Author: Web Desk

The science ministry on Friday expressed regret over the Japanese government’s “pressure” over the Line messenger app, saying that Seoul would “strongly and sternly” take measures against Tokyo’s move against the popular app developed by Naver, South Korea’s biggest internet company.

Second Vice Science Minister Kang Do-hyun made the remarks a day after Japan’s SoftBank confirmed it has been in talks with Naver over its capital relationship in LY Corp., the operator of Line messenger.

Kang told reporters that his ministry “expresses regret over what is perceived as pressure on a Korean company to sell a stake,” referring to an administrative guidance by Japan to LY over a data leak incident.

South Korea will “respond strongly and sternly to discriminatory measures against our company,” Kang said.

LY is controlled by A Holdings, a 50-50 joint venture between Naver and SoftBank.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Bangkok: Fire at a shoe warehouse imported from China in the Bang Bon area burned down the entire building. One sedan exploded, damaging one vehicle. It is believed that there was a short circuit.

The incident occurred at 11:00 p.m. last night (May 9). Police at Bang Bon Police Station received a report of a fire in a shoe factory. At a house in Soi Bang Bon 3, Bang Bon Nuea Subdistrict, Bang Bon District, Bangkok, officials mobilized more than 30 water trucks to stop the incident.

The scene was about 50 meters deep in an alley. It looked like a large warehouse of a company. The area is approximately 1.5 rai, with a fence around the perimeter. It is a warehouse for imported leather shoes from China. Sold and exported according to Sampeng and various stores, with a large number of fires and smoke pouring out from inside the warehouse.

Employees helped transport products from the warehouse to the outside in chaos, while officials rushed to spray water to extinguish the fire. In order to prevent it from sprea
ding to nearby houses, it took more than an hour to bring the fire under control.

Initial inspection found that The entire warehouse was damaged. And there were cars parked beside the factory gate. It belonged to the factory owner and the entire vehicle was destroyed by fire. It’s good that no one was injured or killed.

Ms. Siriporn, 26 years old, head of production, said there were people staying in the factory. I asked to come take a look because there was a loud noise like an explosion. So I hurriedly ran to see. Instead, they found smoke pouring out from inside. I immediately thought that we might not be able to help stop the situation in time. Because inside is a shoe which is a good fuel So he quickly notified the fire department to put out the fire, then tried to help push the car out, but was unable to make it in time because the fire spread so quickly that it exploded.

As for the cause, it is believed to be due to a short circuit in the factory’s main power cutout cabinet, while the initial estima
ted value of the damage is not less than 10 million baht. Investigators are currently examining the CCTV cameras. and interview witnesses who witnessed the incident to find the true cause further

Source: Thai News Agency

Chiang Mai, Soldiers and Doi Suthep National Park officials arrested villagers illegally processing wood. The area near Huai Mae Saruay Complete with chain saw Large eucalyptus wood planks Investigators were sent to Mae Rim Police Station to prosecute.

Soldiers and officials of Doi Suthep National Park Chiang Mai Province Join together in patrolling to prevent forest fires. In front of Doi Suthep Found a group of 5 villagers illegally processing wood. The area near Huai Mae Saruay, Mae Ram Subdistrict, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province. In the area of ??Doi Suthep National Park So he was detained along with the chain saw. Motorcycles, cars, and 12 large pieces of eucalyptus wood were sent to Mae Rim Police Station for investigation to be prosecuted according to law.

Groups of villagers often spend the night illegally cutting trees deep in the forest. Using a chain saw to cut and process wood piled up in the forest. Before gradually bringing the wood down along a route that cars can access. Initially, i
t is expected that it will be used to build houses or sold to capitalists. And has been secretly doing it for a long time

Source: Thai News Agency

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with citizens and merchants in Seoul on Friday, the second anniversary of his presidency.

In his first public outreach since last month’s parliamentary elections, Yoon visited Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul and met with citizens out for a walk, according to his office.

While discussing livelihood issues, including the recent rise in dining prices, Yoon promised to do his best to stabilize prices in a way that can be felt by the people, his office said.

Yoon later visited Yeongcheon Traditional Market, checked the prices of fruits and vegetables while talking with vendors and gathered the opinions of shoppers on recent prices of goods.

