Aspiring singers in Southeast Asian countries will get another chance to debut in the birthplace of K-pop as the capital city of South Korea is working on a new audition program for them. Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it will take part in a joint production of a TV audition program dubbed “K-POP Star Hunt” with Fox-affiliated channels Star World and Channel V, Korean entert...

Police said Friday they are currently investigating telephone calls made between a reporter and politician related to the alleged bugging of a Democratic Party meeting. “We are currently looking into telephone calls made by the reporter, politician and his aides to verify whether they shared information over the alleged bugging,” an officer at the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul said Friday...

Two college students were arrested for growing, selling, and consuming marijuana, according to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The accused, known only by their surnames Seo and Jang, had sold some 300 grams of home grown marijuana in college campuses. Having green cards at the United States and Argentina respectively, the two Koreans smuggled seeds from America and had been cultivating them a...

Three major coffee chains, Hollys Coffee, Caffe bene and Angel-in-us Coffee, will serve their coffee only in mugs inside their coffee houses from Aug.1, the environment ministry said Thursday. Hollys Coffee will use only mugs in about 300 franchisee cafes nationwide, excluding expressway service areas or airports. Caffe bene will use mugs in its 314 shops in stages until 2012. It will test the w...

Get a “Green Card” and receive rewards every time you buy eco-friendly products or use public transportation. The Ministry of Environment announced Thursday the launch of Green Card which allows environmentally minded customers to receive up to 200,000 won ($191) a year in cash rewards for green consumption and energy-saving activities. It was developed in cooperation with local payment service...

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is set to hold a referendum in the fourth week of August to ask residents whether they approve the free lunch program for all or selected groups of students, officials said Wednesday, in the latest debate over welfare populism. The free lunch program, passed by the opposition-controlled city council last December, has been a key welfare issue, along with calls f...

An international medical center will open in Yeouido, Seoul, in August next year, as part of steps to develop the financial district of the capital into an international financial hub. Seoul Metropolitan Government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital on Wednesday to establish the center and improve access to medical care for foreign patients there. The medi...

The Defense Ministry will hold random inspections of all Marine Corps bases within the year to stem abuse among soldiers, a military official said Wednesday. “The ministry will form special inspection teams involving different areas, such as operations and personnel, and will conduct random checks on Marine bases from August to the end of the year,” said the source. “Soldiers and commanders who...

Former managing director of Sejong Center for the Performing Art’s programming division was indicted Tuesday for receiving bribes from show production companies, according to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office. The former director, identified only as a Choi, 54, is accused of having received a total of 42 million won from Lim, a show production house head, since last September. In return, Lim recei...

A man who allegedly beat up a man in his 60s for offering a seat to his wife was booked without detention, according to Busan Dong-nae Police Station. The accused, whose name has only been released as Lee, was travelling in a bus with his spouse last Thursday when an older man let the wife take his seat. Lee hurled abuse at the old man for showing hospitality to “someone else’s wife.” He then t...