Choi Ho-sig, an ex-chairman of Hosigi Doomari Chicken who is on trial for alleged sexual harassment, claimed that “there had been physical contact, but no use of superiority over his employee to engage in such contact” during his trial Tuesday. The victim, who was an employee of the chicken franchise at the time, said she was sexually harassed by 64-year-old Choi at a high-end hotel’s Japanese restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, on June 3 last year. Choi Ho-sig (Yonhap)Security footage

Amid heightened public interest in North Korea‘s two-day visit to Korea to scour for possible arts performance venues during the Olympics, Hyon Song-wol and the North Korean delegation appeared satisfied with their one-night stay at the Golden Tulip Sky Bay Gyeongpo Hotel, according to General Manager Lee Hun-min. Located on the sands of Gyeongpodae in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Sky Bay surely lived up to its 4-star hotel name value, offering the finest amenities, f

A 24-year-old man in North Gyeongsang Province has admitted to the murder of his younger sister, according to police Friday. Mungyeong Police Station said Friday that it had filed an arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of first-degree murder of a family member.  (Yonhap)The suspect reportedly admitted to stabbing his sister, who was a college student, in the “heat of the moment” at 8 a.m. Wednesday after he felt “ignored for being a college drop-out without a steady job.” The man reportedl

Amid the South Korean government drawing up measures to regulate the recent craze for cryptocurrency, an anonymous post online has sparked heated debate. Last month, an online poster shared his sympathies for a fried chicken restaurant owner and said, “I buy fried chicken with the money I earned through bitcoin trading. It is very easy to earn money if you learn the rules of (cryptocurrency) trading. I feel sorry for the restaurant owner, who keeps his business up and running until the lat

An online commenter’s criticism of the current “cafe culture among teenagers,” characterizing teenagers as “more like beggars” has recently created a frenzy online. The now-infamous post made Monday on a well-known online community site, complained that teenagers crowded cafes to study in groups without buying anything. “I see so many teenagers -- middle and high school students -- coming to the cafe that I frequent,” it said. “It’s quite absurd to see them just sitting there in huge groups not

With fine dust reaching unhealthy levels, the Seoul Metropolitan Government set out Monday to provide free-of-charge public transit during commuting hours to lower vehicle emissions. But the program failed to bring about a substantial drop in car use or ultra-fine dust density in the capital city. Seoul’s decision to offer free public transport. (Yonhap)According to Seoul City, the number of commuters taking the Seoul Metro Line No. 1 to 8 experienced only a slight increase of 23,000 people (2.1

Busan police arrested the director of an after-school study center for raping and threatening a high school student attending the private institute, local media outlets reported Monday. The suspect, 46, allegedly threatened to release a video of a sexual encounter after the victim left for university. Fearing the shame and pain it would cause, the victim, who was a junior in high school at the time of the encounter, said she was sexually assaulted from November 2014 to September of last year on

K-pop sensation BTS held a successful fan event called “Happy Ever After” at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday, its agency Big Hit Entertainment said Monday. BTS shared many happy memories with members of Army, which stands for Adorable Representative MC for Youth. Popular comedian-talk show host Kim Saeng-min accompanied the seven members throughout the talk session.  (Big Hit Entertainment)The group wore special uniforms for the event and staged performances that have not been s

South Korea’s Woori Bank announced Wednesday a temporary restriction on use of its debit cards and other services for the Lunar New Year from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18, via its official homepage. The local bank apologized for the inconvenience. The restriction on Woori debit cards will begin at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 and prolong until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19.  Woori Bank added that customers will still be able to use their credit cards, but not debit cards. Also, long- and short-

Two married police officers are under police investigation after reportedly being caught in the act by the female officer‘s husband at their own home, local media outlets reported Thursday. According to police, the 44-year-old male inspector and 40-year-old female assistant inspector were found to be engaging in sexual activities during the day in July last year. The two had been working together on cases since February 2016 and said they developed intimate feelings for each other in January las

