The Korea Times

Suspects deny hiring hitman to kill Korean businessman in Philippines

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSuspects in a 2015 contract killing case in the Philippines have denied charges of hiring a hitman to murder a Korean businessman.Speaking to a judge Tuesday before the official trial, lawyers for the two suspects, identified only by their surnames Kwon and Kim, said their clients had no motive for killing the victim, surnamed Park, who ran a hotel at Angeles in the northern Philippines. Park died after a man shot him several times at his office about noon on Sept. 17, 2015. The man escaped in a waiting car. According to the prosecution, Kwon hired the man by using his local connections after taking money from Kim, a big investor in Park's hotel. Kim allegedly harbored a grudge against Park after Kim did not give him the investment returns he promised.After years of hard work by Korea Desk officials in the Philippines National Police, Kwon was apprehended on Jan. 23 and extradited to Korea, where he has been indicted with Kim, who was arrested later in Korea, for aiding and abetting a murder.Investigators are still looking for the killer.The date of the first hear

Mar 18, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Suspects deny hiring hitman to kill Korean businessman in Philippines

Foreign Affairs

Trump calls COVID-19 'Chinese virus'

U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force at the White House on Tuesday. APBy Jung Min-hoU.S. President Donald Trump has branded COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” deepening Washington-Beijing diplomatic tensions over the outbreak.After speaking about recession risks Monday afternoon (local time), Trump tweeted that “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”His use of the term, which he repeated in his next tweet, drew criticism from Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, who said some American politicians are trying to stigmatize China.Asked about his use of the term at a White House press briefing the next day, Trump said it was the Chinese government that started a blame game. His comment was apparently aimed at accusations from Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who claimed ― without evidence ― that the U.S. military brought the virus to Wu

Mar 18, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Foreign Affairs

Korean woman killed in Malta car crash

Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoA Korean woman has been killed when her car crashed off a cliff in northern Malta.According to the Korean Embassy in Italy Sunday (local time), the resident in Balzan, central Malta, was found dead after her rental car, a Citroen C1, went off the cliff into Birguma valley at around 8 a.m. Friday.It is unclear how the incident happened. A Korea official said the embassy was cooperating with police.Witnesses reportedly said they saw the car parked at the top of the cliff the day before the incident.

Mar 16, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Foreign Affairs

Xi says China to help Korea in COVID-19 fight

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks by video with patients and medical workers at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Xinhua via APBy Jung Min-hoChinese President Xi Jinping has offered his condolences to Korea for the first time since the global outbreak of COVID-19, saying China “stands ready” to help Korea fight the spread of the coronavirus.In a message of sympathy sent to President Moon Jae-in, Xi said the two nations are friendly neighbors that “help each other and stick together through thick and thin,” Xinhua, China's official news agency, reported Saturday. Xi also appreciated Moon's recent comment that “China's difficulties are Korea's difficulties.” Xi noted epidemics know no borders, and all countries worldwide are part of a community with a shared future, and that the Chinese government empathizes with Korea in its struggle.He said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Korea relations, and is willing to work with Moon to lift the partnership to higher levels.

Mar 16, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Xi says China to help Korea in COVID-19 fight

Economy

58% of Koreans oppose 'anti-disaster basic income,' poll shows

An employee wearing a mask cleans the widows of a shoe store in Seoul, Sunday, March 8, 2020. Despite the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Koreans say they oppose an anti-disaster basic income. APBy Jung Min-hoNearly 60 percent of Koreans say they oppose introducing a universal basic income in response to the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.According to a survey conducted on Friday by Embrain Public, a local pollster, 57.6 percent of those questioned said they were against giving every citizen 1 million won ($830), while 39.8 percent said they were in favor. The rest (2.6 percent) did not respond.Among supporters of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 57.7 percent were in favor of the idea, whereas 81.5 percent of the main opposition United Future Party were against it.The findings come as politicians across the country discuss the need for support for people whose businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19.Last week, the Jeonju city government said it would offer 527,158 won to each of 50,000 citizens financially suffering as a result of the disaster. The cash

Mar 16, 2020By Jung Min-ho

58% of Koreans oppose 'anti-disaster basic income,' poll shows

Opinion

Coronavirus: WHO to blame and lessons learned

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gestures during a daily press briefing on COVID-19 coronavirus at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, March 6, 2020. AFP By Hakim Djaballah Since December 2019, the world has been at the edge of darkness. Rumors from China speak of a mysterious disease the world had never seen before; medical doctors began to describe it as a pneumonia-like disease with unknown origins. Soon enough, the rumors are found to be true and the mysterious disease is unraveled ― the world is faced with yet another outbreak of a new coronavirus causing the same symptoms as the SARS-CoV of 2002, coincidently also from China.The Chinese authorities through the voice of the WHO director general convinced the world that the situation was under control, praised itself for unprecedented efforts to combat the new virus, and did not raise the alarm when it matt

