Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Toxins at 622 times legal limit found in kids' clothes from Chinese platforms
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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[News Focus] Uncertainty mounts over Korean food fair in Japan
SEJONG -- South Korea’s annual food fairs across the globe have drawn wide attention from overseas buyers and consumers over the past few years.This year, the “K-food Fair,” which is organized by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (also dubbed aT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, targeted seven venues in Asia, Europe and the US.According to aT, more than 270 Korean companies are scheduled to participate in the fairs in seven locations, colle
EconomyAug. 13, 2019
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Ex-husband murder suspect sues current spouse for defamation
Koh Yu-jeong, who is suspected of murdering her former husband, has sued her current spouse for defamation.Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency said Monday that Koh has filed defamation charges against her husband, who alleges that she is responsible for the death of his 4-year-old son.He also accused police of “lax investigation” via an online petition posted July 29 on Cheong Wa Dae’s website.His son -- Koh’s stepson -- died March 2 at the couple’s home in Cheongju,
Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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Russian diplomat booked on drunk driving charge
A Russian diplomat in South Korea has been booked without detention on a drunk driving charge.The Namdaemun Police Station said Tuesday that the diplomat crashed into a tree on the side of the road in front of Deoksugung, a Joseon-period royal palace in Jung-gu, Seoul, at around 9:40 p.m. Monday.An on-site test showed the diplomat’s blood alcohol level to be 0.289 percent, far over the legal limit of 0.08 percent, beyond which drivers can have their licenses revoked. Police allowed the dip
Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Bus driver’s waiting time doesn’t count as work hours: court
The Supreme Court ruled that a former chief executive who was fined for making his employee work longer than the legally permitted 52 hours a week was not guilty, saying waiting time did not count as work hours.The top court said Tuesday it has overturned a lower court ruling that imposed a fine of 500,000 won ($410) on Kwak No-sang, former chief executive of Korail Networks. It sent the case back to the Suwon District Court for retrial. The Korail Networks employee surnamed Yoon, who drove a sh
Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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Extremely poor defector mother, son found dead
A defector from North Korea and her son were found dead in their home in southwestern Seoul last month, police said Tuesday.The bodies of the 42-year-old woman identified by her family name Han and her six-year-old son identified as Kim were found by a janitor of the apartment in Bongcheon-dong, southern Seoul, on July 31. He entered the house after a water serviceman reported that it smelled badly. Water supply had been cut off because of unpaid bills.Police said there were no traces of suicide
Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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SK E&C, Daelim win Project Finance Deal of the Year through $3.1 deal in Turkey
South Korean builders SK Engineering & Construction and Daelim Industrial said Tuesday they won the Project Finance Deal of the Year award for securing a $3 billion construction deal in Turkey. The two companies clinched the deal as preferred bidders in 2017 through a four-way consortium comprising SK E&C, Daelim and two Turkish builders, Limak and Yapi Merkezi. Dubbed the Turkey Canakkale project, it involves building a 3.7 kilometer-long suspension bridge in Turkey, the longe
IndustryAug. 13, 2019
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S. Korea, China, Japan likely to hold foreign ministers' meeting this month: Seoul official
South Korea, China and Japan are likely to hold a trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers later this month, a Seoul official said Tuesday, despite high tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over a diplomatic and trade row.Should the meeting take place in China, the chances are high that South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono will have bilateral talks, the official said, though no final decision has been made yet over either trilateral or bilateral ta
Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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Seoul urges Central American states to quickly implement free trade deal
South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday urged a group of five Central American countries to implement a free trade agreement with Seoul.Early this month, South Korea's parliament ratified the pact with the five countries -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.Among the five, Nicaragua has completed its domestic procedures, paving the way for the FTA implementation in October, according to the trade ministry here. Four other countries are expected to implement the free trade d
EconomyAug. 13, 2019
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Japanese scholar says Tokyo is liable for compensation of colonial victims
Under international law, Japan is still liable for compensating Koreans forced to work for Japanese firms and in military brothels during World War II despite a 1965 bilateral treaty that Japan claims has settled such compensation claims, a Japanese scholar said Monday. Tetsuya Takahashi, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo, co-authored "On Responsibility," a 2018 Japanese book that traces Japan's stubborn evasion of its colonial-era liabilities to the country's feeble de
Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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Spy chiefs of Koreas met secretly in April after no-deal summit breakdown in Hanoi: source
The top intelligence officials of the two Koreas met secretly in April after the North's spy chief was replaced following Feb.'s no-deal summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, a government source confirmed Tuesday. The meeting between National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and his North Korean counterpart, Jang Kum-chol, came right after Jang took over as chief of the North's United Front Department (UFD), the source said.Jang replaced Kim Yong-cho