He vowed to employ all means at the government’s disposal to tame rising prices of groceries, the presidential office said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Udon Thani Police investigation team Muang Udon Thani Police Station A thief with a bounty of 5,000 baht was arrested after stealing property inside a dormitory in Mak Khaeng Subdistrict, Mueang District, Udon Thani Province.

police investigation team Muang Udon Thani Police Station Led an operation to arrest Mr. Woraphan, also known as Boy, aged 48 years, at a dormitory in Soi Sri Phinit, Mak Khaeng Subdistrict, Mueang District, Udon Thani Province, but the culprit refused to open the room. The police then broke down the door. Mr. Woraphan was found naked. Feeling startled like you just woke up. and quickly found clothes to wear

This arrest was made as a result of an image of Mr. Woraphan appearing on the CCTV of a dormitory. While going in and stealing a residential room in Soi Adulyadej, which is not far from the alley of his own residence. By stealing Ms. Kittiya’s laptop, causing suffering. So he filed a report. And posted a sign announcing a reward of 5,000 baht for the arrest on May 8th.

Mr. Woraph
an confessed that he actually stole the laptop. and sold them on Facebook. When you get money, you will use it for daily expenses. He admitted that when the money ran out, he would go around and steal things again. Keep doing this. because there is no work to do and has caused an incident in this dormitory 2 times, the first time on May 3, stealing a laptop, then on May 4, returning to the same room But the owner of the room is here. So I walked up to the 3rd floor but didn’t get anything.

As for the history of this suspect, he has been charged with theft countless times, 9 years ago (2015) he was arrested for theft in many cases

Source: Thai News Agency

Udon Thani A young man hallucinating on drugs tried a gun in his own home. A senior friend happened to meet him and shouted, “Are you going to shoot me?” before running towards him. He shot and killed him. He admitted he had taken 3-4 pills of drugs.

Police, Muang Udon Thani Police Station Inspected the scene of the crime in the area of ??Ban Nong Phai, Village No. 5, Nong Na Kham Subdistrict, Mueang District, Udon Thani Province, after receiving reports that villagers had shot each other dead. When they went to the scene, they found the body of the deceased, known as Mr. Kwan Mueang, 30 years old, or Mr. Uai, lying face down in the middle of the road at the end of the village. The body was shot with a cap gun several times in the abdomen. He died instantly at the scene.

As for the perpetrator, Mr. Chakri or Mr. Re, aged 26 years, did not escape after the incident. Waiting to surrender to the officials By the police chief of Muang Udon Thani They took Mr. Rae into making a plan to include a confession and
confiscated two self-made cap guns. Then he took the perpetrators into custody. Muang Udon Thani Police Station Along with reporting the charges “Intentional murder” prosecuted according to law

Mr. Re talks to reporters As he spoke, he smiled and said that before the incident he admitted he had taken 3-4 methamphetamine pills and had come to try shooting with a cap gun in the house. While he was testing out a gun in the rice field area, during that time the dead person was a senior friend driving by on a motorcycle. Parked the car in front of Taeng Na and walked towards him. shouted and asked me, ‘Are you going to shoot me?’ and walked quickly, coming close to you. So he shot away. Tried to shoot lower than the legs. But the bullet bounced and hit his stomach. Then the dead man ran out of the house and lay dead in the street.

Source: Thai News Agency

Giant portraits capture a girl looking back at the observer, exuding an ambiance of curiosity, ambiguity or even sorrow.

These hyperrealistic paintings, featured at Art Busan, one of South Korea’s largest art fairs, evoke various emotions in different viewers, exactly as painter Kang Kang-hoon intended.

“The audience will perceive and feel whatever they do through their own past experiences,” the artist told Yonhap News Agency during an interview at the BEXCO exhibition center in Busan, located 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Friday.

The artist endeavored to delve into the inner thoughts and emotions of his subject, tracing the emotional trajectory illustrated in the portraits.

“Before engaging in a conversation with someone, it’s impossible to judge them based solely on their appearance,” he said. “Similarly, I find it unacceptable to portray a person superficially, even if I render them in meticulous detail, resembling a photograph.”

Kang is one of the main artists showcased in the Connect secti
on, a special curation program of the annual art fair. Three of the paintings on display were unveiled to the public for the first time, largely due to their enormous size.

When his daughter was born, he started to primarily paint her, believing that the child was a living being that “mirrors” himself.

“Continuing to draw her portrait is like depicting my own life history as this archive ages,” he said, adding that the work will be a testament to his living his life faithfully.

Born in 1979, the artist has always been drawn to painting portraits. With few artists in the field from whom he could learn the skills, he almost taught himself. Since his mother’s death in 2020, he experienced a change of heart.

“I was devastated. It was really hard to overcome the loss,” the artist said. One day, the image of cotton came to his mind, almost out of nowhere.

As he couldn’t shake off the image, he eventually decided to paint cotton to explore its origin.

“It was a big breakthrough in terms of technique and materi
al, considering that I had primarily painted portraits,” he said. “I still don’t quite understand why the image came to me, but it feels incredibly important and almost fateful.”

At his Connect booth, he showcased some of his key paintings created over the last few years, including portraits combined with paintings of cotton branches.

