Min Hee-jin, CEO of Ador (a subsidiary of Hybe) has accused Hybe and its other subsidiary Belift Labs of plagiarism over the similarity between supergroup NewJeans (Ador) and new girl group Illit (Belift Labs). In turn, Hybe has asked Min Hee-jin to step down and has accused her of “breach of trust” in its press release. To any casual K-pop fan familiar with both groups, there is little doubt that Illit’s sound and choreography is reminiscent of NewJeans. However, many other ne ..read more

South Korea's economy expanded at a much faster pace than expected in the first quarter of this year, offering relief to those concerned about the severe slump experienced last year persisting for an extended period. This news is especially welcome for a country still grappling with domestic instability and uncertain global geopolitics. However, beyond the social and political instability at home and longstanding global geopolitics, there are other pressing issues that demand attention: t ..read more

The Japanese government is stepping up pressure on South Korean portal giant Naver to sell off its stake in a joint venture that runs Line, the dominant messaging app in Japan, citing a data leak -- a controversial move that has sparked a wave of critical responses in Korea and is likely to complicate already complex bilateral ties between the two nations. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has issued administrative guidance twice -- on March 5 and April 16 -- in what ..read more

South Korea and Cuba have agreed to open diplomatic missions in each other's countries, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday, as a follow-up step to the establishment of their diplomatic relations earlier this year. A South Korean delegation, led by Song Si-jin, director general for planning and management at the foreign ministry, visited Havana from Wednesday through Saturday and discussed efforts to open the missions with Cuban officials, the ministry said in a release. "The t ..read more

South Korea's leading telecom carrier, KT Corp., announced Sunday that the company will introduce new 5G mobile plans for foreign national residents starting Monday. “KT decided to introduce new mobile plans as there are not enough plans specifically for foreigners despite the increasing number of foreign residents in the country,” KT said. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of long-term residents with nationalities other than Korean here grew to 1.9 million as of ..read more

Kakao Games has decided to scrap using English names among its employees, becoming the first Kakao affiliate to backtrack on the IT front-runner’s attempt to make a more bottom-up working environment with open communication. Kakao Games CEO Han Sang-woo, whose English name is Michael, announced the decision in a meeting with employees on April 17, noting that there had been confusion as its workers had to use English names inside the company but went by their Korean names for external comm ..read more

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong on Friday cleans up the home of a family with multiple children, as part of the group’s volunteer program to support financially vulnerable groups. Shinhan plans to donate 150 million won ($109,000) to aid financially vulnerable families with multiple children. Following Friday's activity, Jin noted, "Shinhan Financial Group will continue paying attention to families with many children and will spare no effort in addressing the natio ..read more

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with top executives of German optics manufacturer Zeiss, a crucial partner for the Korean tech giant's push to lead the burgeoning market for artificial intelligence chips, during his recent trip to Europe. According to Samsung on Sunday, its chief toured the Zeiss headquarters in Oberkochen on Friday and discussed long-term partnerships with Zeiss Group CEO Karl Lamprecht and Zeiss Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology CEO Andreas Pecher. Lee& ..read more

A 23-year-old woman received a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, for injuring her boyfriend who assaulted her, a court said Sunday. The Chuncheon District Court found the defendant guilty of inflicting special bodily injury on another but took into consideration the fact that the woman had no previous criminal record and that the victim asked for her not to be punished. The defendant is accused of injuring the victim during a fight in February. The defendant's boyfriend had ac ..read more

A South Korean rapper recently received a one-year prison sentence following a public fight with another rapper, as well as for posting a video of a forced apology and drug use. The Seoul Western District Court found the 26-year-old defendant guilty of coercion by collective force, defamation and marijuana use. It also ordered him to participate in an 80-hour drug treatment program. The defendant got into an argument on Instagram with a 21-year-old rapper last year, which led to them schedulin ..read more