Most Popular
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Who's lying? Hybe vs. Min conflict continues to intensify
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Seoul should engage Kim Jong-un’s elites for change, ex-North Korean diplomat says
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Thousands rally in Seoul to call for Yoon's resignation
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Most teen sex offenders get away with slap on wrist
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FM champions multilateralism, stresses S. Korea's vision as 'global pivotal state'
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Man sentenced to 1 year, 8 months for stealing from elementary school classrooms
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Same-sex couple denied insurance clearance despite landmark ruling
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
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Panmunjom tours for select Korean nationals may resume in October
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Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
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Voters head to polling stations in crucial parliamentary elections
Voters headed to polling stations Wednesday for the crucial parliamentary elections that will shape the legislative landscape for the next four years and gauge public sentiment ahead of next year's presidential race.The quadrennial polls are to elect a new 300-member National Assembly and take on extra significance as the results will affect how President Park Geun-hye wraps up her remaining term in office, as well as set the tone for who will succeed her.The National Assembly will be comprised
PoliticsApril 13, 2016
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For adoptees, DNA is game changer for finding roots
After living more than 50 years in denial of her Korean heritage, Katherine Kim had only one thing on her bucket list: to have a photo of her Korean mother.Adopted by a white American couple in California in 1961, Kim said she knows she had a better life in the U.S. than she would have had as a biracial child in Korea. But that didn't stop her from wanting to make peace with the first three and a half years of her life, which were spent here with her single mother and then at an orphanage."I fee
Social AffairsApril 13, 2016
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N. Korea showing signs of mobile ballistic missile launch: CNN
North Korea is showing signs of preparations to conduct its first launch of a mobile ballistic missile that could potentially reach part of the United States, CNN reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials.U.S. intelligence satellites have picked up such indications, and the potential launch is most likely to involve the intermediate-range Musudan missile, feared to be capable of reaching Guam as well as Shemya Island in the outer reaches of Alaska's Aleutian chain, the report said.But the North co
North KoreaApril 13, 2016
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Korea's military strength ranks 11th in world
South Korea ranks 11th in the world in terms of military strength, behind Japan at seventh and ahead of North Korea at 25th, according to an annual U.S. military power index.The South had a firepower index of 0.2824, right behind Italy's 0.2724, according to the Global Firepower (GFP) 2016, which takes over 50 factors into account to assess military power of countries.The smaller the index, the stronger a country's military power.South Korea's GFP ranked in ninth place in the 2014 index and seve
DefenseApril 13, 2016
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Kerry has no plans to meet with N. Korean FM in New York: source
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has no plans to meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, scheduled to visit New York next week for the signing of a U.N. climate agreement, a diplomatic source Tuesday.The U.N. plans to hold the high-level signing ceremony on April 22 for the so-called Paris Agreement adopted in December to replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, and the North's Ri is scheduled to attend the ceremony, according to the U.N. spokesman's office.The planned visit d
North KoreaApril 13, 2016
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Parliamentary candidates wrap up official campaigns
Parliamentary candidates wrapped up their official campaigns Tuesday, which are expected to shape South Korea's legislative landscape for the next four years.The official 13-day campaign period closed at midnight.Wednesday's general elections are to pick a new 300-member National Assembly, with 253 of them to be selected through direct elections and the remaining 47 proportional representation seats to be allocated to parties according to the numbers of votes they receive overall.A total of 944
PoliticsApril 13, 2016
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KB to buy Hyundai Securities stake for W1.25tr
KB Financial Group is buying 22.6 percent of Hyundai Securities for 1.25 trillion won ($1.09 billion), nearly four times the stake’s current market value.In a regulatory filing in Seoul on late Tuesday afternoon, KB said it will buy a 22.56 percent stake, or some 53 million shares, in Hyundai Group’s securities arm from Hyundai Merchant Marine and other shareholders. The stock transfer is due to take place May 31.KB is to start due diligence on the brokerage, which ranks fourth in the industry w
April 13, 2016
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IMF slashes Korea’s growth outlook to 2.7%
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that Korea’s economic growth in 2016 would be 0.2 percentage point lower than it had previously forecast, as waning global trade continues to drag down the export-driven economy. It now expects Korea’s economy to expand 2.7 percent this year, down from 2.9 percent projected in January and 3.2 percent in October last year. The revised outlook is lower than the Korean government’s prediction of 3.1 percent and Bank of Korea’s forecast of 3 percent, but
April 13, 2016
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Kerry warns North Korea of harsher measures in event of additional provocation
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged North Korea on Monday to forgo any provocative actions, warning the U.S. is ready to impose even harsher sanctions than the latest U.N. resolution on the communist nation.Kerry issued the warning at a news conference during a landmark visit to Hiroshima, Japan, amid concerns that Pyongyang could conduct another nuclear test, its fifth, ahead of the birthday of founding leader Kim Il-sung on Friday.He said sentiment was uniform at a meeting of the foreign
North KoreaApril 12, 2016
