Most Popular
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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81-year-old model awarded ‘best dressed’ in Miss Universe Korea
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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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'Smart pill'? ADHD treatment prescriptions spike this year
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[KH Explains] Korea pursues ‘fire-free’ batteries amid EV fears
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Man calls 119, found dead 1 week later because officials went to wrong place
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[Herald Review] One of Netflix's most expensive Korean originals returns, but at what cost?
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AI textbook bubble could burst, expert warns
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Fights, complaints, stalker fans among reasons passengers exit planes before takeoff
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[Photo News] Armed Forces Day
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Uncertainties over inter-Korean ties grow
Uncertainties over the prospects of inter-Korean ties rose Saturday as the rare cross-border talks broke down due to differences over a series of pending issues including the stalled tours to Mount Geumgangsan and the issue of families separated by the border. The vice minister-level talks that started amicably Friday turned into a grueling tug-of-war as Pyongyang officials insisted on resuming the lucrative tours to the mountain and linking the issue to the issue of separated families, Seoul of
North KoreaDec. 13, 2015
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Ex-leader Ahn bolts from NPAD
The New Politics Alliance for Democracy party’s former leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo bolted from the main opposition party Sunday, further aggravating factional strife and foreshadowing a realignment of the opposition bloc ahead of the parliamentary elections slated for next April. During a press conference at the National Assembly, the entrepreneur-turned-politician pledged to establish a new political group strong enough to win the 2017 presidential vote, noting that his struggle to realize po
Latest NewsDec. 13, 2015
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Telecom carriers to see drop in revenue
South Korea’s big three telecom carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― are expected to see an unprecedented drop in their combined revenue this year amid rapid market saturation. According to market analyst FnGuide, their combined revenue is set to fall to 49.6 trillion won ($42 billion) this year, about 4 percent down from last year’s 51.5 trillion won. KT would see the largest drop to 21.8 trillion won from 23.4 trillion won, while SK Telecom expects a fall to 17.1 trillion won from 17.8 tr
TechnologyDec. 13, 2015
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[Graphic News] Saving for retirement tall order for households with children
The average Korean households will need 2.26 million won ($1,900) per month for essential costs of living after retirement, but what they are saving now comes to less than half of that, a recent study has revealed. According to a Seoul think tank under KB Financial Group, Korean households’ average postretirement income from savings, pensions and other sources is projected at an average 1.1 million won, about 48 percent of the amount needed. The deficit is largest for households with children, w
Dec. 13, 2015
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Hana Financial chief wins award for top negotiator
Kim Jung-tai, chairman of Hana Financial Group, has been honored by a local association of business management scholars for his negotiation skills, the group said Sunday. Kim, who has been serving at the helm of Hana Financial since March 2012 after a five-year stint as vice chairman, won the top prize given by the Korean Association of Negotiation Studies as this year’s most recognizable negotiator. Kim Jung-tai (third from left), chairman of Hana Financial Group, poses with others at the awar
IndustryDec. 13, 2015
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Fears of capital outflow may be overblown
With U.S. interest rates soon expected to enter an upcycle from the current near-zero levels, emerging markets have already seen a sizable outflow of global capital, with Korea being among the most affected, recent data shows. Yet, local financial authorities and some economists are playing down the probability of a massive capital flight from Korea, citing a moderate pace expected in the U.S. monetary tightening and Korea’s relatively sound economic fundamentals.“Even if the U.S. Federal Reserv
Dec. 13, 2015
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Will Samsung make car again?
