Author: Seoul Reporter
The Seoul Reporter is an independent news platform uncovering untold stories from the heart of Korea. Our team of journalists and contributors expose corruption, highlight innovation, and bring unfiltered truth to readers worldwide from Seoul’s power corridors to its underground culture.
[ad_1] The thumbnail picture of Ok-pop woman group triple S’ new single, “Christmas Alone” / Courtesy of ModhausWith Christmas solely weeks away, Korea’s music scene is easing into its annual wave of festive releases. Seasonal songs have all the time had a robust foothold within the Ok-pop market, and this yr’s lineup consists of contemporary collaborations and reimagined classics which can be already shaping the nation’s winter soundtrack. From remade international hits to nostalgic favorites rising on the charts once more, these Ok-pop choices will preserve your holidays sounding each acquainted and contemporary.One of many season’s standout releases comes from…
[ad_1] An aerial view of the Nationwide Meeting in Yeouido, Seoul (Captured from KBS) The federal government’s push to overtake South Korea’s inheritance tax system — a flagship coverage precedence for this 12 months — has collapsed within the Nationwide Meeting, successfully killing the reform effort. A plan to scrap the inheritance-based tax framework that has remained in place since 1950 and lift deduction thresholds which have been frozen for 28 years has been shelved as a long-term job after the ruling and opposition events didn’t bridge their variations, prompting criticism that even President Lee Jae-myung’s…
[ad_1] Motorists ply a street at a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday. AP-YonhapBATANG TORU, Indonesia — Emergency crews raced to achieve survivors and recuperate extra our bodies Tuesday after the loss of life toll from final week’s catastrophic floods and landslides surged previous 1,200 in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with greater than 800 folks lacking.Days of heavy monsoon rains inundated huge areas, leaving hundreds stranded and lots of clinging to rooftops ready for assist. The flooding and landslides killed a minimum of 1,230 folks, with 659 folks confirmed useless in Indonesia,…
[ad_1] The emblem of the Korea Customs Service / YonhapCustoms authorities stated Tuesday they’ve cracked down on three people accused of smuggling almost 2 million packs of cigarettes and making false customs declarations to keep away from taxes.The Seoul Regional Customs beneath the Korea Customs Service stated it has referred the suspects to the prosecution on fees of violating the Customs Act.In keeping with authorities, the suspects reportedly smuggled 1.75 million packs of exported cigarettes again to Korea by fooling customs as in the event that they had been re-exporting them to a 3rd nation.They deceived authorities by declaring containers…
[ad_1] Hwayo President Cho Hee-kyung speaks throughout a press convention marking the corporate’s twenty second anniversary at its manufacturing plant in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Courtesy of HwayoYEOJU, Gyeonggi Province — Hwayo, Korea’s main distilled soju firm, needs to grow to be the nation’s No. 1 premium soju model, hoping its product will function a signature drink at main enterprise conferences all over the world.Throughout a press convention celebrating the agency’s twenty second anniversary on Monday, Hwayo President Cho Hee-kyung stated the genuine Korean product might be standard globally — though the present worldwide marketplace for clear spirits is basically…
[ad_1] Electrical meters function in a residential neighborhood in Seoul, Sept. 22. NewsisA weak Korean gained is elevating issues about potential will increase in electrical energy, fuel and different utility costs, as state-run vitality corporations face rising overseas alternate losses, business officers stated Tuesday.These corporations incur losses as a result of they buy vitality assets, comparable to crude oil, in U.S. {dollars} however promote domestically in gained, which means that continued depreciation of the gained towards the greenback additional amplifies losses.Elevating utility costs to compensate is seen as a viable possibility.The affected corporations embrace Korea Electrical Energy Corp. (KEPCO) and…
[ad_1] EXO’s fan assembly poster / Courtesy of SM LeisureEXO has revealed its first official six-member group photograph with out CBX (Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin), ending months of hypothesis after the group appeared with solely a emblem on a significant award present poster.The group will maintain its fan assembly “EXO’verse” on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. and seven p.m. at Encourage Enviornment in Jung District, Incheon. The occasion marks EXO’s first fan assembly in about one 12 months and eight months, with each classes promoting out throughout fan membership presales — an indication of the group’s continued drawing energy.The newly launched…
[ad_1] This file photograph, supplied by Kyodo Information, reveals a market in Hyesan, North Korea, Sept. 5, 2020. YonhapHumanitarian elements must be thought of in dealing with authorized points involving remittances despatched by North Korean defectors to their households again house, the unification ministry stated Tuesday.”Each authorized and humanitarian elements must be thought of in a balanced means,” a unification ministry official informed reporters after a Seoul courtroom was reported to have just lately delivered a not-guilty sentence to an individual accused of brokering remittances despatched by North Korean defectors to their households again within the North.The defendant was amongst…
[ad_1] Kim Keon Hee, spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends her first trial listening to on the Seoul Central District Court docket, Sept. 24. Joint Press Corps Particular prosecutors investigating corruption allegations surrounding former first girl Kim Keon Hee searched one other particular counsel staff Tuesday to safe proof associated to alleged makes an attempt to silence investigations Kim confronted, officers stated.Particular counsel Min Joong-ki’s staff despatched investigators to hold out a court-issued warrant to grab paperwork from particular counsel Cho Eun-suk’s staff investigating allegations associated to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial regulation bid.The search-and-seizure happened…
[ad_1] A Coupang supply truck parks in an organization lot in Seoul on Nov. 30, 2025. (Choi Hyeon-su/Hankyoreh) A former Coupang worker suspected of leaking the private data — together with names, cellphone numbers, and addresses — of 33.7 million of the e-commerce platform’s customers was recognized as having been accountable for inner community authentication duties. Coupang didn’t replace authentication procedures after this worker left the corporate; analysts word that such neglect was the reason for the latest knowledge breach of unprecedented scale. Police are at the moment monitoring server log information submitted by Coupang to seek out the IP deal…