Police have arrested a 20-year-old male suspect for committing arson in an apartment complex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. According to Ilsan Seobu Police Station, the man admitted to “deliberately starting the fire” in his apartment in Goyang City at around 8:20 p.m. Sunday. The fire spread rapidly throughout the living room, leaving the suspect’s father, 54, dead. More than 50 residents of the complex also had to evacuate the building.  (Herald DB)Fire department officials said the

A 4-year-old boy is dead and a 2-year-old girl seriously injured after being thrown from the balcony of the apartment where they lived, police said Friday. Police found the children in a flowerbed outside the apartment. The boy was dead, while the daughter was seriously injured. The mother’s body was found in another flowerbed shortly beforehand, by a deliveryman who initially reported the case to the police. (Yonhap)Police believe that the mother first strangled her son to death and took both c

Changwon Police arrested a man in his 50s on the charge of brutally raping a 6-year-old girl in December, SBS reported Wednesday.The suspect, who lives in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, is said to have taken the child to his car and sexually assaulted her. Following reports of the suspect and victim living in close proximity, local residents in Changwon have voiced their outrage at the horrific crime against the helpless child in their neighborhood.  (Yonhap)Upon his arrest, the man report

Seongbuk police arrested Tuesday a male suspect for allegedly stealing 238 smartphones worth 230 million won ($216,600). The 47-year-old man, surnamed Jang, is suspected of being involved in a series of thefts of smartphones and 8 million won of cash over one month starting in mid-November last year.  Security footage shows suspect committing theft. (Photo courtesy of Seongbuk Police Station/Yonhap)Police had received reports from smartphone stores in Gyeonggi Province. Jang allegedly broke into

Police are investigating a fatal car accident in which a taxi driver allegedly ran over a family of three, leaving two injured and one dead, at a three-way intersection in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Monday at about 8:50 p.m. The suspect reportedly first crashed into a vehicle waiting at the traffic light. Following the crash, the driver ran into the family as they were crossing the road.  (Yonhap)One of the victims, a 49-year-old, suffered a serious injury due to the crash, and was

A district court judge was found guilty of taking secret pictures of women‘s intimate body parts with a smartphone on the subway. The High Court found him guilty of secretly filming women and sentenced the judge to pay a fine of 3 million won ($2,790). He also faces disciplinary action, specifically a 4-month suspension from work due to “damaging one’s own dignity (as a judge).” (Yonhap)It is said that the judge, a son of an opposition party lawmaker, was discovered secretly filming women three

Orion, the manufacturer of Choco Pie, has rolled out Dessert Choco Pie -- an upgraded version of the snack that was launched in 1974.  (Orion)Choco Pie is popular in Korea to the extent that some call it a “national snack.”The new product comes in four flavors: original, caramel salt, cacao and red velvet. Red Velvet Choco Pie -- the most noticeably different -- is made of two pieces of round chocolate sponge, soft white marshmallow and strawberry cream.  (Orion)According to an industry insider,

Dear Cloud's vocalist Nine9 revealed the late Jonghyun’s painful suicide note on his Instagram on Tuesday.Following is the unofficial English translation of Jonghyun‘s suicide note in Korean. (Yonhap/Nine9`s Instagram)---------------------------------------------------I was broken from the inside.The depression slowly chipped me away, finally devouring me. I could not beat the negativity. I hated myself. Even though I tried so hard demanding my memories that kept getting cut off to ‘wake up,’ al

Police arrested two male suspects in their 20s without detainment for allegedly inhaling large quantities of nitrous oxide in capsules on Wednesday. Neighbors had initially called the police on Monday at around 12 a.m., after hearing “loud club music blasting from the second floor” of their multi-family residential building in Nonhyeong-dong. The police officers, dispatched from Gangnam Police Station, arrived to the scene to discover the two men, surnamed Choi and Kim, sitting on the bed, facin

Rep. Min Byung-doo of the ruling Democratic Party said Wednesday that the National Assembly Member’s Prize will be awarded to three middle school students for exhibiting good citizenship behavior after they helped an elderly man who had fallen down from cold shock. The three award winners -- Uhm Chang-min, Jeong Ho-kyun and Shin Sei-hyun -- attend Jeonnong Middle School. Rep. Min will be sending them the award sometime next week. Uhm and his friends reported having discovered the elderly man, ly