The announcement that Samsung Electronics would set up a separate team to develop electric car components used for Internet-connected and self-driving cars last Wednesday has ignited an interesting debate on whether the nation’s tech giant will try to build a car again or not. Samsung had entered the automotive business by setting up Samsung Motors in 1994, but exited from the sector in 2000 after selling the auto arm to French automaker Renault due to mounting losses. “It is a possible scenario
MobilityDec. 13, 2015
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Labor union chief arrested for ‘illegal rallies’
Seoul police on Sunday arrested Han Sang-kyun, leader of the nation’s second-largest umbrella labor union, on charges of leading what the police call illegal protests.Han, who leads the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, had been under police interrogation since Friday for his alleged involvement in multiple antigovernment rallies, including those on Nov. 14. He has so far exercised his right to remain silent, investigators said.The court issued the arrest warrant on grounds that the investig
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2015
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[Herald Interview] ‘I’m survivor, not victim’
In Park Yeon-mi’s defection from North Korea, she encountered a South Korean pastor. The compassionate minister had told the then-teenage girl, who had just escaped the clutches of one of the most secluded and oppressive regimes in the world, that she deserved a “second chance.” “What second chance? I’m not a criminal. It was not my choice to be born in North Korea,” she told The Korea Herald in an interview after giving a speech last month at an international forum in Bangkok.The conversation w
PeopleDec. 13, 2015
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Korea far from per capita GDP goal of $30,000
With the year 2015 drawing to an end, Korea finds itself still distanced from achieving the long-awaited goal of $30,000 per capita gross domestic product. In fact, the country is seen to remain farther from the landmark figure this year than last year.All major economic organizations and research institutes at home and abroad forecast that Korea’s per capita GDP in 2015 will drop below the 2014 level, marking the first decrease since 2009 when the nation was struggling to contain the fallout fr
Dec. 13, 2015
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Pinning responsibility for self-driving car accidents
With local carmakers and electronics giant Samsung jumping into autonomous car business along with the government’s plan to commercialize the sector by the year 2020, interest is growing over one tricky matter: who will be held responsible for accidents involving such vehicles? Automated vehicle is a revolutionary concept in motoring as the human drivers take a backseat while the computerized machine, instead, takes control of navigation. But the question of liability for accidents involving dri
IndustryDec. 13, 2015
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Ahn’s defection to stir up party split before polls
The defection of Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy signaled an irrevocable division of the main opposition camp, with only four months remaining to the general elections.The breakaway of the former cochairman is expected to encourage a number of nonmainstream members to follow suit as early as this week. The new clique is likely to create a new political party, or possibly join hands with already-defected Rep. Chun Jung-bae.“I have reached the conclusion that change
PoliticsDec. 13, 2015
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Korea expected to speed up green drives for Paris deal
South Korea is expected to beef up its anticarbon moves in order to meet the targets of the Paris agreement approved by the global community Saturday. Envoys of 195 countries made a historical accord in Paris to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, which experts consider the threshold for catastrophic climate change.As part of efforts to scale up the countries’ commitment, their pledges will be reviewed every five years from 2023 under the agreement, officials said. In an effort to j
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2015
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[Editorial] Unpredictable country
North Korea appears to have simultaneously shut down its political and cultural interchange events with two of its neighbors, South Korea and China, over the weekend. As expected, there was not much progress in the latest inter-Korean talks. The attention of South Korean citizens was more focused on a Pyongyang-based girl group’s planned performance in Beijing on Saturday. CNN also carried an online article on North Korean all-girl Moranbong Band’s scheduled visit to China. Its mistake of postin
EditorialDec. 13, 2015
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[Editorial] Ethical breach
Practices of fraudulent stock trading are still rampant although local regulators pledged to reinforce their scrutiny of alleged perpetrators of financial crimes. Apart from manipulators — who issue bogus trading orders for price-rigging — other major scammers continuously tainting the equity market are those who make irregular gains by using insider corporate information. Data from the Korea Exchange showed that the number of unfair stock trading allegations came to 64, in the first half of 201
EditorialDec. 13, 2015
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[Andrew Sheng] Hopes on the greening of Asia
There is a saying that China will grow old before she grows rich. The reality is that China may go gray before she goes green. Anyone living in Beijing today would feel the immensity of the air pollution, which is why China is putting so much effort in the current negotiations on climate change in Paris this month. Paris was of course the scene of the terrorist attack that shocked Europe, if not the world, signaling an escalation in the war on terror. But the 21st meeting of the Conference of P
ViewpointsDec. 13, 2015
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Foreign car brands face more consumer complaints than domestic rivals: report
Foreign car brands have received about twice as many consumer complaints as their domestic counterparts over the past six years, with Volkswagen and Audi at the top of the list, according to analysis by the Korea Consumer Agency on Sunday. For every 10,000 cars sold, the five top-selling imported automakers -- Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota -- saw an average of 10.9 cases of consumer dissatisfaction from January 2010 to November 2015, according to a KCA report submitted to Rep.
MobilityDec. 13, 2015
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[Marc Champion] Europe has plenty of its own Trumps
Europe has been shocked and outraged by Donald Trump’s call to exclude Muslims from migration to the U.S. A petition to have him banned from the U.K. gained 200,000 signatures, more than enough to force Britain’s parliament to consider a debate on the issue. Yet what Trump had to say should feel outrageously familiar. Populist bigotry about Muslims has already become mainstream in Europe. Europeans haven’t been outraged enough about that. Take Marine Le Pen, whose National Front just won 28 perc
ViewpointsDec. 13, 2015
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[Herald Review] Frankenstein’ musical grim, but totally worth it
The musical rendition of one of the world’s most recognized horror tales, “Frankenstein” is guaranteed to send chills down the spine this bleak winter.Returning to the stage after premiering last year, the musical version of Frankenstein is one of few original Korean productions. Although based on Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel of the same title, the Wang Yong Beom Production’s musical adds new characters and plot twists to the classic monster tale. Reportedly costing some 4.5 billion won ($
PerformanceDec. 13, 2015
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SK, creative economy center seek start-ups for Middle East market
SK Group and the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center plan to select and support start-ups seeking to enter the Middle East market, group officials said Sunday.The conglomerate and the center, which was jointly established by SK and the government in Daejeon, held a contest last month for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to enter the Middle East market and are currently in the process of selecting the final candidates.The project first started when President Park Ge
IndustryDec. 13, 2015