Most Popular
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‘Korea crossed the line too far’ disgraced singer’s lawyer cries foul after 3rd visa denial
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Opposition mulls delay of financial investment income tax
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Immigration policy must go beyond labor supply: experts
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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S. Korea to showcase Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Armed Forces Day ceremony for 1st time
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Nasrallah's killing reveals depth of Israel's Hezbollah penetration
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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Korean American documentary ‘Free Chol Soo Lee' wins Emmy
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KMA chief under pressure after surveyed doctors refuse to back him
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Minister urges passage of reform bills
South Korea's finance minister called on parliament Monday to pass controversial reform bills in order to speed up the country's structural reform and bolster overall competitiveness."Every reform is completed by the law. The government cannot carry out sweeping reform without a parliamentary passage," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a press conference with four other ministers from the labor, education and trade ministries and the Financial Services Commission. "The government has tried to c
Social AffairsFeb. 1, 2016
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Korean shares open flat
Korean shares started flat, up just 0.42 percent Monday.Telecommunication shares rose slightly after the government failed to approve a new mobile carrier last week, giving the benchmark index a boost. An investor watches an electronic board displaying South Korean share prices at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul. (Yonhap)The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.95 points to 1,920.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index was trading 0.63 percent higher at 1924.03 points
Feb. 1, 2016
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Korea’s current account surplus above $100 billion
Korea’s current account surplus surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2015 as the country’s imports declined faster than exports, central bank data showed Monday.The figure came to a record high of $105.96 billion in 2015, compared with an $84.37 billion surplus in the previous year, said the Bank of Korea, citing preliminary data. Hyundai Motor vehicles wait to be shipped off at South Korea’s Ulsan Port. (Yonhap)But the surplus for the month of December narrowed from a month ear
BusinessFeb. 1, 2016
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Korea ranks 14th worldwide in stock market cap in 2015
Korea ranked 14th among major peers in stock market capitalization last year, the bourse operator here said Monday.The combined market cap of listed firms in the country reached $1.23 trillion as of the end of 2015, accounting for 1.96 percent of the global market, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said citing data compiled by the World Federation of Exchange.The end-2015 market cap is a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year's $1.21 trillion, though its global standing remained unchanged, it noted.
BusinessFeb. 1, 2016
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‘Energy supply scheme change key to curbing climate change’
It is crucial for Korea to change its energy supply scheme in order to reach the target of the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to a renowned environmental activist. “The strongest message of the Paris deal is that the fossil fuel generation has ended. Just as the Stone Age didn’t end just because there were no more stones, global warming is telling us that we can no longer use fossil fuels but have to pursue sustainability,” Ahn Byung-ok, head of the Institute for Climate Change Act
Social AffairsFeb. 1, 2016
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U.S. should take concrete security assurance measures to keep Korea from going nuclear
The United States should take "concrete and meaningful" steps to demonstrate its commitment to South Korea's security in the face of growing nuclear threats from North Korea if Washington wants to keep Seoul from going nuclear, a U.S. expert said.Ian Williams, a research associate in the CSIS International Security Program, made the argument in an article in the program's monthly newsletter, noting growing calls in South Korea for nuclear armament in the wake of the North's Jan. 6 nuclear test."
North KoreaFeb. 1, 2016
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Korea’s exports tumbled 18.5% in Jan.
Korea’s exports contracted 18.5 percent in January compared to last year, according to government data Monday.With the latest decline, exports from the country extended their losing streak to 13 straight months. Overall outbound shipments reached $36.7 billion last month, compared to $45.1 billion a year ago, showed data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. A nighttime view of Busan Port (Yonhap)The January decline was the largest on-year fall since August 2009. Exports have been on
BusinessFeb. 1, 2016
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Korean Kim Hyo-joo wins LPGA Tour season opener
South Korean youngster Kim Hyo-joo captured the 2016 LPGA Tour season opener in the Bahamas on Sunday after a nearly flawless final round.Kim won the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at 18-under 274, thanks to a final round of seven-under 66 on Sunday at the par-73, 6,625-yard Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island. She finished two strokes ahead of three golfers, including defending champion Kim Sei-young of South Korea.It was the third LPGA victory for Kim Hyo-joo and first in 21 starts, dati
SportsFeb. 1, 2016
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CHEVENING ALUMNI RECEPTION
CHEVENING ALUMNI RECEPTION -- British Ambassador Charles Hay (second from left) speaks at a Chevening alumni reception at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on Friday. The Chevening scholarship is offered by the British government to high-achieving individuals from around the world. Students study at U.K. universities for a year. The alumni annually host knowledge-sharing events, charities, field trips and networking venues with fellow alumni in Asia. (Joel Lee/The Korea Herald)
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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Chinese New Year strikes a chord in Korea
The Chinese Embassy organized a series of events last week to promote the Lunar New Year, known as “Chunjie” in Chinese. As the largest annual holiday across Confucian communities worldwide, including in Korea, where it is called “Seollal,” the festivities lasts over a week in China, bringing together relatives from far and wide. In an effort to strengthen cultural ties with Korea, the embassy has hosted the celebrations here since 2010, which have grown in leaps and bounds. Traditional Chinese
