DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld a law banning same-sex relations in the military, citing a threat to combat-readiness, in a judgment decried by the local LGBTQ community as a disappointing setback. “Even if sexual acts are consensual” they risk “causing serious harm to preserving the fighting power of the nation’s armed forces, if committed (while on duty),” it added. But the group said it was encouraged by the comments of the dissenting judges, who warned against deeming sexual acts between same-sex couples as abnormal. The dissenting judges said there is “no reason” to differentiate between consensual sexual acts by same-sex soldiers and heterosexual ones. With a mandatory military service imposed on almost all able-bodied men between the age of 18 and 28, South Korea has one of the world’s largest active armies.

Persons: ”, Boram Jang, scuffles, Hong Joon, pyo Organizations: South Korea CNN, Constitutional, Amnesty, National Health Insurance Service, South Korea’s, Seoul Queer Culture, Christian, Daegu Queer Culture Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Asia, South, Daegu

SEOUL/CHEONGJU, South Korea, July 16 (Reuters) - The bodies of eight people trapped in a tunnel flooded by heavy rain in central South Korea were retrieved on Sunday, authorities said, with the death toll from days of torrential downpours that have pounded the country rising to 37. Kong Seong-pyo, a 60-year-old Cheongju resident who frequently uses the underpass, said the government should have restricted access to the tunnel when flooding was expected. The Ministry of Interior and Safety said nine people were missing across the country as of 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) as heavy downpours caused landslides and floods, with evacuation orders covering 8,852 people. [1/9]Rescue workers are seen near a recovered electric bus during a search and rescue operation near an underpass that has been submerged by a flooded river caused by torrential rain in Cheongju, South Korea, July 16, 2023. While South Korea often experiences heavy rains in summer, it has witnessed a sharp increase in torrential rains in recent years.

Persons: Seo Jeong, Seo, Kong, Kim Hong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Han Duck, Gyun Kim, Daewoung Kim, Hongji Kim, Cheongju, hyang Choi, Diane Craft, Michael Perry, Jamie Freed, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: MBC, Reuters, The, of Interior, Safety, REUTERS, Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea Railroad Corp, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, CHEONGJU, South Korea, Cheongju, Seoul, Gangnam, Chungcheong

☆ South Korea LGBT festival proceeds, bumped from prime spot by Christian group
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands attended South Korea's largest annual LGBT festival on Saturday, vowing to continue fighting for gay rights after the Seoul city government denied them a prime spot and gave it to an anti-LGBT Christian group. "You can see a lot of hateful banners behind me as well as those that support us on our right," said Yang Sun-woo, chief organiser of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. "South Korea is enjoying a rise in global status but LGBT rights here are at rock bottom," she said. The Christian group CTS, which has vocally opposed homosexuality, said it was not trying to thwart LGBT people. "Some ask why we need this queer festival, but it is the only time a year where we can all enjoy ourselves out in the open."

Persons: Yang Sun, ”, Cho Jong Yun, Kim Kyu Jin, Kim Saeyeon, Kyu Jin Kim, Nicole Kim, Hong Joon, Daewoung Kim, Hyunsu Yim, William Mallard Organizations: South, Christian, Seoul Queer Culture, CTS, LGBT, Gallup, Minwoo, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Seoul, COVID, Korea, South Korea, Daegu

☆ South Korea ordered to pay Elliott about $109 mln total over 2015 Samsung merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - The South Korean government has been ordered to pay hedge fund Elliott about $108.5 million, Elliott and the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday, in an dispute settlement case stemming from the 2015 merger of two Samsung (005930.KS) affiliates. Elliott was a minority stakeholder in Samsung C&T and opposed the deal, deeming the terms of the merger unduly unfavourable to the company. The NPS, which approved the merger, held a larger stake in Samsung C&T and was viewed as a casting vote. The arbitration tribunal ordered the South Korean government to pay Elliott about $53.6 million in damages, plus delayed interest, as well as $28.9 million in legal fees, the justice ministry said, without elaborating. Elliott welcomed the decision in a statement, and urged South Korea to "pay the ultimate award rather than pursue baseless legal proceedings to challenge the Tribunal's decision".

