Group items tagged

SEOUL, May 16, 2012 (AFP) - A South Korean businessman has been jailed for three years for supplying potentially defective parts to the country's oldest atomic power plant, a court spokesman said Wednesday. The man, identified only as Hwang, was sentenced last Friday for selling recycled turbine valve parts to the Gori nuclear plant near Busan, the Busan District Court spokesman said. Hwang, 54, cleaned and painted used parts stolen from the plant's dump by an employee. He then sold them back to the plant, on three occasions since 2008, disguising them as new products. Hwang pocketed some three billion won ($2.6 million) through the fraud, according to the court. "The accused deserves heavy punishment for committing a grave crime that could raise serious doubts about the safety of the plant," the judge said in a statement. The plant employee who stole the scrapped parts, identified only by his family name Shin, was sentenced to three years in prison last month. There have been previous scandals over potentially defective parts at the country's atomic plants. Last month the nuclear safety watchdog launched an investigation at Gori and another plant, after they were found to be using components developed by a local company but based on illegally obtained French technology. The Gori-1 Reactor at the plant was also at the centre of a scare in February when it briefly lost mains power and the emergency generator failed to kick in. The outage was so short that the temperature of the fuel rods remained low. But several officials and engineers have been punished for covering up the incident. South Korea relies on 21 nuclear Reactors to meet about 35% of its electricity needs. This month it started work on two more, despite international unease over nuclear power following Japan's Fukushima disaster.

It was Friday night, May 22, 2009, and one of New York City's most storied music venues, the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, was sold out. The line stretched all the way down Irving Place, turned the corner onto East 16th, and kept going. People had come from as far away as Michigan, Toronto, and Ohio, but they weren't lined up for the latest indie darlings or house music sensation. They'd come to see an improbably successful Korean trio named Epik High, which as far as anyone could tell was the first Korean hip hop act to attract a mainstream American audience. The group was headed by a skinny 28-year-old named Dan Lee, and when he danced onto the stage that night the audience started dancing with him. Lee-whose nom de rap is Tablo-had a puckish charm, a sly grin, and a reputation as a genius. In South Korea, Lee was already a superstar. He had released four number one albums with Epik High and published a best-selling collection of short stories in both English and Korean. Talk show hosts almost always found a way to mention that he graduated from Stanford in three and a half years with both a bachelor's and master's degree in English. Though that would probably count against a rapper in the US, back home he was lionized as a symbol of success. Also in this issue The Man Who Makes the Future How to Spot the Future The Rise of the Robot Reporter Now the group was building a fan base in the States. In addition to its New York show, Epik High had sold out major venues in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The crossover success was visible on iTunes, where the trio was soaring up the hip hop charts and would soon hit number one in the US, topping Kanye West and Jay-Z. But then, at the height of the group's fame, the comments sections of articles about Epik High started filling up with anonymous messages accusing Lee of lying about his Stanford diploma. In May 2010 an antifan club formed and quickly attracted tens of thousands of members who accused him of s

Daniel Lee, whose nom de rap is Tablo, once headed successful Korean trio Epik High. Photo: Miko Lim It was Friday night, May 22, 2009, and one of New York City's most storied music venues, the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, was sold out.

It was Friday night, May 22, 2009, and one of New York City's most storied music venues, the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, was sold out. The line stretched all the way down Irving Place, turned the corner onto East 16th, and kept going. People had come from as far away as Michigan, Toronto, and Ohio, but they weren't lined up for the latest indie darlings or house music sensation. They'd come to see an improbably successful Korean trio named Epik High, which as far as anyone could tell was the first Korean hip hop act to attract a mainstream American audience. The group was headed by a skinny 28-year-old named Dan Lee, and when he danced onto the stage that night the audience started dancing with him. Lee-whose nom de rap is Tablo-had a puckish charm, a sly grin, and a reputation as a genius. In South Korea, Lee was already a superstar. He had released four number one albums with Epik High and published a best-selling collection of short stories in both English and Korean. Talk show hosts almost always found a way to mention that he graduated from Stanford in three and a half years with both a bachelor's and master's degree in English. Though that would probably count against a rapper in the US, back home he was lionized as a symbol of success. Also in this issue The Man Who Makes the Future How to Spot the Future The Rise of the Robot Reporter Now the group was building a fan base in the States. In addition to its New York show, Epik High had sold out major venues in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The crossover success was visible on iTunes, where the trio was soaring up the hip hop charts and would soon hit number one in the US, topping Kanye West and Jay-Z. But then, at the height of the group's fame, the comments sections of articles about Epik High started filling up with anonymous messages accusing Lee of lying about his Stanford diploma. In May 2010 an antifan club formed and quickly attracted tens of thousands of members who accused him of s