North KoreaAug. 13, 2019
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Cha University provides resource analysis service for SMEs in Gyeonggi Province
Cha University’s resources research center in northeastern Gyeonggi Province aims to help small and medium-sized companies use the region’s resources more efficiently to produce high-value goods.The northeastern part of the province, such as Pocheon and Dongducheon, have had difficulty commercializing natural resources and developing high-value-added businesses due to systemic weaknesses and a lack of technological infrastructure. The biotechnology industry in the area is around 10 t
PeopleAug. 13, 2019
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UN probing 35 North Korean cyberattacks in 17 countries
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- UN experts say they are investigating at least 35 instances in 17 countries of North Koreans using cyberattacks to illegally raise money for its nuclear program _ and they are calling for sanctions against ships providing gasoline and diesel to the country. Last week, The Associated Press reported that North Korea illegally acquired "as much as two billion dollars'' from its increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency
North KoreaAug. 13, 2019
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[Graphic News] Applicants for Korean language test surpass 300,000
The annual number of applicants for the state-run Test of Proficiency in Korean surpassed 300,000 for the first time last year, its administrator said.A total of 329,224 people across 76 countries applied for the Korean language test for non-native speakers and ethnic Koreans in 2018, according to an official in charge of TOPIK at the National Institute of International Education under the Ministry of Education. The figure marked a 13 percent increase from 290,638 in 2017 and was 120 times more
Social AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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US prods S. Korea, Japan to seek 'creative' solutions to trade row
The United States maintained Monday that South Korea and Japan need to seek "creative solutions" to their disagreements after Seoul took retaliatory steps for Tokyo's export control measures.Washington also continues to stand ready to facilitate dialogue between its two Asian allies, a US State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency. "As an ally and friend to both the Republic of Korea and Japan, the United States believes it is critical to ensure strong and close relatio
Foreign AffairsAug. 13, 2019
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Flights resume at Hong Kong airport after protests
HONG KONG (AFP) -- Flights resumed Tuesday at Hong Kong airport a day after a massive pro-democracy rally there forced the shutdown of the busy international transport hub.Early Tuesday, passengers with luggage were being checked in at the departures hall and information boards showed several flights were already boarding or about to depart. The abrupt shutdown of one of the world's busiest hubs came after thousands of black-clad demonstrators flooded the airport for a peaceful rally.It was a dr
World NewsAug. 13, 2019
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[Feature] Koreans reject ‘No Japan’ campaign, focus on criticizing Abe
Last week, it took less than five hours for a district office in Seoul to withdraw its plan to hang some 1,100 banners featuring “No. Boycott Japan” on lampposts across major streets in the heart of the city following a strong public backlash. After officials from Jung-gu Office put up some 50 banners reading “I won’t go (to Japan), I will not buy (Japanese goods)” around the district, which encompasses popular tourist destinations such as Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Mar
Social AffairsAug. 12, 2019
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[News Focus] Showdown for 21st Assembly to start on threshold of fall
SEJONG -- South Korea’s political parties will de facto enter campaign mode after the Chuseok holiday in the second week of September.The general election for the 21st National Assembly is coming up in eight months.Opposition lawmakers have predicted that the general election, slated for April 15, 2020, will pass judgement on the “economic policy failures” of the Moon Jae-in administration.However, some lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (liberals) argue that the
PoliticsAug. 12, 2019
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Gyeonggi Province launches campaigns to boost local tourism
Gyeonggi Province’s tourism body is launching a set of campaigns to overcome an upcoming slump in the regional tourism industry following Japan’s recent economic retaliation. The administration was one of the first governmental bodies to express support for the people’s boycott of Japan and take countermeasures to the Japanese government’s decision to remove South Korea from its whitelist of preferred trade partners earlier in July. Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Pro
PeopleAug. 12, 2019
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Exhibition highlights King Jeongjo and his legacy
King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd king of the Joseon era, is one of the most respected rulers of the period, known for his love for the people and innovations he tried to bring to the kingdom.Jeongjo recruited many scholars who pursued pragmatic measures, such Jeong Yak-yong, and established Kyujanggak, a royal library. Hwaseong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also one of King Jeongjo’s celebrated achievements.The latest exhibition at the Suwon Ipark Museum of Art, titled “Seong
Arts & DesignAug. 12, 2019
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Rain fails to put out the heat at Pentaport Rock Festival
Wrapping up three days of festivities, Weezer took the stage at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2019 on Sunday at around 10 p.m. As the crowd rocked on to the US band’s “Perfect Situation,” the downpour blew out the generator and the music stopped.The 10-minute delay did not put out the fire for the frenzied crowd, and many continued to rock on as the band played songs including “Africa,” “Happy Together” and “Island in the Sun.”Nasty weather
PerformanceAug. 12, 2019