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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Seoul should engage Kim Jong-un’s elites for change, ex-North Korean diplomat says
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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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CU launches rice to go with ramen
Convenience store chain CU has launched rice specifically designed to go with cup noodle products, Tuesday. Priced at 700 won (60 cents), this 125-gram rice is called “ra-mal-bap,” short for “ramenae-marameokgi joeun-bap” which literally translates to “rice that is good to put in ramen.”Ra-mal-bap (CU)It is common among Koreans to add rice to instant ramen for more filling portions. Unlike the past instant-cooked rice products, ra-mal-bap is a basic white rice shaped into a ball that is conveni
FoodMay 12, 2016
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Notorious villain actor plays good guy in new TV series
Actor Namgoong Min, best known as the villain in "Remember -- War of the Son," might prefer if audiences forgot the popular series from earlier this year because he is making a "180-degree turn" in his upcoming TV series.The man, whose portrayal of the rich, conniving Nam Kyu-man made him one of South Korea's best villain actors, is playing a saintly lawyer in "Beautiful Gong Shim," an SBS romantic comedy premiering this weekend."It felt awkward sitting on the lawyer's side of the courtroom, not
TelevisionMay 12, 2016
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U.S. opposed Hiroshima memorial's inscription on UNESCO list: records
The United States was against Japan's bid to gain world heritage status for a building damaged in the Hiroshima atomic bombing, records showed Thursday, as keen attention is being paid to U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the city.On May 27, Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima since the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb on the city on Aug. 6, 1945, to end World War II.Critics in the U.S. and elsewhere have raised concerns the highly symbolic visit co
InternationalMay 12, 2016
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[Editorial] Fine dust
The government has poured more than 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) into the air quality control sector over the past decade. However, a revelation from the Board of Audit and Inspection indicated that the ministry had failed to identify the main pollutants causing air pollution and erroneously measured the amount of fine dust in the air.The fine dust that swept over the Seoul metropolitan area and some major cities over the past two months came mostly from China and Mongolia’s sand storms. But a
EditorialMay 12, 2016
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[Editorial] Penalty-free cartels
The antitrust regulator has just issued a kind of verbal warning to the nation’s eight major duty-free operators for cartel behavior, without handing down any fines.The duty-free shops were found to have engaged in price-fixing by setting irregular foreign exchange rates for 63 months from 2008 to 2012. The players are Shilla, Walkerhill, Dongwha, the Korea Tourism Organization and four Lotte affiliates.Given that the Fair Trade Commission looked into the case for about four years, it is not sat
EditorialMay 12, 2016
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Oxy case tests Korean consumers
Kim Min-sun, a 35-year-old office worker in Seoul, recalls a winter day in 2010 when she bought a bottle of Oxy Ssak Ssak, a humidifier sterilizer accused of killing at least 103 Koreans, at a supermarket in Seoul.Cheap and convenient, the product was a hit item that built a false hope of getting rid of 99.9 percent germs inside the water tank of humidifiers.But what kept Kim wondering at that time was the name of the product manufacturer -- Oxy Reckitt Benckiser -- a U.K. company she was famili
IndustryMay 12, 2016
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[Barbara Unmussig] Repression of protesters returns
Governments around the world are taking draconian steps to suppress civil-society organizations, with measures ranging from restrictive laws and bureaucratic burdens to smear campaigns, censorship, and outright repression by intelligence agencies or police. Whatever the means, governments are striving to interfere with the work of political, social, and environmental activists to an extent not seen since before communism collapsed in Europe a quarter-century ago.Of course, governments cite all s
ViewpointsMay 12, 2016
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Hankook Tire picked as supplier for Tesla’s Model 3
Hankook Tire, the country’s largest tire-maker, was recently chosen as a supplier for Model 3, the first mass market brand of U.S. luxury electric vehicle maker Tesla, according to local news reports.The reports said the EV-only tire of Hankook was picked based on the results of a recent performance test conducted by Tesla. Tesla’s Model 3 EVThe company, however, declined to comment on the deal, mentioning its confidentiality agreement with each client.Despite the company’s response, shares of
MobilityMay 12, 2016
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[Thepchai Yong] A tourist’s alternative view of North Korea
When Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein, chairman of the advisory board of the Vienna-based International Peace Foundation, decided to make his first trip to Pyongyang last October, his friends and family started worrying that he might not make it back.“They told me not to go because it would be dangerous and I might end up in jail. They were worried because I always speak my mind and that would get me into trouble,” recalled Prince Alfred, who noted that the general perception of North Korea is oft
ViewpointsMay 12, 2016
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CPA Global sets new business goal in Korea
CPA Global, a leading intellectual property management firm, on Thursday said it will aim to cater to the diversified needs of its Korean clients with comprehensive services. Announcing its new business goal for the Korean market, the firm said it ultimately hopes to help customers realize their ideas and get more value from their IP via integrated software, services and information. Marcos Antunes, general manager of the company’s Asia-Pacific business unit, speaks at a press conference at Kore