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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Korea-Sri Lanka ties near 40th anniversary
Ahead of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea, Sri Lanka is enhancing its partnership with Korea and promoting itself as an attractive investment destination in the Indian Ocean. The island country has registered annual growth of 6 percent over the last 10 years, and presents itself as a logistics hub linking East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. As the nation aims to shore up foreign investment, boost international trade and switch to a
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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Taekwondo bridges ASEAN, Korean youths
The ASEAN-Korea Center and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation held a training camp for the youths of Southeast Asia and Korea in late January. The event at Taekwondowon in Muju, North Jeolla Province, from Jan. 25-30 gathered 55 students from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who partnered with Korean young people. Sponsored by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund, the venue aimed at fostering friendship and education. Participants learned the martial art’s basic postures, stretching techn
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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‘TPP membership would synergize Korean, Japanese economies’
Korea’s prospective membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership would go beyond eliminating tariffs, closely linking its economy with Japan and shoring up its competitiveness within an interconnected global value chain, an influential economist has said. As a “platinum standard” agreement instantly abolishing 87.4 percent of tariffs on items and 81.3 percent on export volume, the accord was reached on Oct. 5 last year between 12 Pacific Rim countries ― the U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico,
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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Islamic State group claims bombings near Syria Shiite shrine
BEIRUT (AFP) -- The Islamic State group on Sunday claimed responsibility for bombings near a revered Shiite shrine outside the Syrian capital Damascus that killed at least 45 people.In a statement circulated on social media, the jihadist group said two of its members had detonated suicide bombs near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine.Syrian state media earlier reported 45 people had been killed and 110 injured in the attacks, which it said involved a car bomb and two suicide bombers.
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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For Zika-threatened people, vaccines may not come soon enough
Even if the world’s largest drugmakers were to mobilize as fast as they could, and even if the science were straightforward, it’s unlikely a Zika vaccine could be developed quickly enough to address the expanding outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus that may cause birth defects when pregnant women are infected.Little work has been done so far on the virus, which the World Health Organization said last week is “spreading explosively” in Latin America after a spike in cases of microcephaly, a birt
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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Nobel laureate Pamuk chides EU for ignoring Turkey's rights record
ANKARA (AFP) -- Internationally acclaimed Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has accused the European Union of turning a blind eye to the state of democracy in Turkey because of its cooperation in the migration crisis, local media reported on Sunday."They have forgotten all their values," Pamuk told the Hurriyet newspaper in an interview, referring to the EU, adding that the fight against the Islamic State group and the migrant crisis had "tied Europe's hands".Brussels reached an agreement with EU hopef
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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Millions in Ethiopia facing worst drought for decades: U.N.
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) -- Ethiopia is struggling with its worst drought for 30 years, with millions in dire need of life-saving aid, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Sunday.At least 10.2 million people need food aid in Ethiopia, a figure the U.N. has warned could double within months, casting a fifth of the population into hunger.Floods and failed rains caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon have sparked a dramatic rise in the number of people going hungry in large parts of Africa, with E
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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Bombs kill 45, wound 110 near Syria Shiite shrine: state media
DAMASCUS (AFP) -- At least 45 people were killed and 110 wounded on Sunday in three bomb blasts near the revered Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab outside the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said.State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by a car bomb that detonated at a bus station near the shrine.It said two suicide bombers then detonated their explosive belts when people gathered at the scene.An AFP photographer at the scene said the blasts caused massive damage, shattering wi
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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Senior politician calls for S. Korea to have nuclear weapons
A former leader of South Korea's ruling party demanded Sunday the government re-introduce tactical nuclear weapons in a bid to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.Chung Mong-joon, who led the Saenuri Party from 2009-2010, stressed the need for the South to declare the end of an inter-Korean denuclearization deal and the withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty."(We) should consider and review 'all alternatives' before too late for our survival," he said on his blog.Chung, once
PoliticsJan. 31, 2016
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Researchers say Zika case found in Indonesia
JAKARTA (AFP) -- An Indonesian research institute said Sunday it had found one positive Zika case on Sumatra island, adding that the virus has been circulating in the country "for a while".Indonesia's health ministry could not immediately comment on the report by the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology.The mosquito-borne virus has sparked widespread alarm in parts of the Americas. It is suspected of causing grave brain damage in newborns and has similar symptoms to dengue fever.The institute
World NewsJan. 31, 2016