Mar 13, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Coronavirus: WHO to blame and lessons learned

Law & Crime

1,500 undocumented Chinese flee Jeju amid virus fears

Undocumented foreigners, mostly Chinese, wait for the paperwork required to leave Korea, outside the Jeju Immigration Office on Jeju Island, March 3. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoNearly 1,500 undocumented Chinese have fled the Korean island of Jeju in the past six weeks amid coronavirus fears.According to the Jeju Immigration Office Tuesday, 1,492 Chinese nationals without valid visas had applied to leave the island between Feb. 1 and March 8.But so far, only 818 have returned because most airlines had suspended services there. The rest are now waiting for their turn after Spring Airlines, a Chinese budget carrier, decided to resume services temporarily to take them back this week.“My husband and I decided to return to China because it would be safer there,” a Chinese woman, 38, was quoted as saying by Newsis, a local news agency. “We are ready to leave Korea for good.” Since emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, COVID-19 has spread around the world. Korea is among the worst-affected countries, with more than 7,700 confirmed cases and 61 deaths, as of Wedn

Mar 11, 2020By Jung Min-ho

1,500 undocumented Chinese flee Jeju amid virus fears

Health

Yoido Full Gospel Church adapts to coronavirus crisis

Only a few church officials wearing masks attended the Sunday service at Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, March 8. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel ChurchBy Jung Min-hoThe main building of Yoido Full Gospel Church, which is usually jam-packed with worshippers every Sunday, was oddly quiet this week. When senior pastor Lee Young-hoon was preaching a sermon, only a handful of church officials were present ― wearing masks.It was the second Sunday after the country's largest Protestant church ― with more than 500,000 members ― decided to suspend most services for two weeks to help contain the new coronavirus.“It was an unprecedented decision in the church's 62-year history,” a church official told The Korea Times Monday. “Now senior officials are discussing whether it is necessary to extend the suspension.”In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the church started to take precautions early in February, urging the elderly to take advantage of online tools and installing hand sanitizers in key spots.After a spike in cases across North Gyeongsang Province, including Dae

Mar 9, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Yoido Full Gospel Church adapts to coronavirus crisis

Sports

World Taekwondo chief honored at UIM Awards

World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won, right, receives the Stefano Casiraghi Memorial Award from Raffaele Chiulli, chief of Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and Global Association of International Sports Federations, during the UIM Awards Giving Ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday (local time). Courtesy of World TaekwondoBy Jung Min-hoWorld Taekwondo (WT) President Choue Chung-won has been honored with a prestigious award for his dedication to taekwondo and peace-making efforts through the sport.According to the global governing body for taekwondo, Choue received the Stefano Casiraghi Memorial Award at the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Awards Giving Ceremony in Lausanne, Saturday (local time).Raffaele Chiulli, head of the global governing body of powerboating and Global Association of International Sports Federations, presented the award during the event, which featured a performance by the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team.“It is an honor to receive this trophy. Mr. Stefano Casiraghi is a legend of the sport and President Raffaele Chiulli is a gre

Mar 9, 2020By Jung Min-ho

World Taekwondo chief honored at UIM Awards

North Korea

Gov't denies sending face masks to North Korea

A North Korean medical worker wearing a face mask from the South Korean company Yuhan Kimberly. Screen grab of YTNBy Jung Min-hoThe government has denied allegations that it provided North Korea with face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.“The government has not provided any masks to North Korea, nor has any nongovernmental organization sought permission from the government to send masks to help the North,” Yoh Sang-key, a spokesman for the Ministry of Unification, said Thursday.He urged the public to stay vigilant about disinformation, saying those who are responsible for spreading it will be held accountable in court.Rumors started swirling that the Moon Jae-in administration secretly sent masks to the North after YTN, a local broadcaster, aired on March 1 video footage of a North Korean medical worker wearing a mask from the South Korean company Yuhan Kimberly.This comes as many people in South Korea complain about a shortage of masks, which prompted the government to restrict exports to ensure enough domestic supply amid the coronavirus outbreak.Yuhan Kimbe

Mar 5, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

Read more

Suspects deny hiring hitman to kill Korean businessman in Philippines

Trump calls COVID-19 'Chinese virus'

Korean woman killed in Malta car crash

Xi says China to help Korea in COVID-19 fight

58% of Koreans oppose 'anti-disaster basic income,' poll shows

Coronavirus: WHO to blame and lessons learned

1,500 undocumented Chinese flee Jeju amid virus fears

Yoido Full Gospel Church adapts to coronavirus crisis

World Taekwondo chief honored at UIM Awards

Gov't denies sending face masks to North Korea

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