TechnologyMay 12, 2016
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[Khurram Husain] The need to maintain offshore companies
One thing the Panama Papers have made very clear is that there is a large system for concealing and moving money into and out of Pakistan, and this system is used more by businesses and high net worth individuals than it is by public figures. Of the 259 Pakistani names revealed thus far in the second release of the data, only a fraction are political figures. The rest are all connected with business.Why do so many people in the world of business feel the need to maintain an offshore company? The
ViewpointsMay 12, 2016
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SK names Korean AI system ‘Aibril’
SK Holdings C&C on Thursday announced “Aibril” as the name of the Korean version of Watson, an artificial intelligence system created by IBM. Aibril is a combination of “AI” and “brilliant,” illustrating how the increase in intelligence will prove fruitful, according to company officials. “Aibril will play a significant role in helping start-ups and IT developers create various applications for robots and mobile devices,” the firm said in a statement.SK C&C, the information technology services a
TechnologyMay 12, 2016
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Kakao’s profit plunges 65% in Q1
Kakao Corp., the operator of the immensely popular mobile messenger app Kakao Talk, on Thursday reported an almost 65 percent plunge in net profit in the first quarter due to its slowing ad sales and increased costs. The company’s net profit was down 64.5 percent to 10.9 billion won ($9.3 million) in the first three months of the year compared to a year ago. Its sales rose 3.5 percent to 242.4 billion won during the same period.The company said its ad business suffered seasonal weak demand in th
TechnologyMay 12, 2016
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Will this election get Philippines out of rut?
Is a vote for presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte a protest vote? No question. As observers have noted, six years of failures and frustrations generated by the incumbent administration have made a large part of the electorate predisposed to a radical prospect: a tough-talking mayor from outside Imperial Manila who appears to have no patience for the usual political niceties, and has vowed to smash the fraying conventions and institutions of the old guard — from shuttering Congress should it
ViewpointsMay 12, 2016
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KT 'likely' to partner with Tesla for telematics system: sources
KT, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, is likely to be chosen as electric vehicle maker Tesla’s partner for telematics technology solutions, according to industry sources familiar with the matter.“KT is highly likely to partner with Tesla to work in this field,” a source told The Korea Herald on Wednesday.Tesla reportedly plans to roll out its flagship models Model X and Model S in Korea early next year ahead of its release of less expensive Model 3 probably in 2018. Telematics technolo
MobilityMay 12, 2016
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[Megan McArdle] The U.S. doesn’t need a CEO in chief
Critiquing Donald Trump’s policy pronouncements for being implausible feels a bit like belittling bathroom graffiti for its weak use of metaphor and inappropriate deployment of the conditional rather than the subjunctive. Sure, you may be technically correct, but you’ve failed to grapple with the essentials of the form. And neither the author nor his audience is likely to take your criticisms to heart.But what can we pundits do? The man is now the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republic
ViewpointsMay 12, 2016
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Park’s Africa visit to focus on business opportunities
President Park Geun-hye will seek to expand South Korean companies’ overseas business opportunities during her 12-day trip covering three African states and France slated for later this month, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.During the first part of the trip, which includes Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, the president will focus on promoting the South Korean government’s official development assistance program. Park is scheduled to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn during her visi
PoliticsMay 12, 2016
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Korea denies report over delay in adoption of UNSC statement
South Korea on Thursday denied speculation that a delay in the U.N. Security Council (UNSC)'s adoption of a press statement to condemn North Korea's recent missile provocations is related to the joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.Last week, Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin said that Russia had proposed that an expression calling on the allies to halt or refrain from conducting their drills be included in the statement. This has spawned speculation that the delay coul
Social AffairsMay 12, 2016
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Military to procure 100 more K-2 tanks
The South Korean military said Thursday it plans to produce 300 K2 Black Panther tanks for deployment in the frontlines, up from the initial plan of 200. Moon Sang-kyun, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said in a press briefing that the deployment will commence this year with 100 K2 tanks.“Military officials have raised the need (for the tanks) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided (to increase the number) after considering several technological and environmental changes,” said a JCS official
DefenseMay 12, 2016
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Report says women leaving workforce for family, from lack of quality jobs
More than 90 percent of Korean women in their latter 30s, now economically inactive, had been previously employed, a report said Thursday, a finding that supports arguments that they are leaving the workforce to care for child and family.According to the report from the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS), out of 836,000 women in the 35-39 age group who were not working, 93.8 percent, or 785,000, formerly held jobs. Fifty-seven percent of the women who previously had worked were raising
May 12, 2016