News Headlines - 10 July 2020

▽Missing Seoul mayor found dead after 7-hour search - The Mainichi

The missing mayor of South Korea's capital, reportedly embroiled in sexual harassment allegations, was found dead early Friday, more than half a day after giving his daughter a will-like message and then leaving home, police said.
Police said they located Park Won-soon's body near a traditional restaurant in wooded hills in northern Seoul, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him.
There were no signs of foul play and no suicide note was found at the site or in Park's residence, Choi Ik-su, an officer from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters. He refused to elaborate on the cause of Park's death.

▽Ex-Pres. Park Sentenced to 20 Years in Retrial for Influence Peddling l KBS WORLD Radio

Ousted President Park Geun-hye has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in a retrial for influence peddling and a separate case where she was accused of receiving special funds from the National Intelligence Service.
The Seoul High Court on Friday delivered the sentence which is shorter than the previous combined 30 years she had received in an appeals trial. This is because the court found her not guilty of most charges related to coercion or the drafting of a so-called whitelist of pro-government cultural figures.
Park, who has been a no show at all court proceedings since October 2017, did not appear on Friday as well, citing health reasons.

▽Colowide to launch takeover of struggling Ootoya eatery chain - The Mainichi

Major chain restaurant operator Colowide Co. said Thursday it will launch a takeover bid for struggling Ootoya Holdings Co., owner of a Japanese-style set-menu eatery business, as the coronavirus pandemic leaves the hospitality sector reeling.
Colowide, which manages izakaya pubs and Gyukaku grilled beef restaurants, will spend up to 7.1 billion yen ($66 million) to increase its stake in Ootoya up to 51.32 percent from its current 19.16 percent holding, seeking to improve the loss-making operator's performance through cost-cutting and improved procurement and food distribution synergies.
The move came after Colowide's proposal to shake up Ootoya's management was rejected at a shareholders' meeting in June, which worsened already frayed ties between the companies.

▽'Ultraman' producers win Chinese copyright suit | NHK WORLD

A court in China has ruled that a Chinese filmmaker must compensate a Japanese production company for infringing on its copyright by using the firm's "Ultraman" character.
Japan's Tsuburaya Productions sued a Guangzhou-based filmmaker in 2018 for producing and releasing a movie featuring the Japanese superhero without its permission. The studio demanded that distribution be stopped and sought compensation for damages.

▽Visit the home of famous manga artists like the creators of Astro Boy and Doraemon

Nearly 70 years ago, construction for a two-storey apartment building that would end up housing some of the most famous manga artists in history was completed. Though it was a basic boarding house with no bath or hot water (residents used the neighbourhood bathhouse), the Tokiwaso building in Toshima was home to some of Japan's greatest manga artists, including Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka along with Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, the duo behind the pen name Fujiko Fujio, who created Doraemon... The apartment complex was eventually demolished in 1982, but a near-exact replica has just opened in the same neighbourhood in Minami-Nagasaki, west of Ikebukuro. Fans of classic Japanese manga can get a closer look at the day-to-day lives of influential artists as their careers were taking off.