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South Korea to introduce more loudspeakers to step up anti-NK broadcasting
South Korea plans to introduce more powerful loudspeaker systems by the end of this year to boost its ongoing anti-North Korea broadcasting campaign, government notices showed Tuesday.The Ministry of National Defense's finance management body posted notices on April 4 inviting local suppliers to submit tenders for two types of high-end loudspeaker, according to the military's public bidding website.According to the procurement postings, the military is seeking to introduce 24 fixed and 16 mobile
North KoreaApril 12, 2016
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Dior sparks outrage over photo for 'demeaning Korean women'
An artwork displayed by French luxury house Dior at its flagship store in Seoul has sparked public outrage, fueled by claims that it portrays Korean women as materialistic and morally loose.The controversial piece -- artist Lee Wan’s “Korean Woman” -- depicts a young woman with a pink Lady Dior bag standing in a backstreet of an unidentified adult entertainment district filled with signs advertising “room salons,” or hostess bars.The contrasting image of the Korean woman with Dior’s signature ba
IndustryApril 12, 2016
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Ruling camp faces bigger brawl after election
Having entered what traditionally would be the lame duck fourth year in office, President Park Geun-hye could use some renewed loyalty from her conservative home Saenuri Party to back her up in pushing ahead with pending state affairs.It is under such circumstances that the state leader publicly commented in favor of the ruling party over several occasions during the campaigning season, at the risk of breaching the duty of political neutrality.But even if the Saenuri Party were to reap a sweepin
PoliticsApril 12, 2016
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[Graphic News] Seoul’s above 60 population soars: report
Seoul is aging rapidly, with the city’s population of those aged 60 and above expected to reach over 3 million by 2030, a report by McKinsey Global Institute showed Tuesday.The report said Seoul will be the eighth city in the world with the largest population in their 60s. In South Korea’s capital, this demographic group will make up 31 percent of the total population, showed the report. As of the end of 2015, 1.84 million of 10.02 million citizens in Seoul were aged 60 and over, or 18 percent o
Social AffairsApril 12, 2016
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[Kim Seong-kon] Calling for modern Renaissance men and women
There is a Korean saying: “To find water, concentrate on digging one well at a time.” It means we need to become professionals and specialists, not shallow amateurs. But times have changed. These days, we need people who can dig as many wells as possible in order to benefit many people. Indeed, the present age calls for open-minded men who have a global perspective rather than parochial views, and erudite men who have wide perception rather than men of narrow specialties.We need Renaissance men
ViewpointsApril 12, 2016
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[Robert J. Fouser] Does Korea need an upper house?
Today marks the 20th time that Koreans have gone to the polls to vote for members of the National Assembly. Since the founding of the Republic of Korea in 1948, elections for the National Assembly have been the most regular of all elections. From 1971 to 1987, presidential elections were suspended and elections for local government offices were held for the first time in 1995. National Assembly elections, by contrast, have been held regularly every three to five years, though voter fraud and int
ViewpointsApril 12, 2016
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[Editorial] Mounting suspicions
The Government Public Ethics Committee has launched its probe of senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-jun, who is facing questions over his stock trading gains worth more than 10 billion won ($8.6 million).It is a mercy that the state has not hushed up the allegation involving his possible exploitation of corporate insider information. At the same time, a concern is that the committee has no right to summon key figures of game developer Nexon, whose stocks were traded by the prosecutor.While some figures
EditorialApril 12, 2016
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[Editorial] Continued doldrums
Korean businesses are pinning their hopes on reaching some type of agreement at a meeting between the OPEC and non-OPEC members in Doha on April 17. If the oil producers reach a consensus on an output freeze, Korea may be a beneficiary, as the nation is an export powerhouse in petrochemical products.Although an increase in crude prices has many positive effects, some industries will also have to bear a heavier burden in procuring raw materials. This divided sentiment reflects the desperate situa
EditorialApril 12, 2016
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Tax revenue grows on rising income, consumption
Korea’s tax revenue grew significantly from a year earlier in the first two months of the year, partly due to an increase in income and consumer spending, a government report showed Tuesday.National tax revenue came to some 42.7 trillion won ($37.2 billion) in the January-February period, up 10.9 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the monthly financial report published by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The two-month tally represents 19.1 percent of the government’s a
April 12, 2016
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Nongshim Japan’s sales rise 22.6% in Q1
South Korea’s largest food manufacturer Nongshim on Tuesday said its Japanese affiliate rose 22.6 percent on-year to reach $9 million in the first quarter, buoyed by its enhanced marketing efforts.It marks the biggest on-year sales hike ever recorded among Nongshim’s overseas branches as well as the largest sales volume logged by Nongshim since business began declining in 2012, the firm said.Nongshim’s “Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car” (Nongshim)“Since first exporting (its flagship spicy ramen) Shin Ram
IndustryApril 12, 2016
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Busan’s latest hit street food
The saturated fishcake market in port city Busan has embraced creativity for its next-generation street snack. (@seung_ryeoll Instagram)Brainchild of tried-and-tested chef Lee Seung-ryeoll, 53, the chicken wing fishcake mashes together chicken’s savoriness with fishcake’s chewy texture. The recipe for this is simple. The chicken wing is first deboned and stuffed with fishcake, then it is cooked in an oven, roasted on a grill and served on a paper plate with sauce and sesame salt. Lee said he cam
FoodApril 12, 2016