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Kang Seung-woo

Korea Times Business Reporter

Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.

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Travel & Food

S. Korean chef takes legal action against Michelin over 'pay-for-star' collusion

By Kang Seung-wooA Korean chef, who refused to pay money to a “monetary consultant” allegedly working for Michelin Korea, has filed a complaint with the prosecution alleging fraud and attempted extortion amid growing questions over the authenticity of the local Michelin branch's selection of Korean restaurants for its ratings guide.In addition, Yun Kyoung-suk, the owner of Korean restaurant Yunga-Myunga, is also filing a libel complaint against the organization for its denunciation of her claims.“When I planned to open a restaurant in 2014, Michelin contacted me and told me to open a restaurant meeting its regulations that it said would ensure Michelin stars,” Yun told The Korea Times.“Regardless of any financial loss and mental pain, I have stepped up to stop Michelin from taking advantage of its fabricated authority through selling books in Korea.”Yun made headlines with the claim that Michelin Korea had demanded bribes in exchange for a star rating. According to Yun, Ernest Singer, a U.S. national known locally as the “Michelin broker,&rdq

Dec 3, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
S. Korean chef takes legal action against Michelin over 'pay-for-star' collusion
Law & Crime

Prosecution widening probe into Cheong Wa Dae

By Kang Seung-wooAmid mounting suspicions of “improper investigations” by the office of the senior presidential secretary for civic affairs, the prosecution is seeking to conduct a search and seizure operation of its Cheong Wa Dae location and will summon current and former officials for questioning.Several incumbent and former officials working at the office are suspected of having exerted influence to abruptly end an investigation by a special team into alleged illegalities committed by former Busan Vice Mayor Yoo Jae-soo; and also to have meddled in last year's local elections in Ulsan. Some officials have already been summoned for questioning, while one of the former investigators, who was scheduled to be questioned Sunday afternoon about the election meddling allegations, killed himself hours before he was to appear before prosecutors.Carrying out a search and seizure operation at Cheong Wa Dae, a facility linked to national security, is virtually impossible, and prosecutors are expected to ask the civic affairs office to submit requested documents.The prosecution wa

Dec 2, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Prosecution widening probe into Cheong Wa Dae
Society

Seoul named best MICE city for fifth straight year

Seoul has been picked as the Best MICE City for the fifth straight year. / gettyimagesbank By Kang Seung-wooSeoul has been picked as the Best MICE City for the fifth consecutive year by a prestigious international travel magazine, the metropolitan government said Sunday. MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.According to Global Traveler, the Korean capital beat out other high-profile global cities, including Dubai, Singapore, London and Paris to retain the title.Every year, the magazine, which was established in 2004 and issues about 105,000 copies per month, conducts online and offline polls among its 300,000 ― online and offline ― subscribers to decide winners of the annual Global Traveler Tested Reader Survey Awards. The awards honor cities, companies and organizations for excellence in each category, including airlines, hotels, the airport industry as well as MICE.Winning the award five straight times, Seoul has become the first city

Dec 1, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Seoul named best MICE city for fifth straight year
Law & Crime

Allegations over Cheong Wa Dae's election meddling snowballing

Former Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon speaks during a press conference at National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSuspicions are snowballing that Cheong Wa Dae meddled in last year's local elections by getting the police to investigate a specific mayoral candidate in Ulsan. Prosecutors are investigating the allegations, while figures involved in the accusations are denying them.In March last year, the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency raided the offices of then Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon's aides after receiving information on alleged corruption from the National Police Agency. The latter said it had received a tip-off from the office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, led by Cho Kuk at the time before he was named justice minister.While the nine-month investigation was underway, Kim lost the local elections in June to Song Cheol-ho, a close friend of President Moon Jae-in; while later his aides were cleared of all accusations, raising suspicions that the presidential office orchestrated the investigation. Kim and his Liberty Korea Party, the main o

Nov 28, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Allegations over Cheong Wa Dae's election meddling snowballing
Travel & Food

Hotel Lobby

By Kang Seung-wooGrand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents year-end holiday cakesThe Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas has come up with a special selection of holiday cakes. Grand Deli, located on the first floor of the hotel, will offer 12 holiday cakes from Dec. 2 to 31. They are presented by its head patissier Eric Kalabo from New York. The 12 include “Ginger House,” which is a steady seller in winter, and “Chestnut Cake,” a Mont Blanc-style cake topped with chestnut cream.Those who do not wish to purchase entire cakes can grab classic log-shaped cakes or small cupcake sets. Sheraton D Cube City brings back strawberry dessert buffetThe Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel's unlimited strawberry dessert buffet, “All about Strawberries,” will be available starting December.The special buffet features a variety of strawberry desserts, including the strawberry lemon mascarpone tart in which plenty of fresh strawberries are piled on top of lemon mascarpone cream and a deep dark chocolate mousse cake which has a strawberry and raspberry filling.All A

Nov 28, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Hotel Lobby
Travel & Food

