Most Popular
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Seoul, Tokyo reboot joint maritime resource talks after 40-year freeze
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Host of Miss Korea apologizes for 'inappropriate question' about deepfake
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Korea to face another massive shortfall in tax revenue
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Who's lying? Hybe vs. Min conflict continues to intensify
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[Contribution] Turkmenistan celebrates the 33rd anniversary of its Independence
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[Photo news] Faker Mercedes
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SK hynix outpaces Samsung, Micron with more powerful AI chips
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Power of nostalgia brings K-pop legends back together
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North Korea unveiling uranium enrichment site a US election-conscious move: NIS
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'Shaman says president will die,' caller warns
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2,000 teachers reject history textbook
More than 2,000 elementary school teachers on Wednesday rejected the use of state-authored history textbooks, claiming they do not correctly illustrate Korean history. About 2,600 teachers, members of the liberal Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union, vowed they would not use the textbooks made for sixth graders. Since March, sixth graders have been taught with new state-issued history textbooks. The new textbooks, first published in September 2014 on a trial basis, were revised after h
Social AffairsMay 25, 2016
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Ministry launches survey of household biocides
The Environment Ministry on Wednesday said it would survey household biocide products made and sold by some 8,000 companies here until the end of next year to review their safety.In a group briefing attended by representatives of distributors, manufacturers, and importers, the ministry said that about 30 companies with major market shares have shown a willingness to sign memorandums of understanding with the ministry for this purpose. These companies produce the 15 types of household products un
Social AffairsMay 25, 2016
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Korean women fight morning-after pill rule
About two years ago, Jeong Yu-jin faced an unexpected predicament. After having unprotected sex on Saturday night, she decided to get morning-after pills -- also known as emergency contraception pills -- to prevent unwanted pregnancy the day after. “And then I realized it was Sunday,” the 31-year-old told The Korea Herald. “I couldn’t find any gynecologist clinics that were open because it was the weekend. Most pharmacies in my town were closed, too.”Jeong ended up visiting a gynecologist on Mon
Social AffairsMay 25, 2016
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Ban's visit fans political speculation
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon began a six-day visit in South Korea on Wednesday with a series of meetings with government officials and senior politicians, amid widening speculation that he might run in next year’s presidential election. Ban arrived at Jejudo Island to attend the Jeju Forum alongside foreign head of state and local politicians. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday before leaving for the G7 Summit in Japan. Following the two-day event, he wil
PoliticsMay 25, 2016
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[David Ignatius] Defeating IS means getting the politics right
A tour of the war zones in Iraq and Syria with the top American commander ends, appropriately enough, here in Turkey, the strongest power in the region and the place where the modern troubles began a hundred years ago with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.The abiding strategic fact about the current war against the Islamic State group is that it’s part of a bigger process of reordering the post-Ottoman structure of this part of the world. We don’t know yet what the outcome will be or what the
ViewpointsMay 25, 2016
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Constantly raped by brother-in-law: woman who killed unwanted child
A 26-year-old rape victim, whose years of suffering sexual violence at the hands of her brother-in-law only recently came to light after she killed her 3-year-old son, claimed she had been raped on more counts than prosecutors had determined in official case records. According to the Incheon Bucheon district court on May 19, the woman told her lawyer that “she had repeatedly had unwanted sexual relations with her older sister’s husband,” stressing the damage of the crimes she suffered was graver
Social AffairsMay 25, 2016
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N. Korean workers in China send bulk of earnings to Pyongyang regime
North Korean workers in China are forced to send 70 to 80 percent of their meager wages to the North Korean regime as a "loyalty fund," making their lives more miserable, a U.S.-based news media report said Wednesday.A source in China told Radio Free Asia recently that many North Korean laborers have no choice but to cope with poor living conditions since their actual income stands at less than $100 per month.Such developments are taking place despite the fact that their wages have been on the r
North KoreaMay 25, 2016
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STX Shipbuilding put on path to court-led restructuring
Creditor banks said they have begun discussing whether to put Korea’s midsized shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding under court receivership, as their years of financial aid have failed to improve the shipyard’s business prospects.Leading creditor Korea Development Bank said Wednesday the creditors agreed to put an end to the shipyard’s self-rescue plan and to decide on whether to put the company into the hands of a court by the end of this month.“Creditors have concluded that the company goi
IndustryMay 25, 2016
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Monaco 1st to file implementation report on latest NK sanctions
Monaco has filed its implementation report for United Nations-led sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear test and other provocations, becoming the first member country to submit the action plan, sources said Wednesday.The move came about a week before the deadline by which all member countries are required to submit their own guidelines on how to carry out the toughened sanctions adopted by the U.N. about three months ago. Details, including what measures Monaco will take, have not been d
