Actor Yoo Ah-in sentenced to 1 year in prison for drug offenses

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - Actor Yoo Ah-in was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal drug use on Monday. The Seoul Central District Cour also imposed a fine of two million Korean won (US$1,492). Yoo was immediately taken into custody following the sentencing. The verdict came out after the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sought a four-year prison term for Yoo in July. The court said, "Despite warnings from medical professionals, Yoo continued to use sedative

September 3, 2024

Bulgarian minster visits Hyundai E&C over nuclear power project

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) – Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov visited Hyundai Engineering and Construction in Seoul to discuss cooperation on the nation’s nuclear power plant project, the company announced Tuesday. The leading Korean construction company was selected in February as the preferred bidder for a project to build two additional nuclear reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power complex. During his visit on Monday, the minister met with Hyundai E&C CEO

September 3, 2024

PHOTOS: Gyeongbokgung Experience of Royal Refreshments event offers taste of traditional Korean sweets and tea

SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The "Gyeongbokgung Experience of Royal Refreshments" program is set to attract visitors to Gyeongbokgung Palace from Sept. 4 until Oct. 31, 2024. Through the royal refreshment-experiencing program, selected visitors are offered an opportunity to taste seven types of traditional Korean sweets and a type of tea, created at the Sanegwabang, the royal kitchen of the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1897). The confectioneries were reproduced versions of sweets that were

September 3, 2024

PHOTOS: Seoul debuts new sculpture festival

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - The first-ever Seoul Sculpture Festival opened Monday at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art and Songhyeon Green Plaza in the Jongno district. The weeklong festival runs through Sunday, while the sculpture exhibition will remain on display for three months ending in November. Organizers said the event features 10 works selected from the newly established Seoul Sculpture Award competition and eight pieces invited by the artistic director. The festival also includes publi

September 3, 2024

Gyeonggi bus drivers, companies in last-minute talks to avert strike

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - Unionized bus drivers in Gyeonggi Province and their employers engaged in eleventh-hour talks Tuesday, the eve of a threatened strike that could disrupt nearly 90 percent of bus operations in the nation’s most populous province. The federation of bus labor unions in the province surrounding Seoul plans to launch a walkout at 4 a.m. Wednesday if it fails to reach an agreement with the bus management association. The two sides began negotiations over wa

September 3, 2024

Mid-sized business lobby calls for labor market flexibility

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - The head of Korea’s mid-sized companies' association on Tuesday called for greater labor market flexibility during a meeting with the new chief of the presidential council on labor policies. Choi Jin-shik, chair of the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK), visited Kwon Gi-seob, the newly appointed chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), the tripartite panel representing the government, businesses, and labor unio

September 3, 2024

Hundreds of deepfake crime cases under investigation, police say

SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - Hundreds of deepfake-related crime cases are under investigation with over 120 cases reported just last week alone, the National Police Agency (NPA) said during a parliamentary session at National Assembly on Monday. Deepfake technology, which uses artificial intelligence to swap faces in videos, has been increasingly misused to create illegal explicit content. The NPA's commissioner Cho Ji-ho said, "Approximately 75 percent of those apprehende

September 3, 2024

OPINION: Brazil just banned X. Could other countries follow suit?

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (AJP) - Authorities in Brazil, the country with the world's fifth largest number of internet users, have banned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban came into effect over the weekend. It followed a long-running battle between Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who had previously ordered the social media platform to block far-right users. The ban has outraged Musk. In the wake of it,

September 3, 2024

PHOTOS: Seoul holds marketplace, cultural festival ahead of Chuseok

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (AJP) - The 2024 Seoul Market opened at Seoul Plaza on Monday for a three-day run. The event is part of an initiative to connect urban and rural communities in celebration of Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving Day, on Sept. 17. The market features agricultural and specialty products from 161 farms across 104 cities and counties. It also offers traditional performances, games and food sampling.

September 2, 2024

EV fire in Korea sparks safety concerns, prompts industry, government action

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (AJP) - A devastating electric vehicle (EV) fire has sparked safety concerns among Korean consumers, prompting the government and industry to strive to minimize the impact on an already sluggish market for green mobility. The incident took place in the underground parking garage of an apartment complex in Incheon, south of Seoul, on Aug. 1. The blaze started in an unplugged Mercedes-Benz electric car and took eight hours to extinguish. More than 20 people

September 2, 2024