“The white cotton bolls resembled me, while the shriveled and twisted remnants, such as the calyx and stems, brought to mind the presence of my hardworking parents,” he said.

“I am thrilled to showcase my paintings outside of my studio. Some of them have been hanging on the walls of my studio for four years,” he said, expressing his excitement about participating in the special curation program.

“However people feel, I hope they view the exhibition through their own experiences, but regardless, I hope they leave feeling somewhat refreshed.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Senior diplomats from South Korea and Turkey have held talks in Ankara to discuss various regional issues, including security concerns in the Middle East and Ukraine, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday.

Park Jang-ho, director general of the bureau of strategy planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a policy planning meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Esra Toplu, on Thursday (local time), the ministry said in a press release.

Park highlighted the significance of the two countries sharing perspectives on diverse global issues, given their pivotal roles in the complex geopolitical landscape.

In response, Toplu explained Turkey’s position and role in key geopolitical issues, such as Russia’s protracted war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The science ministry on Friday expressed regret over the Japanese government’s “pressure” over the Line messenger app, saying that Seoul would “strongly and sternly” take measures against Tokyo’s move against the popular app developed by Naver, South Korea’s biggest internet company.

Second Vice Science Minister Kang Do-hyun made the remarks a day after Japan’s SoftBank confirmed it has been in talks with Naver over its capital relationship in LY Corp., the operator of Line messenger.

Kang told reporters that his ministry “expresses regret over what is perceived as pressure on a Korean company to sell a stake,” referring to an administrative guidance by Japan to LY over a data leak incident last year.

South Korea will “respond strongly and sternly to discriminatory measures against our company,” Kang said, noting the government has been in close communications with Japan over the matter.

The government will respect Naver’s decision, and if it decides to keep its stake in LY, the ministry will provide nec
essary help to Naver to strengthen its security system, Kang added.

LY is controlled by A Holdings, a 50-50 joint venture between Naver and SoftBank.

Kang also noted that SoftBank had practical management control over LY since 2019, citing the compostion of LY’s board, and Naver has been considering various possibilities regarding its stake in LY as it experienced difficulties in implementing its technologies and business insights in the Japanese company.

Earlier Friday, Naver also confirmed it is in talks with SoftBank and is “open to all possibilities,” including shedding its shares in LY.

The Korean company said in a statement it “feels sorry” to LY users over the data leak incident, and will work with LY and SoftBank to improve the service.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said last week Japan’s measures are “quite exceptional” but the company will make a decision based on its mid- to long-term business strategy.

In March and April, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications issued an administra
tive guidance to LY, regarding the incident, urging it to decrease its financial dependence on Naver.

In November, LY explained that over 300,000 records of personal information of its users were leaked after Naver Cloud Corp., Naver’s cloud computing affiliate, came under a cyberattack, as the two companies share a common authentication system.

Following the incident, LY has announced a set of measures aimed at strengthening its security, including separating its system from Naver and Naver Cloud.

On Wednesday, LY President Takeshi Idezawa said in a conference call via an English interpreter that his company has started to terminate its outsourcing relationship with Naver in the area of services and business domains.

Idezawa also announced that Shin Jung-ho, a key South Korean executive at LY, will step down from its board.

Shin, known as the “father” of Line in South Korea, was the only Korean national on LY’s board.

Japan’s actions drew criticism in South Korea, with many viewing them as an attempt t
o diminish foreign influence on the widely used online platform in the country.

Line, developed by Naver in 2011, had around 96 million monthly active users (MAUs) in Japan, or 78 percent of the country’s population, as of last year, according to Line Plus Corp., Naver’s affiliate that operates the application in Korea.

The application is also popular in other Asian countries, with around 55 million MAUs in Thailand and 22 million in Taiwan.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The combined loss by insurers from selling medical indemnity insurance products widened from a year earlier in 2023 despite an increase in sales, data showed Friday.

The combined loss of seven life insurers and 10 non-life insurers from their medical indemnity insurance, or reimbursement-backed private medical insurance, came to 1.97 trillion won (US$1.44 billion) last year, up 29 percent from a 1.53 trillion won loss the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Their loss ratio rose 2.1 percentage points from 101.3 percent to 103.4 percent over the cited period.

The rise in the loss came despite a 9.5 percent on-year increase in sales of insurance products to 14.4 trillion won in 2023, due partly to a rise in payments for treatments uncovered by the health insurance, according to the financial regulator.

“(The FSS) will continue to improve the system so as to prevent any leaks of insurance money, so that medical indemnity insurance can continue to provide person
al safety nets to the people,” it said.

“It also plans to strengthen its oversight so that insurance payments for legitimate requests can be made swiftly,” it added.

Medical expense insurances are products unique to South Korea that often cover the entire cost of medical treatments paid by customers.

Source: Yonhap News Agency