North KoreaMay 25, 2016
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Ruling party to hold meeting on normalization 'soon'
South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday said it will hold a general meeting in the "near future"to discuss the normalization of the party, which may include reorganizing its power structure to grant more authority to a single leader.Chung Jin-suk, the floor leader, said the party will hold a meeting to exchange ideas on details of the discussions made by key officials earlier this week. The meeting will try to find a breakthrough in the prolonged power vacuum at the top after the party's
PoliticsMay 25, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Samsung to counter-sue Huawei
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday hinted that it might file a counter-suit against Huawei, which has sued the Korean company in the U.S. and China for infringing its technology patents. “We will take countermeasures, including a lawsuit (against Huawei),” Ahn Seong-ho, head of Samsung’s intellectual property division, told reporters after a weekly meeting of Samsung CEOs in Seoul. Samsung Group headquarters (Yonhap)His comment came after the Chinese equipment giant filed patent suits in Californi
TechnologyMay 25, 2016
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Banks set to suffer from exposure to troubled shipbuilders
As the specter of bankruptcy rises for Korea’s shipbuilders, concern is growing over local banks’ exposure to the ailing sector. According to industry sources Wednesday, local banks’ exposure to the shipbuilding sector exceeds 70 trillion won ($59.3 billion) in total, which is far larger than to shipping, another troubled sector with high default risks. Korea Development Bank headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)The high exposure stems partly from ship financing, which typically involves shipbuilders’
May 25, 2016
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Korea’s 30 largest conglomerates slash 500 executives
South Korea’s 30 largest business groups are down around 500 executives in the last year amid the nation’s prolonged economic slowdown, according to industry data Wednesday. Corporate researcher CEO Score said the total number of executives of the nation’s 30 largest conglomerates stood at 9,632 as of May, a drop of 4.8 percent from the same period of last year. By title, vice presidents, the lowest level among Korean executives, vacated the most jobs, accounting for more than half of total cuts
IndustryMay 25, 2016
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STX Shipbuilding likely to face court receivership
Creditor banks said they have begun discussing whether to put Korea’s midsized shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding under court receivership, as their years of financial aid have failed to improve the shipyard’s business prospects.Leading creditor Korea Development Bank said Wednesday the creditors agreed to put an end to the shipyard’s self-rescue plan and to decide on whether to put the company into the hands of a court by the end of this month. STX Offshore and Shipbuilding workers leave t
May 25, 2016
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Korea releases 1st roadmap to build facility for spent nuclear fuel
Korea will select a site for an underground storage facility to permanently dispose spent nuclear fuel, or high-level radioactive waste, by 2028 and complete the construction of the facility by 2053, according to the first roadmap for the project released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday. “A further delay in building the facility will put a drag on future generations, considering the saturation level of interim storage units located in the nuclear power complexes nation
IndustryMay 25, 2016
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[Photo News] Foreign tobacco for military
A solider takes a cigarette pack at a PX store within an army unit in Seoul that started selling foreign tobacco brands for the first time on Wednesday. The foreign brands chosen by the government to go on sale in such places are Marlboro Gold Original by Philip Morris and Mevius LSS Wind Blue by Japan Tobacco International. (Yonhap)
IndustryMay 25, 2016
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Court dismisses same-sex marriage appeal
A South Korean court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by two male filmmakers to legally recognize their marriage, saying that same-sex marriage cannot be accepted without due "legislative" action.Kim Chokwangsu and Kim Seung-hwan tied the knot in a public wedding in September 2013 but are still seeking to get legal status as the country does not recognize same-sex marriages.They submitted a report of marriage to a Seoul district office, but it was denied by the office on the grounds that "same-s
Social AffairsMay 25, 2016
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Annual Arab film fest to open in Seoul, Busan
An annual Arab film festival will be held simultaneously in Seoul and Busan later this week, providing a rare chance for a South Korean audience to better understand the Arab world, a co-organizer said Wednesday. The 5th Arab Film Festival will feature 15 films from 10 Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Iraq, Egypt and Palestine, the Busan Cinema Center here said. The event, which runs from May 26-June 1 at Arthouse MOMO in Seoul and the BCC in Busan, consists of three s
CultureMay 25, 2016
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N. Korea extends charm offensive toward S. Korea
North Korea has extended its offer to hold dialogue with South Korea for the sixth day in a row, calling on Seoul to accept its proposal to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula, the country's state media reported Wednesday.An institute under the ruling Workers' Party of Korea said North Korea is ready to have candid talks with South Korea, blaming Seoul for not accepting its dialogue proposal, according to the Rodong Sinmun, the party's main newspaper.The offer is part of North Korea's charm off
North KoreaMay 25, 2016
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BOK chief says credibility of GDP figures falling
South Korea's central bank will develop a supplementary economic indicator to offset the limitations of gross domestic product figures, its chief said Wednesday, attributing their falling credibility to the changing landscape of global industries.In a bimonthly meeting with economists, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said, "GDP has been a representative indicator that shows the size of an economy, the pace of its growth and its status of prosperity. But its credibility is on the decline as it
May 25, 2016