Articles by Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park

South Korea Halts Battery Maker’s Operations as It Probes Deadly Blaze

South Korean authorities ordered a halt on Wednesday to the operations of a manufacturer of lithium batteries after a fire killed 23 people, as they investigate three company officials for suspected safety violations. Monday’s fire at unlisted battery maker Aricell …

Tesla Safety Is Focus of South Korean Criminal Trial Over Fiery, Fatal Crash

In an upscale Seoul neighborhood two years ago, a white Tesla Model X smashed into a parking lot wall. The fiery crash killed a prominent lawyer – a close friend of South Korea’s president. Prosecutors have charged the driver with …

South Korea Begins Investigation Into Deadly Halloween Crush, as Death Toll Rises

South Korean investigators combed footage on Monday from more than 50 state and private closed-circuit TV cameras as well as from social media looking for answers to how a surge in Halloween party-goers trapped in narrow alleys killed so many. …

Subcontracted Workers Most at Risk from Accidents in S. Korea’s Shipyards

Park Chol-hee was working the holiday shift at Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje shipyard on Labour Day, 2017, when a giant crane collided with another and crashed to ground, killing six people, including Park’s younger brother. “It was as if a …

Korea Ferry Disaster Exposes Cozy Industry Ties, Soft Penalties

A culture of cozy personal ties that can blur the lines between businesses and those regulating them, of profit over safety, and soft courts is in focus as South Korea demands answers over the sinking of a ferry with the …

Korea Life Considers Bid for ING’s Asia Insurance Business

Korea Life Insurance Co. Ltd said on Thursday that it is reviewing the feasibility of bidding for ING Groep NV’s Asia-Pacific insurance operations. The potential $6 billion deal is also expected to attract the interest of major overseas and local …