Persons: Elliott, Moon Hyung, Park, hye, Joyce Lee, Sandra Maler Organizations: South, Ministry of Justice, Samsung, Elliott Investment, South Korean, Cheil Industries, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, The Hague, U.S, South, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Scuffles broke out in the South Korean city of Daegu on Saturday as local officials led by the mayor clashed with police during a protest against an LGBTQ festival. Tensions came to a head on Saturday when local government officials gathered to protest at the festival site. A video posted by the event organizers shows festival vehicles stuck on the road, unable to enter due to the protesters. South Korean news agency Yonhap estimated that about 500 protesters and 1,500 police officers were at the scene. Hong, the Daegu mayor, has previously made headlines for anti-LGBTQ statements, such as claiming that gay men would weaken the South Korean military, according to local media.

Persons: South Korea CNN — Scuffles, Hong Joon, –, Hong Organizations: South Korea CNN, Christian, Daegu Queer Culture, South, Police, Daegu, South Korean, Seoul Queer Culture Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korean, Daegu, Japan, Taiwan, Seoul’s

☆ A South Korean mayor led hundreds of city officials to stop an annual pride festival but police intervened to protect organizers and allow the event to proceed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The mayor of Daegu, South Korea led a protest to block the city's annual pride festival. Since starting in 2009, the Daegu Queer Culture Festival has been one of the largest in the country. For festival organizers, it was not their first run-in with opposition to the event. Since its inception in 2009, the Daegu Queer Culture Festival has faced repeated protests. The Daegu Queer Culture Festival is one of the largest in the country, with Seoul's Queer Culture Festival taking first place.

Persons: —, Hong Joon Organizations: . Police, Daegu Queer Culture, Service, BBC, Daegu, Korea Times, Culture Festival, Seoul Plaza, CNN Locations: Daegu, South Korea, Seoul

☆ I ranked all 24 spreads in the viral $40 Bonne Maman Advent calendar. Here's why I think it's a gift worth the 600% price markup.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Rosa Pyo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The jam-and-spread brand Bonne Maman released its 2022 Advent calendar, whose 2021 version sold out. The calendar has 24 spreads to try and retails at $40 — a 600% price markup per 100 grams of jam. Google searches for "advent calendar" have more than doubled in the US since 2018, according to Google's trending data. The Bonne Maman Advent calendar 2022 edition comes with 23 limited-edition fruit spreads and one honey. The Advent-calendar jams cost $6.20 per 100 grams, versus the average Bonne Maman jam that costs about $1 per 100 grams — about a 600% markup.

☆ Park Seo-joon joins cast of 'The Marvels,' among growing list of Korean talent joining Disney projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Korean actor Park Seo-joon will star in the upcoming superhero movie “The Marvels” to be released in July 2023. He joins a growing roster of Korean talent that is joining Disney-backed content and was one of many Korean names dropped Wednesday at a Disney content showcase in Singapore. Earlier this month, “Squid Games” star Lee Jung-jae was announced as joining Star Wars series “The Acolyte,” for Disney +. So too did Japanese director Miike Takashi, whose Korean-made series “Connect” Disney+ will upload early next month. Disney has announced plans to green-light 50 local shows in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2023 and is keen to catch up with Netflix in the scale of its Korean content roster.

☆ I'm a former Trader Joe's employee who tried every pumpkin-spice-flavored item at my local store. Here's what I'd buy again, and the one thing I hated.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Rosa Jisoo Pyo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I tried all 11 pumpkin-spice-flavored items available this fall at my local Trader Joe's store. The pumpkin-spice espresso beans — crunchy espresso beans covered in pumpkin-spice chocolate — were my favoriteTrader Joe's pumpkin-spice espresso beans. There were 4 types of pumpkin-spice cookies on offerTrader Joe's pumpkin-spice cookies were the only pumpkin-shaped item on offer. The Pumpkin Spice Batons were mehTrader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Batons. If you like Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes, get Trader Joe's pumpkin-spice coffeeTrader Joe's pumpkin-spice coffee.

Search resuls for: "pyo"

9 mentions found