Seoul city announced Tuesday that it will be reducing the number of cabs here by 74 to help ease the overcrowded taxi market. Research recently showed that the city currently has an oversupply of 11,831 vehicles. The Seoul city government aimed to completely resolve the problem by 2036.In the meantime, it will cut down the number of cabs by 74 in 2016, an additional 108 in 2018 and another 110 in 2019. (Yonhap)Cars to go this year include 50 operated by individual drivers. This will be followed

Franchise coffee house Coffee Banhada will launch a new mobile application that rewards customers with free drinks and desserts when they watch commercials, the company said Friday. Customers can save points on the app by watching commercials or participating in surveys and quizzes. The accumulated points can be used like cash at more than 350 Coffee Banhada franchise.  (123RF)“In this never-ending competition within the low-priced coffee market, we had to lead with a completely new service,” Li

Jejudo police are looking into the possibility that the woman found dead on the island may be Chinese. The woman was wearing a skirt with a Chinese lettered tag, and her fingerprints did not lead to a domestic match so far.The victim, presumed to be in her 30s, is between 160 and 165 centimeters tall, and wore a winter T-shirt and skirt with leggings.  The Seogwipo police are waiting for reports that match the descriptions specified in this poster. (Yonhap)The Seogwipo police found the body Wedn

A man was sentenced to two years in jail on Wednesday for setting his workplace ablaze in the belief that his boss was intentionally avoiding him to not pay him.According to the Seoul High Court, the 37-year-old was working at a sofa manufacturing company in Gyeonggi Province when he decided to quit his job following a dispute between him and a coworker. He naturally requested the boss pay him for the work he had done so far, but was enraged when the boss, after saying he would first make other

The saturated fishcake market in port city Busan has embraced creativity for its next-generation street snack. (@seung_ryeoll Instagram)Brainchild of tried-and-tested chef Lee Seung-ryeoll, 53, the chicken wing fishcake mashes together chicken’s savoriness with fishcake’s chewy texture. The recipe for this is simple. The chicken wing is first deboned and stuffed with fishcake, then it is cooked in an oven, roasted on a grill and served on a paper plate with sauce and sesame salt. Lee said he cam

Some Japanese consumers are boycotting McDonald’s for a commercial that depicts a Korean-style bow, a Japan-based English-language online publication said Friday. (YouTube capture)The commercial in question shows a McDonald’s employee politely bowing to customers before attending to their orders. While the commercial obviously intends to portray polite service, some Japanese viewers have found fault with the way the employee bows, with her hands clasped in front of her stomach, saying it appears

A middle-aged woman was taken into police custody Tuesday on suspicion of murdering her younger brother. Gyeonggi Suwon Nambu police said that the 52-year-old is suspected of stabbing her brother aged 47 during an altercation, which led to his death.  (123RF)The woman, surnamed Kim, had been staying with her younger brother’s family for a number of months. At the time of the alleged attack, Kim is said to have been under the influence of alcohol and angry at her brother’s usual disdainful attitu

Lotte Super, a major local retailer, will refund all fruit that customers found unsatisfactory in celebration of the 16th anniversary of its foundation.CEO Choi Choon-seok on Tuesday said, “Neither the price nor the size of a fruit has any effect on customers if it is not delicious. We promise to refund or exchange all fruits that fell short of our customers’ expectations.” (Lotte Super)This new policy will be put into practice from Wednesday’s 16th anniversary sales event. Lotte Super will also

A man was sentenced to four months in prison with one year of probation, Monday, for invading the sexual freedom of his wife. He was additionally given 40 hours of education on recovery from sexual violence. (123RF)The 40-year-old was charged for uploading a photo of his sleeping wife’s exposed buttocks on social media in September 2014. The couple separated the following March. The man is also accused of trespassing in his ex-wife’s residence five times in October 2015.The judge who presided ov

A firefighter’s appeal for nullification of his suspension was upheld by the Seoul Administrative Court, Thursday. The man had been given a month’s suspension by his fire station after it was made known that he and his girlfriend had two abortions. The man has been a firefighter for 10 years, and had been common-law married since 2014 with a woman he had met online following his divorce. Court reports say the woman became pregnant four months into their cohabitation, but the man decided they cou

A senior soldier was handed down a sentence of eight months in prison for assaulting and molesting a junior soldier of the same sex. The 23-year-old soldier surnamed Kwon was initially given a suspended sentence, but the Daejeon High Court reversed the decision Thursday and slapped Kwon with eight months in prison with two years of probation.  (123RF)Kwon will also receive 40 hours of sex education and carry out 80 hours of volunteer work. According to the court, Kwon threatened his victim with

A 50-year-old professor was booked on Thursday for assaulting a coworker.  (123RF)The Cheongju Heungdeok Police said that the professor had pushed and tripped a 36-year-old employee at his workplace, a college hospital.The victim had to undergo medical treatment for two weeks. 　In the police investigation, the professor testified that he and the victim have had a strained relationship ever since they had a row over personal matters a long time ago. He had grown angry when the victim had ignored

A 36-year-old office worker and two high school girls were found dead in a motel room in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo-gu, Wednesday. The police had arrived at the scene after the motel keeper reported the three had not left the room long after checkout time.  (Yonhap)Evidence suggesting suicide was found inside the room. According to the police investigation, the three had entered the motel at 9:30 a.m. together, before which they had never met. The police suspect they met through an online site, and ar

South Korea and Japan will hold talks on Friday to strengthen cooperation in the development sector, setting aside their political differences, officials said.The two countries have held annual meetings to discuss their respective development policies but have yet to conduct any joint projects. Development cooperation is seen as one area where the neighbors could work together despite their various rows over history and territorial issues."South Korea and Japan are the only donor nations in the

Japanese prosecutors have indicted a Japanese man on charges of hurling a box containing human feces at the South Korean consulate general in Yokohoma, south of Tokyo, Kyodo News Service reported.Kyodo said the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office indicted the 23-year-old on Thursday for allegedly throwing the box into the parking area outside the building on Dec. 11, 2015, saying he had interfered with the duty of the consulate general's officials.A note on the box read, "This is revenge

Maroon 5’s much-anticipated performance in Seoul was a letdown in terms of musical satisfaction. Lead singer Adam Levine’s voice remained unstable, with his trademark high-pitch tone often failing. It was the Korean fans who salvaged the strained performance with their over-the-top support for the band on Monday.   Maroon 5’s “V tour“ in Seoul‘s Olympic Gymnastics Arena (Live Nation Korea)Signs of trouble were detected early on when the group abruptly postponed their concert in Daegu on Sunday,