friday morning, “Only You,” from the group’s seventh project album “Colors,” came in first on Korea’s nine major real-time charts, including Melon, Genie Music, Olleh Music, Naver Music and Daum Music.  Miss A (JYP Entertainment)Produced by Black Eyed Pilseung, who is behind Sistar hit “Touch My Body,” Miss A’s latest dance track describes a modern-day appro

K-pop boy group Big Bang will make a grand return to the music scene in May, its agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday. Big Bang will release a new album on May 1, more than three years after putting out its mega-hit album “Still Alive” in 2012, the label said on Facebook. The announcement was made with a poster titled “Big Bang,” with the dates from May 1 to Sept. 1 listed, suggesting the group will unveil a new song on the first day of every month from May.  A poster announcing Big Bang’s com

More than a decade ago, the local film “Marriage Is a Crazy Thing” created a sensation in Korean society, where family-oriented values still prevail. The 2002 film revolves around a woman who chooses to wed a wealthy doctor over a man she actually loves, but secretly continues to have an affair after her loveless marriage. Challenging the centuries-old perception of marriage, the rather provocative film shed light on young Koreans’ shifting attitudes toward the institution. In recent years, Kore

The music video for girl group f(x) member Amber’s “Shake That Brass” became the most-watched K-pop music video in the U.S. for February, according to Billboard. The 22-year-old singer topped the list with the video clip for the lead single “Shake That Brass” of her solo debut EP “Beautiful,” released in February. Also, the American-born Chinese singer’s video for the EP’s eponymous track earned her the No. 3 spot on the list. A still from the music video for “Shake That Brass” by Amber. (SM Ent

Singer Kim Jang-hoon was fined for smoking on board a Korea-bound plane from France, the court said Sunday. The Incheon District Court handed down a fine of 1 million won ($890) against the 50-year-old singer for violating the domestic aviation safety law. He would otherwise have to complete 10 days of manual labor, the court said. Kim was indicted in January after smoking a cigarette on Dec. 15 in the lavatory of a Korean Air plane bound for Incheon from Paris. During police questioning, Kim re

South Korean singer and actor Kim Hyun-joong confirmed that he will enlist in the mandatory military service on March 31, local media reported Thursday. Kim, 28, will reportedly undergo training at the 9th Army Battalion in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, at the end of the month, before going on active military duty.“Kim planned to enlist in the Army within this year. He appears to have made up his mind after winding up his schedule,” a news outlet quoted a source as saying. Kim’s label KeyEast Enter

Only a month ago, the terror attack in Paris against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that claimed more than a dozen lives sent the world into shock. What was rather shocking for university professor Lee Dong-yeon, however, was the level of political satire allowed in French society.“France has respected political satire, viewing it as a right for free speech,” said Lee, who teaches Korean traditional art at Korea National University of Arts. “In Korea, however, there are certain subjects that c