Wyndham sets sights on local cities in Korea

The Ramada Encore by Wyndham Jeju Seogwipo EastBy Kang Seung-wooIn the supposedly saturated Korean hospitality market, where international and domestic hotel chains have flocked to Seoul and its surrounding areas, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, the world's largest hotel franchise company, is taking a different approach: going to cities outside the capital region.Wyndham, which runs the Ramada and Howard Johnson hotel chains, has 42 hotels across the country, with 35 of them located outside Seoul.Joon Aun Ooi, Wyndham's president and managing director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim“We are at the forefront of hotel development in Korea and expanding our presence in line with the country's larger strategy to drive both domestic and international travelers into secondary cities,” Joon Aun Ooi, the company's president and managing director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim, said in an interview with The Korea Times. According to the Malaysian, Korea is a key market for the group, as it is one of the top outbound destinations from China, the world's largest tourism sour

Nov 28, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Wyndham sets sights on local cities in Korea
Law & Crime

Incheon customs catches 169 illegal imports this year

By Kang Seung-wooIncheon Main Customs said, Wednesday, it caught 169 cases of illegal imports worth 127.8 billion won ($108 million) as of October.The number of detections from January to October is an increase of 191 percent from the same period a year ago when customs discovered 58 illegal imports worth 121 billion won. In addition, this year's number has already topped last year's total cases, 78. In 2017, customs caught 114 cases of unlawful imports worth 101.4 billion won.By type, counterfeit goods that violated intellectual property rights topped the list with 120 cases, followed by smuggling at 34 and false origin marking at 15. The authorities confiscated 650,000 fake products worth 120.6 billion won, accounting for 94 percent of the total amount, most of which came from China. The contraband items included medicine, medical supplies, watches, bags and cosmetics. They also seized 58,000 packs of cigarettes and 400,000 erectile dysfunction drugs that had been brought in without due customs procedures. Customs attributes the huge jump to its structural reorganization that has h

Nov 27, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Incheon customs catches 169 illegal imports this year
Foreign Affairs

Busan tourism appealing to ASEAN

The Busan Metropolitan Government set up an information center to promote its tourism during the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooBusan, the host for the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit, is winning the hearts and minds of people from the regional political and economic community as a tourist destination.The two-day dialogue partnership wrapped up, Tuesday, after the two sides reached a slew of agreements. Today, the inaugural Mekong-Korea summit will be held, with five of the ASEAN member nations participating. Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is the nation's second-largest city, but it has yet to live up to its billing, remaining a lesser-known holiday spot to foreigners, and the Busan Metropolitan Government took full advantage of the international conferences to promote its tourist assets, reaping some fruit. One of them came from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who spoke highly of the city after making a visit to Gamcheon Culture Village, Sunday. Gamcheon had served as a slum for impoverished citizens stretching high up a hillside

Nov 26, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Busan tourism appealing to ASEAN
  • Diverse events lighten up ASEAN-Korea summit
Society

Strike costing KORAIL W2 billion daily

People check the revised schedule for passenger trains at Seoul Station, Friday, the third day of the railway workers' indefinite strike. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith rail workers' strike continuing for the third straight day, the state-run railway operator said, Friday, it was losing 2 billion won ($1.7 million) per day.The Korean Railway Workers' Union started an indefinite walkout on Wednesday, demanding higher wages and a massive increase in hiring. As a result, nationwide rail services ― for both passenger and cargo trains ― have been disrupted, causing great inconvenience. Taking a closer look, the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) faces a loss of 1.5 billion won from the reduced operations of the high-speed train KTX and the slower Mugunghwa and Saemaeul trains, and its cargo sector loses 400 million won per day. The losses from intercity subway trains connecting Seoul to surrounding areas amount to 80 million won. KORAIL runs the national rail system as well as Seoul Metro lines 1, 3, and 4 and the Gyeongui-Jungang and Bundang lines. This is the first strike since one in 2016 th

Nov 22, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Strike costing KORAIL W2 billion daily
People & Events

14 students honored at multicultural youth awards

Dignitaries and winners of the eighth Korea Multicultural Youth Awards pose for a picture after the awards ceremony at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Thursday. Fourteen students received an award, with Kim Jae-ryeol, a sophomore at Hyunpung High School, receiving the grand prize from Gender Equality and Family Minister Lee Jung-ok. Among the dignitaries are Honduran Ambassador to Korea Virgilio Paredes Trapero, Peruvian Ambassador Daul Matute Mejia, and Indian Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kang Seung-wooMinister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok poses with Kim Jae-ryeol, a sophomore at Hyunpung High School and grand prize winner, at the awards ceremony for the eighth Korea Multicultural Youth Awards held at the Korea Press Center, Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulFourteen students from interracial backgrounds were honored at the eighth Korea Multicultural Youth Awards, Thursday, for their exemplary achievements.The award ceremony was held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul and attended by about 100 people ― the awa

Nov 21, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
14 students honored at multicultural youth awards
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