Most Popular
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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81-year-old model awarded ‘best dressed’ in Miss Universe Korea
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Shut up and dance
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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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'Smart pill'? ADHD treatment prescriptions spike this year
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
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Service sector company sales gain 2.6% in 2014
Total sales of service sector companies in South Korea advanced 2.6 percent on-year to 1,478 trillion won ($1.26 trillion) in 2014, helped by more transactions in real estate and healthcare services, government data showed Thursday.The annual service by Statistics Korea showed sales in real estate that include rental businesses jumping 10.1 percent, with healthcare moving up 7.4 percent compared to the year before."Revival of the property markets and more attention being paid to health and welfa
IndustryDec. 24, 2015
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Korea's terms of trade gain on weaker import prices in Nov.
South Korea's terms of trade continued to improve from a year earlier in November, but largely because import prices dropped at a faster clip than export prices, central bank data showed Thursday.The terms of trade index came to 100.83 last month, up 9.1 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The index gauges the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, which shows how the country's exports are doing in comparison wit
Dec. 24, 2015
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Korea to set aside more than 30% of budget for welfare
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Thursday the government will spend more 30 percent of next year's budget on the welfare sector to ensure no needy people go without help.The government will "make sure that there will be no welfare blind spots," Hwang said during a ceremony.He also said the government will relieve the burdens of those in vulnerable social groups. (Yonhap)
PoliticsDec. 24, 2015
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Koreas reach deal on land use fee at Gaeseong complex
South and North Korea have reached an agreement on the land use fee amount for South Korean firms operating a joint industrial park across the border, the Unification Ministry announced Thursday.The deal calls for South Korean firms at Gaeseong Industrial Complex to pay $0.64 per square meter every year, it said.The complex in the North's border city of Gaeseong opened in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation. A total of 124 South Korean firms are running factories with about 54,000 No
North KoreaDec. 24, 2015
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North Korea leader inspects joint training by military units
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected joint drills conducted by the military's two units, ordering the Korean People's Army to intensify combat drills, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.Kim observed "actual maneuvers" between the KPA's large combined units 526 and 671, expressing satisfaction over their flawlessness in defensive and offensive capacities, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not specify the date of Kim's visit."Practical drills should be conducted so often
North KoreaDec. 24, 2015
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Seoul shares start higher on rebounding oil prices
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as oil prices bounced back from a multi-year bottom, helping lift investor sentiment here.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.17 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,005.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.U.S. crude futures jumped 3.8 percent to $37.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, supporting the battered energy sector on Wall Street on Wednesday.Construction and steel shares were in positive terrain. Samsung C&T, the con
Dec. 24, 2015
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Korea's public sector debt hits 64.5% of GDP
South Korea's public sector debt rose to 957.3 trillion won ($815 billion) in 2014, or 64.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product, the government said Thursday.According to the finance ministry, the country's public sector debt, or D3 which takes into account both general government and non-financial corporation debt, and deducts internal transactions, rose by 58.6 trillion won from the year before. In 2013, the country's public sector debt stood at 898.7 trillion won, or 62.9 percent
Dec. 24, 2015
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Local firms may face liquidity problem following U.S. rate hike: BOK chief
South Korea's top central banker has warned against a potential liquidity crisis for local firms stemming from the recent U.S. rate hike, while urging his country to speed up restructuring.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol has repeatedly insisted any shock from a U.S. rate hike on the local economy will be limited, citing the country's strong economic fundamentals.While meeting with reporters late Wednesday, the BOK chief reiterated that the impact from a U.S. rate hike on the whole economy will be
Dec. 24, 2015
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HDC Shilla partially opens duty-free store in downtown Seoul
A joint venture between Hotel Shilla and Hyundai Development partially opened their new duty-free store in downtown Seoul on Thursday, gearing up for a grand opening in March.The outlet is located in the Hyundai I'Park Mall in Yongsan, the railway hub nestled in between key tourist spots scattered north and south of the Han River.Shilla Hotel, a hotel chain under South Korea's biggest conglomerate the Samsung Group, is in charge of running duty-free shops, while Hyundai Development, a local buil
IndustryDec. 24, 2015
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Seoul to probe fuel efficiency of Volkswagen cars
Despite emission cheating scandal, Tiguan named best-selling foreign car in KoreaThe government said on Thursday that it has reached a preliminary conclusion that the device that manipulated emissions levels of Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles is correlated to their fuel efficiency. In an analysis of test data provided by the Environment Ministry, the Transport Ministry learned that the defeat device software could have an impact on fuel efficiency, an official said. To confirm it, the ministry will
MobilityDec. 24, 2015
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Korea's consumer sentiment worsens in Dec.
The overall sentiment of South Korean consumers slightly worsened from a month earlier in December apparently due to a growing number of people predicting worse economic conditions down the road, central bank data showed Thursday.The composite consumer sentiment index for December came to 103, compared with 106 the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.The index had been on a steady rise since it slipped to
Dec. 24, 2015
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LG's latest V10 smartphone makes strong debut in U.S.
South Korea's No. 2 handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday that it has sold more than 450,000 units of the V10, its latest high-end smartphone, in the United States, less than two months after its official launch.The figure translates into 10,000 units per day, the company said.LG said the V10 was especially popular with the younger generation, with 37 percent of its consumers aged between 25 and 34.The 5.7-inch LG V10 features a QHD IPS Quantum display and a small rectangular screen ab
TechnologyDec. 24, 2015
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Volkswagen's Tiguan sales to top foreign brands despite tarnished image
German carmaker Volkswagen's Tiguan is on track to top foreign brands in terms of sales in South Korea this year despite its brand image being tarnished by the worldwide fake emission scandal, industry data showed Thursday.Its relatively cheap price and Volkswagen's ramped-up promotion efforts since September to tide over the crisis caused by the scandal attributed to the brisk sales.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association and other industry data, Volkswagen Korea,
MobilityDec. 24, 2015
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Russian raids in Syria may amount to war crimes: Amnesty
Amnesty International said on Wednesday that nearly three months of Russian air raids in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians, many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes.Some “appear to have directly attacked civilians or civilian objects by striking residential areas with no evident military target and even medical facilities, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians,” Amnesty Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in a statement.“Such attacks may amount
World NewsDec. 23, 2015
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Russia declares Khodorkovsky arrested in absentia
Russia's top investigative body on Wednesday declared Mikhail Khodorkovsky as arrested in absentia, two years after the Kremlin critic and former oil tycoon was pardoned after serving 10 years in prison.Investigators earlier this month accused the former billionaire of involvement in the 1998 murder of a Siberian mayor. On Tuesday, Russian officials searched the residences of several employees of his Open Russia foundation in connection with a probe into a privatization deal.Khodorkovsky, 52, sp
World NewsDec. 23, 2015
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France looks to enshrine emergency anti-terror laws in constitution
The French cabinet backed reform proposals Wednesday that could see the state of emergency called after last month's Paris attacks enshrined in the constitution. Special policing powers used under the state of emergency -- such as house arrests and the right to raid houses without judicial oversight -- are currently based on an ordinary law which can be challenged at the constitutional court.In the wake of the Paris attacks that left 130 dead, President Francois Hollande called for the emergency
World NewsDec. 23, 2015
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Court rules chemical castration constitutional
The Constitutional Court ruled in a 6-3 vote Wednesday that hormonal treatment to suppress sexual impulses in sex offenders is constitutional.In 2013, a district court had challenged the law that allows chemical castration for convicted child molesters over 19 years of age who are at risk of repeating their crimes, saying it violates basic human rights. The Constitutional Court, however, said the medication is a temporary treatment for the offenders and the hormones could be produced again when
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2015
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China denies media report that it offered to rent S. Korean port
China on Wednesday denied a Japanese media report that Beijing had proposed renting a port facility on a South Korean island in 2013. Japans Asahi newspaper reported earlier this week that China had asked South Korea to let a Chinese company rent a port facility on Koje Island off the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula.But, the proposal was rejected by South Koreas defense ministry, according to the report. "I have never heard of such a plan and the relevant report is not worth commenting
Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2015
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God lives in ‘Brand New Testament’
God lives in a modest apartment in Brussels, Belgium, with his wife and daughter. He’s a miserable codger with a wife who’s afraid of him and a daughter who hates him. To pass time, he sits at an old computer where he programs laws that dictate how the world works. God (left) ands his wife and daughter sit at the kitchen table in "The Brand New Testament."Ever notice how whichever line you stand in at the grocery store, another line moves faster? That’s because God loves tormenting you. And the
FilmDec. 23, 2015
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Hyosung honors injured soldiers with ‘Foot of Peace’
An artwork installation commemorating South Korean military soldiers’ sacrifice for national security was installed at the Nuri Peace Park in Imjingak, northern Gyeonggi Province, in a ceremony Wednesday.The piece was installed by Hyosung Group, which provided financial support of 200 million won ($170,000). Hyosung president Cho Hyun-joon (fourth from right) and military officers applaud at the installation ceremony of the artwork, “The Foot of Peace,” at Nuri Peace Park in Imjingak on Wednesda
IndustryDec. 23, 2015